Financial assistance is given to you and your family in a "package" that may consist of grants, loans, and campus employment and will likely include a combination of need-based and non-need based resources.

Grant Aid comes in four forms: from the colleges or universities directly, from federal funds, from state funds, or private sources. You may receive grant aid from one or all four sources. Grant aid is not expected to be repaid and is not necessarily a small amount, either. Most of Arkansas’ independent colleges and universities offer scholarships for academic excellence. They also offer a variety of other scholarships based on athletic proficiency, artistic ability, or service to the community in some unique way.

Loans come from a variety of sources, such as the federal and state governments, the colleges, and banks. Most interest-subsidized student loans will require repayment beginning 6-9 months after leaving school. Packages identify loans that you or your parents may borrow for educational costs. However, you are not required to borrow funds.

Work Study or Campus Job, another from of assistance, consists of money paid to students directly as wages for a job on campus. You will need to work out how these funds will be handled to pay college expenses.

Outstanding scholars from Arkansas’ high school are increasingly choosing independent colleges as they advance their education. Scholarship opportunities abound at our institutions as the result of the colleges’ commitments to attracting the finest students from around the state and the world. In fact, more than $26 million of non-need based academic assistance is available each year to students attending Arkansas independent colleges and universities. Academic scholarships take a variety of forms, from highly competitive programs to those awarded purely based on class rank and College Board scores to proficiency awards for music, drama, the arts, etc. Some institutions will award academic scholarships that cover all, or nearly all, of a student’s tuition charges. While the types of programs vary widely, outstanding students are strongly encouraged to pursue these scholarship options with each institution.

What are the assumptions underlying the student’s budget? Does the college expect you to earn resources in the summer? Are there any exceptions for unpaid internships, athletic camps, travel? How reasonable is the work study expectation – 12 hours a week, 20 hours a week? What about the allowances for books and travel back and forth to the college; incidental expenses; other fees, such as parking, medical insurance? Does the college base its financial package on what it actually costs to attend the college or the amount of the billed charges?

Is the college "need" blind, or does financial assistance recognize individual contribution? A strong "need" blind [the admission decision and financial assistance are not linked] policy may mean that lower income families are supported more generously than middle income families.

What is the school’s policy toward outside scholarships? In the event that you win a scholarship from a private organization, how does the college adjust that amount from its financial offer to the family?