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11.3. State and Institutional Aid Applications

The FAFSA isn’t the only game in town—states and schools often have their own aid programs:

• State Aid: Many states offer grants or scholarships for residents, often tied to FAFSA data. Examples: 

  • California’s Cal Grant (calgrants.org) for low-income or high-achieving students.

  • New York’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for in-state schools.

  • Check your state’s higher education website for deadlines—some are earlier than federal ones.

• Institutional Aid: Colleges use FAFSA info to award their own grants or scholarships, but some require extra forms: 

  • The CSS Profile (cssprofile.collegeboard.org), used by many private schools, digs deeper into finances (e.g., home equity). It’s not free—$25 for the first school, $16 each additional—but waivers exist for low-income families.

  • School-specific applications—check each college’s financial aid page.

Tip: Ask your schools’ financial aid offices about priority deadlines—missing them could shrink your package.