Resource Library

For students who have experienced homelessness, applying for financial aid can be confusing and overwhelming. These resources for both students and professionals take the mystery out of applying for and maintaining financial aid. Included on this page is a comprehensive Financial Aid Guide, step-by-step visual guide to the FAFSA/CADAA, and an “After the FAFSA/CADAA” checklist.

This comprehensive guide for California Foster Youth and adult supporters begins with an explanation of different types of financial aid available, includes helpful tips to completing the FAFSA/CADAA, key steps on what to do after the FAFSA/CADAA to ensure maximum aid awards, and explains how to keep getting financial aid.

Attend virtual training on the financial aid tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu. Learn about our financial aid lessons to prepare students for the financial aid application process and how to use educator reports to track students’ financial aid application statuses.

This is a treasure trove of videos highlighting the tools available on CaliforniaColleges.edu – explore and share them to maximize the impact of using CCGI.

Annual and ongoing planning meeting with the implementation team and partners to learn and adjust is an important best practice. Start planning for next year by reflecting on what worked and what didn’t work. This means using data to ground your strategy and including partners early in the planning process.

College affordability is much more than just FAFSA/CADAA completion during senior year. Given your success in senior year, try adding in college affordability planning content starting as early as 6th grade to help reduce confusion and stress for students and their families during senior year. This step by step guide will help you get started.

Attend virtual training on the financial aid tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu. Learn about our financial aid lessons to prepare students for the financial aid application process and how to use educator reports to track students’ financial aid application statuses.

Providing individualized support is a resource-intensive undertaking. Check out this brief on ways that your LEA can fund financial aid efforts for all your students.

You may have a Cal-SOAP Consortium in your area, check out this list to find out who to contact to see if Cal-SOAP can help students in your school/district.

If interested in exploring how uAspire can provide more specialized support to the students and families of your school/district who need additional support please reach out [email protected].

This tool will help students write customized financial aid offer appeal letters based off of a variety of templates for special circumstances.

This handout outlines the additional steps a student must take over the summer months after paying their tuition deposit.

uAspire’s College Cost Calculator is a free online tool that helps students decipher and compare financial aid offers. Students can figure out how much they will have to pay, including estimates for indirect expenses and loan repayment, and compare costs between colleges easily. Students create an account and are able to access the information entered at any time.

This checklist helps organize students who have been selected for verification, which means that the colleges may ask for proof of information submitted on the FAFSA.

See this database that lists colleges that require this form.

These checklists can be handed out or sent to Spanish-speaking families and students to explain completion of the CSS Profile which is an additional financial aid form that some colleges require in order for students to be eligible for institutional financial aid.

These checklists can be handed out or sent to English-speaking families and students to explain completion of the CSS Profile which is an additional financial aid form that some colleges require in order for students to be eligible for institutional financial aid.

This video explains how to access and download the FAFSA Submission Summary, which is the summary document of information entered on the FAFSA. It also includes important information such as the Student Aid Index (SAI), potential issues with your FAFSA, and potential required next steps.

Check out other success stories and consider documenting your success so others can learn from your work. Start with these questions: what helped you get there? what resources were needed? what advice would you offer a district/school? Start with interviewing a few key people, and share the learning as far and wide as you’re able!

This video explains how to add a college to the FAFSA after it has been submitted.

This video explains how to make corrections to the FAFSA after it has been submitted if a mistake was made or follow-up edits required.

This video explains how to use the IRS DRT on the FAFSA. It shows exactly how information should be entered in order to successfully transfer tax information from the IRS onto the FAFSA.

Wondering what information and documents are needed to gather to complete the FAFSA? This video reviews what information students and parents need to pull together in order to complete the FAFSA/CADAA.

Consider implementing a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to include financial support to ensure all students are reached.

Providing financial aid presentations to all students is a great place to start the conversation and to allow students to ask questions and learn about postsecondary pathways. These workshops can be done in the classroom for a smaller group setting or auditorium style for a larger group setting. This toolkit can help you get started.

Financial literacy is broad and critically important Everfi offers financial literacy lessons to teach students how to make wise financial decisions to promote financial well-being over their lifetime.

College affordability is much more than just FAFSA/CADAA completion during senior year. Given your success in senior year, try adding in college affordability planning content starting as early as 6th grade. Taking a developmental approach and starting these conversations early eliminates confusion and stress for students and their families during senior year.

This guide helps parents navigate the FAFSA.

Consider offering financial aid workshops for students and families. If you don’t have the expertise in-house, you can always reach out to local colleges and see if anyone from the financial aid department would be willing to come speak at your school.

A video that gives an overview of the FAFSA and the role it plays in the financial aid process to inform students and families on what they need to collect for FAFSA/CADAA prior to sitting down to work on the forms.

A resource to help communicate the tasks and timeline for financial aid for Spanish-speaking families. This checklist also includes a helpful timeline of all the steps in the financial aid process, which also serves as a critical reminder that there are many more steps beyond FAFSA/CADAA completion.