International parent confused about FAFSA scholarships and grants - where to start?

First, you're already ahead by completing the FAFSA! That's step one for most financial aid. Here's a breakdown of where to look next: 1. College financial aid offices - Each school has their own institutional scholarships. Have your daughter contact each school she's interested in directly. 2. Federal grants - These come automatically from your FAFSA application (Pell Grant, FSEOG). Your SAI (Student Aid Index) determines eligibility. Lower SAI = more grant money. 3. State grants - Most states have their own grant programs. Check your state's higher education website. 4. Free scholarship search engines - Use Fastweb.com, Scholarships.com, and CollegeBoard's Big Future (all free). 5. Local scholarships - Check with your employer, community organizations, religious institutions, and local businesses. DON'T pay for scholarship searches! The legitimate resources are all free.

I had same problem last year!!! I moved from Philippines 5 years ago and American college system is crazy complicated. The BIGGEST thing I learned is APPLY EARLY FOR EVERYTHING!! We missed so many deadlines because we didn't know they existed. ALSO - if your student is first generation college student (meaning parents didn't graduate from American college) there are SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIPS just for that!!! My son got $5,000 scholarship just for being first-gen student with good grades. Check if your state has special grants too. We're in California and they have Cal Grant that gave my son $7,400 for state schools that wasn't part of FAFSA.

dont waste time on those tiny $500 scholarships. focus on the big instituional ones at each school. my daughter got full ride at state university just from their merit scholarships. FAFSA is mostly for pell grants and loans anyway. most scholarships are totally separate applications

A SAI of 9800 means you'll likely get some federal aid but not the maximum. For 2025-2026, Pell Grant eligibility extends to SAIs up to about 7400 for full awards, but partial awards go higher. Your daughter should get some Pell Grant money with that SAI. Make sure she fills out the CSS Profile too if she's applying to private colleges! Many schools require BOTH the FAFSA and CSS Profile for their institutional aid. And private colleges often have the biggest scholarship packages! Also, is your daughter good at any specific subjects or have any unique activities/talents? There are niche scholarships for EVERYTHING - from duck calling to creating prom outfits from duct tape (seriously).

As someone who works with college students, I'd suggest checking out these resources: 1. Federal Student Aid website (studentaid.gov) has comprehensive information on all federal grant programs. 2. Your state's higher education agency website will list state-specific grants and scholarships. 3. The financial aid section of each college website will list their institutional scholarships. 4. The Foundation Center (candid.org) maintains a database of private foundations that offer scholarships. With a 3.8 GPA, your daughter should qualify for many merit-based scholarships. Each college will automatically consider her for their merit scholarships based on her application. For need-based aid, both the FAFSA and potentially the CSS Profile (for private schools) are required. Lastly, encourage your daughter to look at scholarships specifically for students from your cultural background - many organizations offer scholarships to promote diversity.

I was in your exact shoes 2 years ago! Trying to call the FAFSA helpline was a NIGHTMARE. I kept getting disconnected after waiting an hour+ on hold. Eventually I found Claimyr.com which got me connected to a FAFSA agent in under 5 minutes. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent walked me through the whole process of understanding my daughter's SAI score and what additional grants she qualified for. They even helped me understand which parts of the CSS Profile I was filling out wrong (which was preventing her from getting institutional aid at private colleges). Definitely don't pay for scholarship search services though! Those are usually scams.

Thank you all for these helpful suggestions! I made a list of everything mentioned and my daughter and I will start researching this weekend. She's interested in nursing, so we'll look for healthcare-specific scholarships too. I'm going to check both the CSS Profile and our state education website today. It's such a relief to have a clearer path forward!

nobody mentioned this but some colleges have special scholarships just for international students or first generation immigrants!! my cousin got one that covered half her tuition just for being from vietnam with good grades. def check if the colleges have anything like that