Financial Aid
How we help you
College & Career Options personnel offer a wide variety of financial aid services and are available to help you and your family determine how to maximize your potential for financial aid. All of our services are free of charge for North State families because of generous funding from local foundations. If you are looking for assistance in the area of financial aid, feel free to contact Brad Williams by email at bwilliams@collegeandcareeroptions.org or by phone at 530-768-5103.
If you are looking for any other type of assistance from College & Career Options, please click on this link and send us a message or give our office a call (530) 244-4022.
Services
- How need based financial aid works
- How to secure merit based aid
- An understanding of the 4 types of financial aid
- Grants Free Money
- Scholarships Free Money
- Work Study Earned Money
- Loans Borrowed Money
- An understanding of how to secure financial aid from the 3 primary sources
- Federal Government
- State Government
- Schools themselves
- Assistance in understanding and in filing a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
- Help in understanding financial aid offers from schools
- What to do if you do not receive enough financial aid
- An understanding of the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation
- How the Pell Grant works
- How the Cal Grant works
- What are the best loans to consider
- Where to look for scholarships
- What are considered “special circumstances”
- Financial aid options for foster youth
Resources
Click on each heading to expand the list of available resources in a dropdown menu
- 2025-2026 College & Career Options FA Presentation – 09-06-24
- Cal Grant Income & Asset Ceilings – 2025-2026
- Cal Grant Award Amounts For – 2024-2025
- California Middle Class Scholarship Income & Asset Ceilings – 2025-2026
- Federal Financial Aid Programs – 2024-2025
- Free or Reduced-Price School Lunch Income Eligibility Limits – 2024-2025
- Oregon 2025-2026 College and Career Options FA Presentation – 09-06-2024
- Oregon Grants Overview Page (Web Link)
- Oregon Senior Year – College & Financial Aid Checklist (2024-2025) 8-13-24
- Pell Grant Maximum & Minimum Award Look Up Tables – 2025-2026
- Senior Year – College & Financial Aid Checklist
- Student Loans Overview – Loans Taken July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025
- FAFSA Website (Federal Student Aid) (web link)
- Filling Out the FAFSA (Federal Student Aid) (web link)
- Creating and Using the FSA ID (Federal Student Aid) (1 page)
FAFSA 2023-2024
- FAFSA on the web Worksheet (Federal Student Aid) (4 pages)
- 2023-2024 FAFSA Paper Version (Federal Student Aid) (10 pages)
FAFSA 2024-2025
- Understanding Your Financial Aid Award Offers (BigFuture) (web link)
- Financial Aid Offer Examples (U.S. Department of Education) (Web Link)
- How to Review and Compare Your Financial Aid Offers (BigFuture) (web link)
- College & Career Options Financial Aid Offer Comparison Tool (excel worksheet)
- National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Financial Aid Offer Comparison Worksheet (3 Pages)
- California Chafee Grant for Foster Youth – Overview, Eligibility and Application information (California Student Aid Commission) (web link)
- Financial Aid Guide for California Foster Youth (John Burton Advocates for Youth) (Web Link)
- Oregon Chafee Grant for Foster Youth – Overview and Application Information (Web Link)
- Homeless Education – Information and Resources (CA Department of Education) (web link)
- Sample Form Letters to Determine the Independent Student Status of Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (SchoolHouse Connection) (web link)
- McKinney-Vento Act: Students Navigating Houselessness Education Program – Oregon Department of Education (Web Link)
- National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) (web link)
- Comparing Private Student Loans (SimpleTuition.Com) (web link)
- Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator (Federal Student Aid) (on-line tool)
- Federal Student Loan Programs (Federal Student Aid) (2 pages)
- Federal Student Loans: Basics (Federal Student Aid) (6 pages)
- Federal Student Loans: Direct PLUS Loan Basics for Parents (Federal Student Aid) (12 pages)
- How do I get a Federal Student Loan? (Federal Student Aid) (web link)
- How to Use Student Loans for Living Expenses (Bankrate) (web link)
- LendEDU Resources (LendEDU) (web link)
- Private Student Loans (finaid) (web link)
- Sallie Mae – Private Student Loans (Sallie Mae) (web link)
- Student Loans Overview – July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 (College & Career Options) (2 Pages)