Financial assistance to help students pay for all or some of their university expenses (also called "college expenses") in the USA includes Federal government assistance for families/individuals meeting certain low annual income requirements, state government financial aid which is also need-based exists, plus individual universities (also called colleges in the USA) provide both need-based financial aid and merit-based (scholarships) financial aid.
In the USA, students are encouraged to complete and submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at the beginning of each calendar year to help in determination by an agency of the U.S. Dept. of Education of the student's financial situation and possible eligibility for grant funds (up to $5,000 per school year) plus eligibility for loan funds. You can see a copy of the 2012-2013 school year FAFSA here:
* http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1213/pdf/PdfFafsa12-13.pdf
The notice of Federal financial aid awards comes through the university to which a student has applied and will attend.
This is a link to the home page for the U.S. Dept. of Education Student Aid on the Web:
* http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp
Some of the links there will give you more information.
The U.S. government also offers income tax credits to help offset the cost of paying for higher education. This is a link to good information about that:
* http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/ways-to-pay/446.html
There is also a program designed for parents to help save for the higher education of their children, It provides income tax reduction incentives. It is called the 529 savings plan and is overseen through each state in the USA. Here is a link to the Federal Securities Exchange Commission with information on the program:
* http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/intro529.htm
Many of the state governments in the USA also offer grant funds for students who may qualify, based on a low-income status.
You can find more information about ways to finance a university education in the USA in the articles linked in this web page, Paying for College, provided by the well-respected publication US News and World Report:
* http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college
There have been a number of books written on the subject of finding financial aid for higher education in the USA. The well-respected College Board (based in the USA) issues an annual publication: Getting Financial Aid. I see that several libraries in the U.K. hold the edition for 2011. You can see a list of holdings in U.K. libraries here, through the WorldCat database (a database of worldwide library holdings):
* http://www.worldcat.org/title/getting-financial-aid-2011/oclc/667592444&referer=brief_results
If you do not have borrowing privileges from one of the U.K. libraries listed as holding the publication, ask a librarian at your library (university library?) how the library staff can find a copy at another library to borrow for you.
I realize this isn't a synopsis of the details of the ways the U.S. government helps parents and students to pay for their higher education. You will still need to read the information in the links I have provided and even find and read the book I recommend.
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Find your local Public Library at:
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Find your College/University Library at:
http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Academic_main.html
Best wishes