Top Questions About Financial Aid

Weeding through information about financial aid can be confusing. What funding, grants and loans are you eligible to receive? Where do you even begin?

All kinds of grants and loans are available to make attending the Center for Employment Training (CET) a much more accessible option for you. There are also financial aid options available through state and local governments as well as private sources and private loans. 

Let’s walk through some of the questions we regularly hear from our students about financial aid. 

How do I know if I’m eligible for financial aid at CET?

The cost of tuition shouldn’t stand between you and the education you need to attend school—financial aid may be available. 

Like other career programs, you can get financial aid to help pay for your training at CET. How do you know if you’re eligible?

• You have a financial need and can certify that you only will use aid for educational purposes.
• You have a high-school diploma or a GED, or you’ve met Ability-to-Benefit guidelines.
• You are a citizen or eligible noncitizen.
• You are not in default on a federal student loan.

Additionally, as a student, you should be making satisfactory academic progress. There is also Veterans Education benefits available for those who have served in the military via the Department of Veterans Affairs and the GI Bill website. 

What resources does CET have to help me with financial aid?

Every one of our CET locations has a financial aid officer on staff to guide you through the financial aid process and help you get the most assistance we can. We never want finances to be a barrier for our students. Our financial aid officers are well versed in countless sources of financial aid and can help you fill out the required forms for all sources for which you are eligible. 

We’ll have you start by filling out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, and then we will help you determine all the ways you can get assistance to pay for your education at CET. Your FAFSA form will help us pinpoint all the ways we can help you get assistance in paying for your CET tuition.

How soon should I fill out a FAFSA form?

According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administering, “The sooner you fill out the FAFSA, the better.” It’s a free application and doesn’t just determine how much federal student aid you can get, but it also can determine your federal student loan eligibility. 

There’s no harm in applying, even if you think your household income is too high for federal grants or work-study funds—it’s still worth a shot! And on average, it only takes 23 minutes to complete. 

I’m the parent of a student who is my dependent—are there resources for us to manage education expenses?

With a Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), you can help offset the cost of your child’s education with a loan. PLUS loans are not federal student loans, and your eligibility is not based on need. Maximum loan amounts are based on the amount of your student’s cost of tuition at a college or career school like CET minus any other financial aid they receive. 

PLUS loans have a fixed interest rate over the life of your loan, which means they won’t go up over time. 

What makes you eligible for a PLUS loan?

• You must be the biological or adoptive parent of your student. In some cases, stepparents are also eligible for the loan.
• You shouldn’t have an adverse credit history except in certain extenuating circumstances.
• Your child meets the general requirements for federal student aid.

Read more about PLUS loans here, and you can find a list of reputable PLUS loan lenders here.

What kind of financial aid is available for my education at CET?

There are so many avenues available to finance your training at CET. Financial aid can come from the federal government, but it also can come from state, school and private sources to pay for your career school training. 

Here are a few routes you can take to finance your education:

• Grants: In most cases, grants don’t have to be repaid. They are awarded to you with no repayment needed. There are a few exceptions that would require you to pay back your grant, which mostly have to do with staying in school and remaining in good academic standing. 
• Work-study jobs: The Federal Work-Study program allows students to pay for school by working part-time and attending school part-time. 
• Loans: You also can borrow money from a lending institution. This money needs to be paid back with interest.

There are also additional aid sources, including financial aid options for military families.

You can learn more about financing your CET education here. 

Still have questions about how you’re going to pay for your career training at CET? We’ve got financial aid advisors standing by ready to help answer your questions so you can get started on your path to a brand new career. 
Contact us today, and we’ll walk you through your options!