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Colorado has plenty of resources to ensure students don’t pay the full cost of going to college. Some programs even make college free.
A first step is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — known as the FAFSA — or the Colorado Application for Student Financial Aid. These forms help open up scholarships and grants, and are required by many college financial aid programs.
Below, Chalkbeat Colorado has collected some of the resources that can help students and families pay for college.
Students can also get money through the Colorado Opportunity Fund, which provides a stipend to help students pay in-state tuition at participating colleges. The stipend pays $116 per credit hour, and students must register with the state to get it. Students attending public Colorado colleges do not need to fill out the FAFSA to get the stipend, but students attending private colleges in Colorado do.
There are plenty of scholarships available from organizations, foundations, and the colleges or universities themselves that provide other financial aid for students, too. Here’s a few that students should know about:
The majority of Colorado’s universities have what are known as promise programs, or financial aid to cover the cost of tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students who come from low-income backgrounds, making the highest cost of college free for them.
Students must fill out a state or federal financial aid form and, in some cases, schools require students to share their Student Aid Index, which is a number calculated by the federal government after students submit a FAFSA that determines how much financial support a student will need.
The lower the number, the higher the need.
Here are schools in Colorado that offer such programs and their requirements.
There are other opportunities for free college. The state also has a list of resources to make college more affordable. A few are in high school, while others are specialized programs.
This year, Colorado created a new college tax credit program to help students who might not qualify for their college’s promise program.
The state tax credit is for students who live in a household that makes $90,000 or less a year. The tax credit will help pay for two years of college.
Colleges or universities will track which students are eligible. Students will still have to file their own tax return to get the money.
This article has been corrected to update the FAFSA requirements of the Colorado Opportunity Fund.
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
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