Paying for college, explained

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the starting point for nearly all financial aid. Colleges, the State of California, and many scholarship programs use it to measure your family's financial need, which is expressed as a number called the Student Aid Index (SAI).

What it unlocks

• Federal Pell Grants, work-study, and federal student loans
• Cal Grants and California's Middle Class Scholarship
• Need-based grants from many colleges
• Some private or merit based scholarships, including the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara

Key facts

• The FAFSA is always free at studentaid.gov. 
• The 2027-28 FAFSA opens by October 1, 2026 and uses your 2025 federal tax return. With your consent, tax information transfers directly from the IRS.
• The student and each parent contributor need their own FSA ID here. Create these before October, since verification can take a few days.
• California's priority deadline is March 2, 2027 for Cal Grant consideration. Your high school submits your GPA separately.
• Students who are not eligible for federal aid, including AB 540 students, file the California Dream Act Application instead.
• New this cycle: for students starting college in 2027, federal Parent PLUS loans are capped at $20,000 per year and $65,000 total per student.

The CSS Profile is a separate application run by the College Board. A few hundred colleges and scholarship programs, most of them private, use it to award their own institutional grants. It asks more detailed questions than the FAFSA, and each college applies its own formula to the results.

Key facts

• It opens October 1, alongside the FAFSA, at cssprofile.collegeboard.org.
• It costs $25 for the first college and $16 for each additional one. Many families qualify for an automatic fee waiver based on income.
• It asks about things the FAFSA does not, such as home equity, small business value, and, at many colleges, the finances of a noncustodial parent.
• Each college sets its own deadline, and these are often earlier than the FAFSA general deadline. Early Decision and Early Action applicants may see aid deadlines as early as November 1.
• It does not replace the FAFSA. Colleges that use the CSS Profile require both.

Who qualifies for need-based aid?

There is no single income cutoff. Eligibility depends on income, assets, family size, and each college's resources.

• Federal Pell Grant: up to $7,395 per year for 2026-27. Generally available to families earning under about $60,000, with reduced amounts at somewhat higher incomes depending on family size.
• College need-based grants: at many well-endowed private colleges, families earning $75,000 to $250,000 or more may still qualify for significant grant aid. Some colleges meet 100% of demonstrated need.

What this means for your family

• Many colleges are need-aware. At these schools, applying for aid is still worth it. If a college reviews your financial information and finds that your family doesn't qualify for need-based aid, you're treated like any other full-pay applicant, which can work in your favor at the margins. Applying for need-based aid doesn't takes you out of the running for merit scholarships. In fact, a large share of merit aid goes to students from families who don't qualify for need-based aid.
• The Ivies, Stanford, the UCs, and the CSUs are examples of universities that are need-blind for U.S. applicants. At these schools, applying for aid neither helps nor hurts your chances of admission, though a few need-blind private colleges may consider need when admitting students from the waitlist.
• Policies often differ for out-of-state, international, transfer, and waitlisted students, so read the fine print.
• For families who don't expect to qualify for aid, it's the need-aware colleges, along with the hassle of the forms, that usually cause the most hesitation about applying.
  

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara (SFSB) is a local nonprofit that awards scholarships to Santa Barbara County students. Financial need (but not exclusively), motivation, and academic potential are their primary selection criteria, and they also offer free financial aid advising to local families.

Who is eligible

• Attended school in Santa Barbara County for at least four of the six years between grades 7 and 12
• Graduating from a Santa Barbara County high school
• U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or AB 540 eligible
• Planning to attend an accredited (Title IV) college full time

Key dates

• October 15, 2026: application for 2027-28 opens
• November 15: Art Scholarship Program and South County Honors Scholarships due
• January 31, 2027: General and Employer-Sponsored Scholarships due
• Late April: award announcements for seniors arrive by email

Homeschooled and boarding school students have additional documentation requirements, so check the eligibility page early.

Every college is required by law to post a Net Price Calculator on its website. It estimates what your family would pay after grants and scholarships, based on your own financial information. It is the single most useful tool for comparing the true cost of different colleges.

How to use it

1. Find the calculator. Search "net price calculator" on each college's financial aid page, or look up the college on College Navigator.
2. Gather your numbers. Have a recent tax return, current asset balances, and household size ready. Most calculators take 10 to 20 minutes.
3. Read the result carefully. The number that matters is the net price. Loans are not discounts, so if a calculator counts loans or work-study as aid, subtract only the grants and scholarships.
4. Run it for every college on your list. A college with a higher sticker price can cost less than one that looks cheaper, so a college's generosity matters as much as its list price.