<p>So my grades weren’t that great my first few years of High School, but now that I’m a senior things are starting to shape up. My dad tells me that I will not be eligible for any financial aid because my grades were so bad. Is this truth? Or will I be able to apply for it despite my bad grades? Help!</p>
<p>Some colleges give need-based financial aid to only students at the top of their admission pool. Some colleges guarantee to meet 100% of the documented financial need of all students who are accepted.</p>
<p>The colleges with the most liberal financial aid policies also tend to be the ones that are most difficult to gain admisson to. So, if your not great grades mean that you’ll have to be applying to third tier colleges, it’s possible that those colleges can’t afford to give financial aid to all students who have financial need, and if you’re at the bottom of their admission pool, you may not get aid.</p>
<p>You need to check the financial aid web pages of the colleges that interest you.</p>
<p>If you’re grades are good enough to get you into college and you are eligible for federal financial aid such as Pell grants and federal loans you will get them. For such need based aid you would only be eligible if your family income is low. Certain other federal aid such as the Academic Competitiveness Grant depend on need and academics so you may not get those depending on how bad your grades are. You will probably not get merit based aid with poor grades.</p>