Financial aid can be a gift that you keep or a loan that you must repay. It can come from the government, from your college, or from some other source. It can be paid directly to the student, to the student's school, or to the student's parents.

The process of putting financial aid together is called packaging. The college financial aid office prepares each student's aid package. This package can be made up of many types of aid. Each student can accept or reject all or part of their financial aid package.