College and University Financial Aid & Scholarship Opportunities

Financial Aid

Need Help Paying for College?

Whether you hope to go to a private college across the country or to the community college in your town, college is expensive. Concern about money keeps many students from going to college. Don’t let money stop you. No matter what you want to do, there’s financial aid to help you.

Here are Some Ideas:

Need Based Financial Aid: If you can’t save enough for college, you might qualify for government aid to help with expenses. To learn how much aid you and your family might qualify for, try the FAFSA forecaster. Need-based grants and scholarships do not need to be repaid. Student loans do need to be repaid; payment is not required until after you graduate and are earning money on your own. Work-study jobs are part-time campus work to help you pay for your living expenses while you are at school. The free application is available on FAFSA's website.

​Merit-Based Grants and Scholarships: Not all aid is based on need. You can also get help with your college tuition because of your grades, test scores, athletics, being in the military, or because of your background, family’s employer, or interests. Merit-based grants and scholarships do not need to be repaid, but may come with conditions. You can learn more about scholarships at the College Board’s website: www.collegeboard.com and click on “For Students, Pay for College”. (Also, remember to save merit scholarship award letters for the Senior Awards Ceremony in May. It is nice to be recognized for all your hard work.)

Central Arizona College 

CAC Promise for the Future: Scholarship in Pinal County for Central Arizona College. Students sign-up in 8th grade, must maintain a GPA of at least 2.75, and perform some community service to qualify. CAC gives these students two years of community college tuition free.

Arizona Earn to Learn!

The AZ Earn to Learn (AZEL) program is a collaboration of the Arizona Board of Regents, the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University. Its purpose is to help limited-income Arizonans to save for college. Participants who successfully complete the IDA savings program requirements will receive an 8 to 1 match on their savings (save $500, receive $4,000 match) for tuition costs at AU, ASU or NAU. The maximum match that a student can receive through the program is $4,000. You can save as little as $25 a month to receive the match! Check out the website for more information.

Combs HS General Booster Club Senior Scholarship

The Combs General Booster Club is happy to announce our annual scholarship awards. This year the General Boosters will be awarding three $500.00 scholarships. All essays will be read by volunteers and then graded against a rubric. The volunteers will not know whose essay they are reading; they will only know the essays by an assigned number. The three highest scored essays will be awarded a $500.00 scholarship. Applications will be accepted until Friday April 28th, 2023. Please return your application, essay, and letter of recommendation to your counselor. Scholarships will be held for four years due to military, church service or other needs. After that, the scholarship will be forfeited. Application here.