Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Student financial aid in the United States is funding intended to help students pay education expenses including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, etc. for education at a college, university, or private school. General governmental funding for public education is not called financial aid, which refers to awards to specific individual students. Certain governments, e.g., Nordic countries, provide student benefit. A scholarship is sometimes used as a synonym for a financial aid award, although grants and student loans are also components of financial aid packages from students' intended colleges.