Finding financial aid to pay for college

Your student is preparing to go off to college in the Fall, has the school picked out and acceptance in hand.  Now the questions looms, how to pay for it??

The first thing you need to do is complete the Free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov The application for the 2015-2016 year became available starting January 1st.  The application is the Department of Education's site and has a nifty tool to pull your IRS tax information into the application.  You need to have already filed your taxes for it to work, but you can use estimates based on last year and once you file your taxes go back onto the site and update.  

The next thing you need to do it find out what additional steps need to be completed at the school your student is going to.  Check with the aid office, they typically have a website dedicated to spelling out the steps or you can always call.

Once you know what additional forms need to be completed, DO IT.  Don't wait on submitting, you could miss out on some opportunities if your student isn't "complete".  

Check with your local librarian, guidance counselor or State website (I suggest all 3) to find private scholarship sources to apply for.  If your student writes a really strong essay, they can use it again and again to apply for scholarships if it fits what they are asking for.

Check a search engine for scholarships like www.fastweb.com cast your net wide to find obscure little scholarships that your student would be eligible for.  I received in my undergraduate program a scholarship for Brown Eyed girls ~ legitimate scholarship that provided $500 a year that added up to a whole lot of books by the end of my degree!

Make sure that your student applied for any scholarship available through the school of choice and look over all paperwork that comes in for deadlines.

Once you have your award offer in hand, remember ~ it's not a bill, it's an award and not all awards are equal. 

If your student is applying to more than 1 school and you are deciding which school offered the "best" $$ you have to look at total cost for the year and then scholarship offered.  What looks like a huge scholarship may only cover 10% while a small offer and a low cost school could be covering 75%.  You also have to take into consideration Fit.  If the school is not right for your student and is not going to offer the degree they want, services they need or climate they are used too (climate can be cultural, size of school and Temperature) then sending them off because they offered more scholarship funds is spending good money after bad.  You want your students’ college experience to be a positive one.  If you pay out of pocket even $500 a semester to find out after a year it's not a good fit and your student is going to transfer you have just wasted your money. 

All things to keep in mind when navigating the financial aid waters ~  

Is your Kid going off to College in the Fall?

Your student is preparing to go off to college in the Fall, has the schools picked out and has sent out the application.  Now the questions looms large, how are you going to pay for it??

The first thing you need to do is complete the Free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov The application for the 2014-2015 year was available starting January 1st, make sure you use the correct application as this current year 2013-2014 is also available for student who are in College now!  The application is the Department of Education's site and has a nifty tool to pull your IRS tax information into the application called the IRS data retrieval tool.  You need to have already filed your taxes for it to work, but you can use estimates based on last year and once you file your taxes go back onto the site and update.  

The next thing you need to do it find out what additional steps need to be completed at the school your student is going to.  Check with the aid office, they typically have a website dedicated to spelling out the steps or you can always call.

Once you know what additional forms need to be completed, DO IT.  Don't wait on submitting, you could miss out on some opportunities if your student isn't "complete".  

Check with your local librarian, guidance counselor or State website (I suggest all 3) to find private scholarship sources to apply for.  If your student writes a really strong essay, they can use it again and again to apply for scholarships if it fits what the scholarship council is asking for.

Check a search engine for scholarships like www.fastweb.com cast your net wide to find obscure little scholarships that your student would be eligible for.  I received in my undergraduate program a scholarship for Brown Eyed girls ~ legitimate scholarship that provided $500 a year that added up to a whole lot of books by the end of my degree!

Make sure that your student applied for any scholarship available through the school of choice and look over all paperwork that comes in for deadlines.

Once you have your award offer in hand, remember ~ it's not a bill, it's an award and not all awards are equal. 

If your student is applying to more than one school and you are deciding which school offered the "best" $$ you have to look at total cost for the year and then scholarship offered.  What looks like a huge scholarship may only cover 10% while a small offer and a low cost school could be covering 75%.  You also have to take into consideration Fit.  If the school is not right for your student and is not going to offer the degree they want, services they need or climate they are used too (climate can be cultural, size of school and Temperature) then sending them off because they offered more scholarship funds is spending good money after bad.  You want your students’ college experience to be a positive one.  If you pay out of pocket even $500 a semester to find out after a year it's not a good fit and your student is going to transfer you have just wasted your money. 

All things to keep in mind when navigating the financial aid waters.


If you find the process too overwhelming, you should reach out to the High School to see if you can get some assistance through them.  Your state may also have a state grant agency that can also help you navigate the aid arena like in Vermont the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) has many great services to help you fill out applications, provide assistance with applying for aid and does informational sessions throughout Vermont to help families get started.  New Hampshire has the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation (NHEAF).  Check with your state to see if they have an agency to assist you and your last resort is an Educational Consultant.  Don't get me wrong, EdCon's are great if you can afford them but if you really need aid to get your student to College you want to save your pennies and get the help you need that doesn't cost you a dime. 


Good Luck and let me know how it goes! 

Want someone else to pay for College? Here are some ways to find the Dough to Go!

Your student is preparing to go off to college in the Fall, has the school picked out and acceptance in hand. Now the questions looms, how to pay for it??

The first thing you need to do is complete the Free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov The application for the 2014-2015 year will be available starting January 1st. The application is the Department of Education's site and has a nifty tool to pull your IRS tax information into the application. You need to have already filed your taxes for it to work, but you can use estimates based on last year and once you file your taxes go back onto the site and update.

The next thing you need to do it find out what additional steps need to be completed at the school your student is going to. Check with the aid office, they typically have a website dedicated to spelling out the steps or you can always call.

Once you know what additional forms need to be completed, DO IT. Don't wait on submitting, you could miss out on some opportunities if your student isn't "complete".

Check with your local librarian, guidance counselor or State website (I suggest all 3) to find private scholarship sources to apply for. If your student writes a really strong essay, they can use it again and again to apply for scholarships if it fits what they are asking for.

Check a search engine for scholarships like www.fastweb.com cast your net wide to find obscure little scholarships that your student would be eligible for. I received in my undergraduate program a scholarship for Brown Eyed girls ~ legitimate scholarship that provided $500 a year that added up to a whole lot of books by the end of my degree!

Make sure that your student applied for any scholarship available through the school of choice and look over all paperwork that comes in for deadlines.

Once you have your award offer in hand, remember ~ it's not a bill, it's an award and not all awards are equal.

If your student is applying to more than 1 school and you are deciding which school offered the "best" $$ you have to look at total cost for the year and then scholarship offered. What looks like a huge scholarship may only cover 10% while a small offer and a low cost school could be covering 75%. You also have to take into consideration Fit. If the school is not right for your student and is not going to offer the degree they want, services they need or climate they are used too (climate can be cultural, size of school and Temperature) then sending them off because they offered more scholarship funds is spending good money after bad. You want your students’ college experience to be a positive one. If you pay out of pocket even $500 a semester to find out after a year it's not a good fit and your student is going to transfer you have just wasted your money.

All things to keep in mind when navigating the financial aid waters ~

The Race for more Aid

Your student is preparing to go off to college in the Fall, has the school picked out and acceptance in hand.  Now the questions looms, how to pay for it??

The first thing you need to do is complete the Free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov The application for the 2015-2016 year became available starting January 1st.  The application is the Department of Education's site and has a nifty tool to pull your IRS tax information into the application.  You need to have already filed your taxes for it to work, but you can use estimates based on last year and once you file your taxes go back onto the site and update.  

The next thing you need to do it find out what additional steps need to be completed at the school your student is going to.  Check with the aid office, they typically have a website dedicated to spelling out the steps or you can always call.

Once you know what additional forms need to be completed, DO IT.  Don't wait on submitting, you could miss out on some opportunities if your student isn't "complete".  

Check with your local librarian, guidance counselor or State website (I suggest all 3) to find private scholarship sources to apply for.  If your student writes a really strong essay, they can use it again and again to apply for scholarships if it fits what they are asking for.

Check a search engine for scholarships like www.fastweb.com cast your net wide to find obscure little scholarships that your student would be eligible for.  I received in my undergraduate program a scholarship for Brown Eyed girls ~ legitimate scholarship that provided $500 a year that added up to a whole lot of books by the end of my degree!

Make sure that your student applied for any scholarship available through the school of choice and look over all paperwork that comes in for deadlines.

Once you have your award offer in hand, remember ~ it's not a bill, it's an award and not all awards are equal. 

If your student is applying to more than 1 school and you are deciding which school offered the "best" $$ you have to look at total cost for the year and then scholarship offered.  What looks like a huge scholarship may only cover 10% while a small offer and a low cost school could be covering 75%.  You also have to take into consideration Fit.  If the school is not right for your student and is not going to offer the degree they want, services they need or climate they are used too (climate can be cultural, size of school and Temperature) then sending them off because they offered more scholarship funds is spending good money after bad.  You want your students’ college experience to be a positive one.  If you pay out of pocket even $500 a semester to find out after a year it's not a good fit and your student is going to transfer you have just wasted your money. 

All things to keep in mind when navigating the financial aid waters ~  

Don't bame me for your poor planning!

Don't get me wrong, I wish I could do more for you, but when you wait to apply for financial aid until the last possible minute, don't apply for private scholarships and have not saved any $$ towards your education...why would poor planning on your part be my responsibility to fix??? IT ISN"T! 

Here is the scenario, Joe Blow from Idaho wants’ his son to come to my college.  My college is expensive, he can possibly get state grants, private scholarships, Vocational rehabilitation funding, and we also provide very generous scholarships...we don't cover the whole bill.  We are not a charitable foundation; we are a college that needs to make sure we have enough cash flow to keep us going... You waited until mid-June to apply for aid; -our priority deadline is March 1st!  You want a full ride, we can offer you half.  You think I am not being generous enough and call the President.   Will you ever learn that old saying "early bird gets the worm?"  Will you ever teach that important trait to your kid?? Not likely but I have hope.

So here goes, for all of you out there sending your little kittens off to college for the first time, here are the rules.

1. Know the deadlines, stick to them ~ they are not suggestions; if you had a deadline at work would you blow it off?
2. Review the financial aid website for your school, get to know what the steps are for aid and follow them.  If you had a task handed to you to complete and given a manual...would you just wing it?
3. Contact the financial aid office to make sure you've completed what you need to do, Don't HOUND your financial aid office by calling every day.  If your boss gave you a list of task's to take care of, would you follow up often to get the list again?
4. You've received some paperwork from the financial aid office and it looks like someone made a mistake, you should call and check with the office to find out.  The office either confirms that it is correct or confirms that it is an error and corrects it.  You do not then call every other office to complain (unless you actually get horrible customer service).  If you received a polite apology and immediate corrections are made, thank the person for helping and leave it alone.  The financial aid office is staffed with people, not robots.  Errors happen on occasion ~ we are all human, if you call and continue to harass the staff after they have fixed the issue ~ that makes you a problem that they do not want to deal with, and when future opportunities open up, you will end up on the bottom of the list!   (You catch more flies with Honey, vinegar makes you stink!)
5. Even with all the extra effort, you find that you still have a gap in funding and it looks like you won’t be able to send your child.  Call the financial aid office, tell them exactly how much you still need to come up with and ask them if they can point you in the right direction to find the funding.  If they still have scholarship funds available and the amount is reasonable, they will add it  If funding is not available, they will let you know about private scholarships, loans etc.  (look at #4, if you gave them vinegar the last time you called ~ you are out of luck!)

Happy hunting

Don't Pay for Financial Aid assistance

Sadly, companies are springing up all over the place lately offering to assist you in finding scholarship and financial aid for a small fee....DON"T DO IT!!!!  Many of these companies are just scamming you and will not be able to provide you with any additional assistance if any at all-They are taking your money and running.  Other companies will assist you, however all of this information is available to you already ~ you do not need to pay them to get the funding to pay for college.  Start by learning about the federal funding available at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/  There are additional links available to you through the Department of Education like http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/  Both of these websites are direct sites for Federal aid and you can rest assured especially if you check that your using a .gov site which indicates that is is indeed a Government site and note a fake.  You should also check with your local librarian for scholarships through the community ~ many will have listings available at the Library.  You can use the world wide web to also search for scholarships ~ but always be careful when entering your information that the site you are using is reputable http://www.fastweb.com/ is a good search engine to use and it allows you to search for scholarships using a selection of criteria that you choose.  I strongly suggest casting your net wide when it comes to private scholarships! 

Again, have to state that you NEVER should send in any $$ for financial aid ~ No application fees, no service fees ~ NO FEES.  If they are asking you to pay a fee for a scholarship, they are NOT a reputable scholarship organization.

Good Luck in your funding search, and remember that your financial aid office at the college of your dreams wants to ensure that you come to their college. ~ they are your partners in this process.