Alice Dunston
Here's the scene: Your high school senior or you are
turning that final page of the high school book: last
semester of senior year. You've found more possible
colleges for next year than you ever knew existed, and
you've done lots of preparation for the big application
blitz. And now here's the monster scary question. "How
will I ever pay for my college education?"
This is a scary question, to be sure. But there's help!
Others have gone down this path. Here are some guidelines
and suggestions for your journey.
There are three kinds of financial aid: grants,
scholarships and loans. Grants (federal, state and
private) are the best! You never have to pay them back!
So are scholarships; they're free too! Finally, and
usually necessary, there are student loans. You need to
pay them back after you graduate.
Although there are many steps to obtaining financial aid,
the most important is for the parent or legal guardian to
fill out the FAFSA. This stands for Free Application for
Federal Student Aid. Every family applying for financial
aid is required to complete this form. It is easiest to
fill it out online, although it's also available in paper
form.
But first things first. You can't start filling out the
FAFSA until you and your parents have completed your
Federal Income Tax forms. This is the time to prepare all
financial records. Don't procrastinate. Just make sure it
gets done by early January. Don't wait for your W-2 to
arrive; there are many other figures most people need to
get together to get both forms done.
FAFSA is a very fair process. It considers the full range
of college costs, including tuition, room and board,
travel, materials, books, and fees. It then figures out
how much grant money you are entitled to. Finally, it
calculates your family's contribution to your education.
Completing the FAFSA throws you into the pool for a Federal
Pell Grant. The earlier you get your form submitted, the
more money is available to you. After all the money for
each year has been allocated, there isn't any more until
the next year. This is why you must apply early!
Colleges dole out large amounts of scholarship money each
year, but there again, you need to apply early. Request
that your FAFSA be sent to each college you apply to. All
colleges and universities use the FAFSA to figure the
amount of scholarship money they can give you.
You will need to apply to each college's financial aid
program separately because they don't just use the FAFSA.
Ask the financial aid office, or look at their application
online. Check the requirements for all grants. Most are
based on two factors: the number of applicants and the
information you submit. It's common for scholarship
applications to ask for their own transcripts, letters of
recommendation, and other information. And each has its
own deadline! Keep track these deadlines, and don't be
late!
Ask administrators at your high school, teachers,
counselors, ministers or employers for letters of
recommendation, not relatives. Give those you request
letters of recommendation from stamped, addressed
envelopes, sheets explaining the deadline date and the
purpose of the recommendation and a resume sheet about
yourself that gives your personal data. It's also nice to
provide a Request for Letter of Recommendation Form, which
is available in your high school counseling office.
Be sure you sign up for all the important tests, such as
the SAT, ACT and achievement tests (SAT II) if necessary.
There is a vast amount of private grant and scholarship
money available in addition to Federal and State grant
money and scholarship fund money at individual colleges.
Much of it goes unawarded each year because the targeted
student groups don't know it exists.
Your high school college counselor will inform you of some
of the grants and free money available to you. However, YOU
will have to apply for it. Remember, if you don't ask, you
won't receive!
Your high school guidance office probably has a large grant
library, and the counselor is there to help you. The
amount of information available online is virtually
unlimited; just start surfing. Don't forget to visit the
research section of your public library, either. The
librarian can direct you to all the grant books to search
through. Although there are some really unusual ones, most
are for certain nationalities or majors, or are based on
your grades. Additionally, you can enter a large variety of
essay contests.
Some colleges are "need blind." This means the admissions
office at that school accepts students without examining
their financial information. Once you've been accepted to
such a school, it finds a way to pay for your education if
you need assistance. This is one criterion you may use to
decide which schools to apply to.
If nothing else comes through, you can always apply for a
student loan. And good luck in searching for scholarships!
*****************
Alice Dunston
is a college counselor who has assisted many
young people in finding the money they need to attend the
college or university of their choice.
Get more articles about financial aid and education at
http://www.dFINANCIALAID.com
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