Research and Organization

Researching colleges can be a big job.  I don’t see why parents shouldn’t help with it, as long as parents aren’t trying to influence the decision that their children are making by only presenting the information that supports the colleges they favor.  I do think that it shouldn’t be only the parents’ job to do this however.   The person who is going to go to the university should be involved in all aspects of the college search, application, and getting financial aid, and the only person involved in some aspects.

There can be a huge number of deadlines to keep track of,  if the student is applying to more than a few universities.  It can be particularly helpful if the parent makes a calendar of these deadlines to keep the student from missing one.  Other organizational tools like notebooks or folders could also benefit the student during this process.  Even making folders on the computer could be helpful.  Perhaps finding information that the student will need for their applications is another organizational task that a parent could do to assist in the process.

Here’s what Shawn Abbott, Director of Admissions of Stanford University, has to say about parent involvement in a YouTube video:

Financial Aid Process

I see no reason why a student shouldn’t be involved in the financial aid process, although some parents may want to keep their financial information private.  Because of that, filling out the FAFSA is probably something that more parents than students do.

The only part of the financial aid process that only the student should do is writing essays for scholarships that are independent of the colleges.  Even here I see no harm in parents reading those essays for grammar, spelling and to see whether the essays convey the points the student is trying to make.

I hope that gives you an idea of what you can do to support your student during the search and application process.

Blessings,

Bonnie

VIDEO TUTORIAL
The Financial Aid staff at the University of California, Santa Barbara has designed a video tutorial on filling out the FAFSA called “Eight Easy Steps to the FAFSA: A Student’s Guide to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.” Because it is divided into eight segments, you can use all of it or just the segments for the sections of the FAFSA that are giving you trouble. Two people named Natalie and George go through the entire FAFSA line by line. They are a little too happy for my taste, but that might reflect my previous hours of struggling with the FAFSA.

Help from the FAFSA Itself
There’s a help button in the lower left-hand corner of every page of the FAFSA that you fill out online. This will give you help on the specific questions that are on that page, as well as links to FAQs and Customer Service.

The FAQ for the FAFSA says that it will take you less than an hour to fill it out. HA!!! It takes less than an hour IF you’ve already found all the information and filled in the worksheet they provide,which is basically a FAFSA that you can print. If you’re just copying answers from the paper to the web, then, yes, it can be done in less than an hour. Otherwise, allow more time, and DON’T wait until the day before the deadline for your state or college. That’s just asking for trouble.

Believe me, I know. The first FAFSA I ever filled out was done in the middle of the night the day before I thought it was due. Luckily, I was wrong and I had more time. Unluckily, I didn’t know that and my internet connection kept crashing. It was a rough night. By the way, if your internet connection crashes while you are doing your FAFSA on the Web, it will automatically save it and you will be able to access it in 45 minutes. (Of course, if you’re panicking because you think you’ve got just hours until it’s due, 45 minutes seems like a lifetime.)

Besides the FAQs, there is a link to “Web Customer Service Chat.” However, when I tried to access that, I got a screen that said that the following browsers had not been certified for use with Live help: Netscape Navigator (all platforms), AOL (Windows), Firefox (all platforms), Internet Explorer 7.x (Windows). Since I use Internet Explorer 7, I could not use it.

COMING SOON
“The Secrets of Financial Aid” – an ebook with all the secrets I’ve discovered in my comprehensive research of the subject. Make sure you’re on my email list, so you can get a copy as soon as it is released. Just fill in the boxes on the right hand site of this blog. Blessings,
Bonnie

Even if you are fortunate enough to have a job and make a decent living, you want to fill out the FAFSA. Many colleges are so expensive that even people making good money can qualify for financial aid. Also, if you’re going to have to take out a loan, government loans have better interest rates and terms than private loans. The government will pay the interest on some federal loans while the student is in college, and repayment of some federal loans don’t begin until after the student graduates or stops going to college. You can’t get a government loan for college without filling out the FAFSA.

So get going! The official FAFSA site is www.fafsa.ed.gov. Note that it is not a .com site. If you go to a .com site you may be asked to pay to have the FAFSA submitted.

If You Need Help
If you need help in completing the FAFSA, check out the government publication “Completing the FAFSA, 2009-2010”. This has an explanation for each question asked in the FAFSA. You can also call toll-free 1-800-433-3243 or TTY users (for the hearing impaired) can call 1-800-730-8913.

COMING SOON: “The Secrets of Financial Aid” – an ebook with all the secrets I’ve discovered in my comprehensive research of the subject. Make sure you’re on my email list, so you can get a copy as soon as it is released. Click here to sign up. You’ll also get a free copy of the ebook “A Parent’s Survival Guide to College” by insider Neil P. O’Donnell, academic advisor and professor at a private college in NY.

Blessings,Bonnie

Since the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a snapshot of a certain day in terms of assets, you can control the assets somewhat. If you are planning on making a large purchase in the near future and you’ve been saving some cash for this, you might want to go ahead and buy that big purchase so the cash is gone. I wouldn’t say to go out and buy things just so you have less cash, but buying something a little earlier than you planned is another thing entirely.

If you’re going to owe the IRS, one of the things you could do is pay your taxes before you fill out the FAFSA. You need to do your taxes, or at least estimate them, before filling out the FAFSA, so you’ll know if you owe taxes. I know it’s normal to wait to pay until you absolutely have to, but in this instance, it might be better to go ahead and pay, if you have the cash. If you’re going to have to put your tax payment, or anything else, on a credit card or loan, then it won’t help with the EFC, because they don’t take debt into consideration.

While, it would be financially positive for the EFC to pay the taxes before you fill out the FAFSA, don’t let that be a reason that you put off completing the FAFSA. You don’t want to miss a deadline or miss college-funded financial aid because they’ve run out. (See last blog.)

If you’re looking at long-term savings, then consider that a larger percentage of your child’s assets than your assets will be included in the EFC . If you’re wondering whether to put something in your name or your child’s, putting it in your name will save you money, as far as the EFC is concerned. Of course, if it’s already in your child’s name, I don’t think you can legally move it.

Which brings me to this important note: I’m not an accountant, a financial planner or a lawyer, so before you do anything that might impact you financially or legally, you should consult a professional.

I hope everyone is getting their FAFSA’s done without a lot of hair-tearing. If you have questions about federal financial aid or filling out the FAFSA, you can call toll-free 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or go to Completing the FAFSA, a 68-page ebook, prepared by the federal government, with lots of answers to your questions.

Blessings,

Bonnie