Tips for Applying for Financial Aid

• Deadlines may vary dramatically but whatever they are, stick to them. Don’t lose the opportunity to qualify for aid simply because you procrastinated. Keep financial aid deadlines on the family calendar, in the kitchen, or in your date book. Some colleges operate on a first-come, first-served basis, particularly those that make rolling decisions, so keep that in mind if your son or daughter is a procrastinator by nature. Carefully investigate what requirements there are for Early Decision or Early Action applications
  
  
• Keep photocopies/hard copies of all submitted materials marked with dates sent. That way if anything is lost in the mail, misdirected through cyberspace, misplaced at the college office (yes, they are human), you can replace it right away.
  
  
• Maintain a file for each aid application. Hold on to all correspondence. Print and file all e-mail messages. Keep a record of phone calls (names and dates, too). Happily, many offices have toll-free numbers and calling hours in the evening and on weekends. While some colleges will send reminders if any piece of the application is missing, many will not. However, more and more colleges are making it possible to log onto their Web sites with a PIN number to determine if admission or financial aid documents have not arrived.
  
  
• Try to file your federal tax forms early, if possible. The FAFSA and PROFILE™ refer to the 1040 form and, if actual figures are available, the form will be more accurate, and you won’t need to update it later. If you cannot file early, you should use your best estimates. For example, the last pay stub for the previous year will show what your total wages were. You should not wait to fill out the FAFSA or PROFILE™ for tax forms that will be completed later than the application is due. Financial aid officers can update estimates electronically with actual figures, once available.
  
  
• Follow directions carefully. If you complete forms by hand, rather than computer, be certain that the writing is neat and clear on the applications and that each question is answered as carefully and completely as possible. The forms give very specific instructions. For your own purposes, underline deadlines and very important points.
  
  
• Use the designated space for comments and notes about special circumstances. If necessary, add an additional letter to the college’s own application.
  
  
• Make an appointment to meet with a financial aid officer to discuss special circumstances. Offices often schedule telephone visits or will correspond via e-mail. Be certain to write down the name of your contact, and stay in touch when you need questions answered. Keep toll-free numbers and Web sites handy.
  
  
• Make certain that your son or daughter’s name and social security number (or the ID number assigned by a particular college) is on every form and document. Be consistent and use formal names, not nicknames. Also, if your last name is different than that of your child, make sure your name and relationship is listed clearly on correspondence.
  
  
• If you need to revise information originally submitted to the federal processor, these revisions should be made on the SAR. The Department of Education will send the SAR to you as soon as a week after you file the FAFSA electronically. If you have a change to make in your initial application, it needs to be made on the SAR. Follow CSS’s own correction procedure for making changes on the PROFILE™.
  
  
• Follow-up. Make sure that you, as a parent, have done your part of the job and check up on your child’s responsibilities. Keep in mind that procrastination may jeopardize your chance of receiving aid. Check with the financial aid office and find out if anything is missing from your folder. Warning: Incomplete folders don’t get considered at all at many institutions.
  
  
• Put plenty of time into the financial aid process. Students often spend months—and sometimes even years—corresponding with an admission office to get an application filed and completed. Usually, the time spent on the financial aid application is a matter of weeks. Both application processes are important. Keep that in mind and spend adequate time preparing both sets of forms. Consider the time spent as an investment. A director of financial aid remembers, “A parent once told me he paid his son minimum wage to research and apply for scholarships and financial aid in order to reinforce the importance of the financial commitment.” If you invest 40 hours in the financial aid process and your child is awarded $15,000 worth of aid, that’s a salary of $375 per hour!
  
  
• Don’t wait until after you receive an admission decision before applying for financial aid. Students sometimes think that they won’t be admitted so they don’t bother to apply for aid or they hope that by not applying for aid they may be enhancing their chances of admission. If you think that your family might need aid, apply on time. If you wait until too late in the admission cycle, you may be disqualifying your child only on the basis of timing.
  
  Remember, apply for aid now, even if you think you won’t need it until your child’s second or third year of college. Some colleges will not consider an aid application from a student who didn’t apply at the time of admission until the student has earned two years worth of credit.
  
  
• Upperclassmen are generally expected to contribute more in self-help—loan and Federal Work-Study. Also, expected summer contributions rise from freshman year to senior year. Be certain to find out what the expectations will be for your child.
  
  
• Special circumstances such as rental property ownership, inheritance, home refinancing, or remarriage may affect the way the EFC is calculated. Consult a financial aid officer.
  
  
• If your family applies for financial aid and is not awarded any, either because your situation was assessed as no-need or because there simply was not enough aid available, investigate the possibility of reapplying and being awarded aid at a later date. If you will never receive aid, you need to accept that fact and make appropriate plans. Don’t get yourself in a situation where you can’t pay the bill or your child will have to work an exorbitant number of hours a week in addition to going to class. This is a formula for disaster.
  
  
• Remember to apply to a "financial-aid safety school." Be certain that your son or daughter will have at least one choice for college that you can afford even if you receive little or no financial assistance.
  
  
• Investigate additional sources of aid available to you through your employer, church, fraternal organizations, etc. Call your company’s human resources office for suggestions and keep your eyes and ears open for announcements in the paper and at meetings.