Financial Aid Packages are arriving!! What is Financial Aid? In one word... Money! Sometimes it's money you can keep GRANT / SCHOLARSHIP and sometimes its money you can't LOANS (thumbs down, I'll explain in another entry) anywho.
How you apply for financial aid, you do this by filling out the FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid (click start here) on the website and put in your information to create your account. If it says something about your browser download Firefox 3.6, I had to this to access the site. Then select your academic year for example I selected 2011/2012 application because I need financial aid for Fall 2011 & Spring 2012. You'll need to fill out this form every year you plan to attend college. It looks like a long irritating process but it really isn't. If you don't feel comfortable doing it on your own you can contact the school's financial aid office & they'll be more than happy to help you or go to your local library maybe call first and one of the nice quiet people there would help. Also, if you have college aged children they can help too it they've been through it before. The process is probably fresh in their minds and they'll most likely feel really confident being able to help you. I do my best to keep my mom on track with hers although we're far away a reminder never hurts.
What you'll need before you begin the Fafsa, regardless of how you go about completing it you will need your completed tax info, Social Security Number (don't worry it's a government site as long as you have virus protection your private info should be fine), and if you aren't working or didn't have to file it's even easier. If someone claims you as a dependent you'll need them to put in their info. The great thing about the fafsa is the "save" option. You don't have to finish the whole thing in one sitting. With our busy lives we never know what will come up.
Completing the Fafsa in a timely manner is one key to the amount of financial aid you'll receive. My birthday being at the begining of the year helps me to remember when to complete mine. You can find out when your fafsa deadline is by calling the school or looking on the fafsa website. I'd just say to be safe have it done by Feb or June depending on your semester. The other reason time is key is first it has to be processed, then you may have corrections (you want to add a school or realize you marked your residency incorrectly), those corrections have to be processed, and you may get selected for Verification.
Verification think of it as the equivalent of being picked at the airport and they say "you've been selected" as if it's a good thing, so it's basically a double check if you will. You'll have to fill out 1-3 forms and maybe send a copy of your tax info. Now before mailing it if you have a printer that can fax (I use an Epson Artisan 800 like the one to the left, good price and cheap ink) or a library near by it will obviously be a more expedient which means a faster response. This year I was selected for verification. I mailed the forms (snail mail) back in May and just finally received my award letter. This may be something you never deal with and if so that's a great thing. I just don't want you to feel just because you've been selected that you won't get your financial aid.
Accepting and Declining Aid is your next step. You will either receive a letter in the mail or an email to your regular email address or Webadvisor Email (section on your school's website that keeps all your info and helps you register for classes and so much more) If within a week before classes you don't hear or receive anything contact your school's financial aid office give them your social or student id if necessary. Sometimes you get a little lost in the system but they find you when you call.
I hope this has been somewhat informative and helpful. If not, throw tomatoes at me and I'll plant them. You all enjoy the remainder of your summer and happy belated 4th of July.
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