For Parents, On Financial Aid

After being accepted by a college or university, the next big hurdle is financial aid.  The Financial Aid process can feel like a maze of details and forms - merit scholarships, need-based scholarships, FAFSA, additional applications, tax information, grants, loans, and on and on.  So how to maneuver through this mess?  Every year, Amber Thompson our registrar, hosts a financial aid meeting with Senior and Junior parents.  This meeting is led by an admissions counselor from a local college and has proved very helpful in years past.  One of the major topics covered at this meeting is the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  The federal government and many colleges use the FAFSA as a measurement to determine the amount of financial aid your family would need in order to send a student to college.  Below I have included an article from College Make Simple, a website with tips and tricks for the college application process.  This particular tip is about the importance of filling out the FAFSA even if you think it won't make a difference in your financial aid package.
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Dear College Made Simple reader,

Every year, a number of families make a huge mistake.

They don’t fill out and submit their FAFSA.

Some are guilty of simple mistakes – waiting too long to submit their application, not correcting errors in an application – but the majority who make this mistake do it on purpose.

They figure they’re not eligible for financial aid, due to income or savings they think is too high. Why bother doing the application, when there’s no money that will come your way?

If you choose not to fill out a FAFSA – no matter what your situation – you could be shooting yourself in the foot. In today’s College Made Simple report, we explain why…

- Scott

Financial Aid Eligibility: Why It’s Always a Good Idea To Submit the FAFSA

Most people who don’t fill out the FAFSA think they won’t be able to get the money. They could be wrong.

Situations change. Jobs are sometimes lost, health issues sometimes arise that prevent work (or drain savings). A new baby might come into the picture – or, unfortunately, a bread winner might pass.

The future can’t be known – but one thing you can know, if you don’t file a FAFSA, you can’t adapt to changing circumstances. Even if you won’t be eligible for aid today – you might be tomorrow.

Further, many merit scholarships require a FAFSA. So even if you don’t qualify from need, you might qualify thanks to achievement.

Of course, if you don’t fill out a FAFSA, you’ll never find out.

Finally, any student loans you might take out require a FAFSA as well. Even if you’re perfectly capable of affording school – sometimes it makes sense to take out a loan anyway.

In some cases it’s to avoid running down retirement savings – or, perhaps, to give a student a fine lesson in financial life as well, even if just with a token loan.

In short, there are a few good reasons to fill out a FAFSA that have nothing to do with need. And, as a type of insurance, everyone should fill out a FAFSA, just in case a family’s financial fortune takes a sudden turn south.

To your college funding & admissions success,

Scott Weingold

Co-Founder, College Planning Network LLC

Publisher, CollegeMadeSimple.com – The free educational resource of College Planning Network