The time has come for families to start completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form  (FAFSA). If you have a child who will be in college for the 2012-2013 school year you can access and submit your FAFSA form starting January 1^st. It can be accessed at www.fafsa.ed.gov To electronically sign the FAFSA, you need a personal identification number known as a PIN. To create a PIN, visit www.pin.ed.gov.  Keep it in a safe place since you will need it each year you file the FAFSA online.  For families of returning college students who have already completed the FAFSA once, you can use the Renewal FAFSA that is already populated with your basic information like name, SSN, address, etc.

While families can complete the paper version of the FAFSA, the online version makes the process more streamlined. The online version will omit questions that are not applicable based your answers to previous questions. Also, the online version will not allow you to skip any questions and it will notice if you have made any contradictory answers and will allow you to correct those mistakes. Finally, you can rest assured that completing the online FAFSA is very safe because it uses encryption, which sends all of your information in code.

Remember that it does not cost anything to complete and submit the FAFSA form. Even if you don’t think that you will qualify for federal aid, you should still complete an application. There are many factors besides family income that are taken into consideration when distributing aid. Also, some schools won’t consider you for institutional scholarships if you haven’t completed the FAFSA.

Get the process started as soon as possible. You don’t need to wait until you filed your income tax returns. For the FAFSA, you can use estimated tax information to file your FAFSA and verify that information once your tax returns are complete.  If you have questions while you are completing the FAFSA, schedule an appointment with a consultant at Advantage College Planning!

I often hear from parents who ask, “What can I do to help my high school student get prepared for college?” Here are my top five tips:

1. Help your student discover extracurricular interests and build a student resume with meaningful activities. Depth is more important than breadth! Find things that your student is really passionate about and find ways to explore those interests.
2. Create good study habits and time management skills in high school. I hear it all the time from students, “I never learned how to study.” There are great workshops in our area to learn these very important life skills!
3. Start researching colleges and taking tours during junior year. Don’t wait until senior year to start the process. Remember that the more time you have to explore and plan, the less stressful this process will be!
4. Talk money. Have a conversation with your student about what you can afford to pay per year for college expenses and/or how much you’re willing to borrow. In the end, it benefits students to set the expectation. And keep in mind the sticker price of a college is not necessarily what you will end up paying (at many private schools, it will be much less).
5. Take the SATs (or ACTs) seriously. Create a study plan or take a prep class. Your students scores will be heavily considered (at most colleges) for the purposes of admission and scholarships!

There is a lot of lingo in the higher ed world, and knowing it can mean the difference in thousands of dollars in financial aid! So what is a reach school and why will it have an affect on financial aid?

A reach school is a school where the student doesn’t have a good chance of getting in. For example, if your child has a 3.2 G.P.A. and a 1800 SAT score and applies to a school where the average applicant has a 3.6 G.P.A and a 2000 SAT score, it would be a reach for your child to gain admission.

I’ve talked to a lot of parents who encourage their students to apply to reach schools. Why not? The answer is in your financial aid package. Schools want to entice students who will help their averages (G.P.A. and SAT scores). Students who don’t help, may not receive as much free money (grants and scholarships).

To find the schools that will give your student the most financial aid, look for schools where your students scores are in the top 25% of the applicant pool.

Read more here: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-college-solution/2010/10/26/the-risks-of-applying-to-a-reach-school.html

Financial aid is getting more and more difficult to obtain; especially at state universities where budgets are being cut and tuition is on the rise.

This article by the Wall Street Journal outlines short-term and long-term strategies to maximize your financial aid opportunities. If you’ve  attended one of my seminars, you may recognize some of them!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703612804575222303415618316.html?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular

The average student takes five and a half years to graduate with an undergraduate degree. When parents are thinking about the total cost of college, most multiply the cost of attendance by four. Unfortunately that’s an underestimation of the actual cost of college.

You may wonder after reading, why is it taking students so long to graduate? The two more common answers:

1. “I transferred and had to attend school extra semesters to make up the credits that didn’t transfer.”

2. “I couldn’t afford to go to school full-time so I had to cut back to part-time and work more.”

Below is a link to an article from the Triangle Business Journal. Unfortunately, the title to this article is a little misleading. It’s not about how many students finish college, but rather about how long it takes to graduate.

Many Start, Few Finish College in NC

http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2010/04/05/story2.html?ana=e_ph

Private schools are slashing prices more than ever! The average tuition discount for freshman at private schools in 2008 was 42%, up from 39% in 2007. As I discuss in my “10 Keys to Maximize Financial Aid” seminar, families shouldn’t dismiss schools based on sticker price, as this article confirms:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/03/31/discounting

Along with the health care bill, a massive overhaul of the student loan system was signed into law by President Obama yesterday. As soon as this year, students will only be able to borrow federal student loans from the government, instead of private banks and institutions like College Foundation of North Carolina.

Read more:

http://www.smartmoney.com/Personal-Finance/College-Planning/The-Health-Care-Bill-and-Your-Student-Loans/

According to a recent article in the NY Times, guidance counselors are having less of an affect than ever on high school students and provide, “little meaningful advice about college or careers.” It’s not a surprise, considering the average guidance counselor in NC is responsible for 250+ students!

You can read the original article here:

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/guidance/