It's Almost Time to Apply for Financial Aid

It is time to begin thinking about filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) . The FAFSA, to be issued on January 1, 2010, will be available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov or via hard copy by request only. Filing online is highly recommended for both speed of transmission and accuracy of information.

There is no automatic income cut-off level for financial eligibility, so I recommend that you apply even if you think you will not qualify. The only sure way to determine your eligibility for need-based financial aid is to file the FAFSA. The likelihood of being eligible for some form of financial aid may be better than you think.

Some common financial aid myths include:

• Only students with high GPAs get all the aid
• If your older son or daughter did not qualify for aid, then neither will your other children
• Only extremely needy students can receive financial aid, so if your family income is high, then don't bother to apply

The primary responsibility for paying for a student's education rests with the student and his family. Financial aid programs are only intended to assist students and families with their college costs.

Students - Keep Track of Your College Applications

Colleges receive a ton of mail. As a result, there will be a delay between the moment a student's application material arrives at the college and the time it is processed and placed in the student's file. DON'T PANIC if you receive a note or email from a college saying that pieces of your application are missing. Colleges typically send these notices if the material is not in the student's file. That does not mean it is not in the admissions office somewhere. It is important, however, that students follow through and make sure that the college has received all of their material by using the either the college's application status link to check if their information has been received or by telephoning or by sending an email to check on the status of their application.


From a large public university: "I wish I had a photo that I could send you of the thousands of pieces of mail sitting in bins waiting to be processed."


From a mid-size private university: "We track mail received per day by app type. -Last year in November we received 900 frosh apps. - It took us four days to open this mail, let alone count, stamp and date it."


From a private college: "Typically we receive more than half our applications right at the deadline. They are processed in the order they arrive, and it takes us about 3 weeks to get all of the applications processed and in files."