Why College Students Should File a FAFSA Every Year

I always encourage students and parents to file a FAFSA each year even if the student is never awarded any grants or work study, because having a completed FAFSA and Student Aid Report is like having an insurance policy or a line of credit. Unless students and their parents have saved the full cash price of attending college before the student starts college, there’s always the possibility that a financial crisis will arise that will require a student loan. Over the years I have seen even well-off families struggle through all kinds of financial emergencies such as; natural disasters, divorce, serious illnesses, accidents, job losses, and the list goes on and on. Having a student aid award, even if it only contains loans, will allow the student to stay in school during a short term crisis and leaves one less thing for parents to worry about.

If you do find yourself in a financial crisis, but haven’t completed the FAFSA it is almost never too late to file (click the link below) but keep in mind that it can take up to several weeks to process before the student can expect to see an aid report. Additionally, some aid is awarded on a first come first served basis and the deadlines for state and institutional aid are usually in the spring or summer. If, after the FAFSA is filed, your family’s financial situation or income changes due to a job loss, marriage, divorce or separation, medical expenses etc. you should set up an appointment with a financial aid counselor at the student’s college to have a review or “judgment review” to see if the student’s aid may be increased in light of the family’s current financial situation.

To view the deadlines for each academic year, click HERE

The Senior Summer

The senior summer is when the train slowly starts to leave the station. Your child is pulling away from you and family life in general in preparation for the day he leaves “for real”. Just like a train, the process starts slowly with a great deal of caution and preparation, but the momentum increases with each passing day until you and your child realize it can’t stop.

I suggest planning a 20-30 minute chat each week in which you review mail, emails, and other documents sent from the college and take action on them. If nothing has arrived that week, have a brief talk about any of the topics listed on the checklist below. 

Paperwork from the college

Usually colleges send, or have online, checklists for new freshmen. These are often set up on a timeline that you can use to plan these discussions and get organized. By tackling these on a weekly basis, you are also showing your child how to prioritize, break down a long list of responsibilities into easily accomplished tasks, and avoid procrastination by working steadily toward a goal.

A typical senior summer checklist: In addition to talking with your child about these important items, it is helpful to remind him that if he has not received some type of confirmation of completing the tasks, he may not have completed them.

• Receive financial aid award letter and accept or reject awards - This is actually done online by the student when he logs onto his account at: http://fafsa.ed.gov, and after he receives word via email that his FAFSA has been processed.
• Schedule a date for orientation and enrollment – Your child won’t be a college student at all without taking these steps that usually occur together during freshman orientation. Make sure he’s signed up for an orientation and enrollment program and has received a confirmation of the program’s date(s)
• Placement exams – Are often administered as part of orientation and enrollment, but your child should check to confirm this and sign up for testing if required. Some colleges will not let students enroll without placement exam scores.
• Complete scholarship applications – This is an ongoing process, and many colleges use the student’s completed FAFSA in conjunction with a separate scholarship application to award scholarships. Scholarships are good!
• Residence hall applications, contracts, and deposits – Unless your child is commuting, he will need a place to live on or near campus. Many colleges require students to live on campus during their first year. Make sure your child has completed the application for housing, a contract if necessary, and has paid any required deposits to hold his spot in the residence halls.
• Proof of immunizations –  Some colleges will not allow students to attend class, or will cancel enrollment without proof of immunizations or a written refusal form.
• Meal plan selection and deposits – in addition to a place to live, your child will need to eat. Most meal plans require a contract, deposit, or partial payment before the semester begins.
• Greek letter organization registration – Is required of students who are interested in joining a social fraternity or sorority. The formal recruitment process usually has its own set of forms, fees and deadlines to follow. * Not all colleges will hold formal recruitment in the fall.

Save Money by Avoiding the Dorm Décor Hype

You don’t need to read one of the many news stories about spending on dorm décor to know that college-bound students and their parents mean big money for retailers. Just like the buying frenzy you had to manage when your children were newborns, retailers know that “Back to campus” is a spending frenzy based on emotions. Back to campus spending has become a $50 BILLION per year industry, and the average amount spent per student to stock and decorate even the smallest of rooms is slightly more than $900.00. In my opinion that’s way too much, and there are a number of ways students and parents can avoid spending hundreds or thousands on back to campus costs.

1. Choose a traditional residence hall if the student is living on campus. This is THE MOST EFFECTIVE way to save money throughout the year because students who live in a traditional hall (shared room with a communal bathroom and lounge/kitchenette down the hall) only have to stock and decorate one, small room.  If your student chooses a suite or apartment, not only do they usually cost much more to rent per semester, the student is responsible for stocking their own living room, and kitchen, and is usually also responsible for cleaning and stocking their own bathroom.
2. Know what is included in the cost of the room. Most rooms are already furnished by the university and include things like built-in desk lamps, curtains or blinds, mirrors, shelves etc. Also consider what items are available for students to use. Each floor or hall usually has a communal kitchenette or at least a refrigerator and microwave, and many halls allow students to check out vacuums, tools, and other useful items. Avoid the temptation to buy things that are already provided for the student.
3. Separate needs from wants. In reality, the only thing that most students NEED to purchase is a set of sheets for their bed, assuming that it is a different size from the bed they have a home. They probably have everything else they will need, or can assemble their list of needs from things you already have in your home. Granted, it is nice to have storage bins to move and store items or maybe an area rug to cover a tile floor, but these things are not required and even if you do choose to purchase them, they are low cost items that can be used for all four years and beyond. NOTE: chose a dark-colored area rug.
4. Borrow it. This is actually a fun experiment for social media. Let’s say your college-bound student has a short list of items they still want for their dorm room; coffee pot, posters, area rugs, storage bins, step stool – whatever. Send the list out on social media to family and friends and watch these things flood in. There are probably a number of people who have exactly what you’re looking for and are willing to loan or simply give these things to your student.
5. Remember this fact. This is a temporary home in which your student will most likely just sleep and change clothes. Studying, socializing, and eating will usually take place elsewhere.

http://www.businessinsider.com/average-spending-on-dorm-decor-skyrockets-2012-9

Senior Summer "Must-dos"

Colleges often send, or have online, checklists for new freshmen. These are usually on a timeline that you can use to plan these discussions and get organized. By tackling these on a weekly basis, you are also showing your child how to prioritize, break down a long list of responsibilities into easily accomplished tasks, and avoid procrastination by working steadily toward a goal. If the college did not provide a checklist or you can’t find one, the one below is similar what most colleges will send.

In addition to talking with your child about these important items, it is helpful to remind him that if he has not received some type of confirmation of completing the tasks on the checklist, he may not have completed them after all, and should confirm with the college.

Have your child keep all papers from the college in a folder and file emails in their own clearly marked file. Keep this information accessible and be sure to have it handy when calling the college or visiting for tours or orientation. If your child finds that he needs to call the college about a document he has received, directly calling the person or the office that sent the document is best, and it helps immensely to have the document on hand. Teach your child how to file documents and retrieve them whether they are on paper or electronic.

* It never hurts to scan or photograph a paper document for future reference. It doesn’t have to be perfectly filed, it just has to be accessible.

Senior summer checklist

·      Complete the Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FAFSA) – This is usually completed in January or February, but if your child has not already completed the FAFSA he can do so at any time. Fortunately, as a parent, you can keep track of whether or not this has been accomplished because you will need to provide information from your tax return in order for him to complete it.⁵

·      Receive a financial aid award letter and accept or reject awards - This is actually done online by the student when he logs onto his account at: http://fafsa.ed.gov, and after he receives word via email that his FAFSA has been processed.

·      Register for orientation and enrollment – Your child won’t be a college student at all without enrolling, which usually occurs during freshman orientation. Make sure he’s signed up for an orientation and/or enrollment program and has received a confirmation of the program’s date(s)

·      Take placement exams – These are often administered as part of orientation and enrollment, but your child should check to confirm this and sign up for testing if it is required. Some colleges will not let students enroll without placement exam scores.

·      Submit a final high school/college transcript – Some high schools will do this automatically if they also sent one after the student’s junior year; most require a written request. If your child has taken any classes at a different college, he will need to have an official transcript sent from that college as well.

·      Complete scholarship applications – This is an ongoing process that I will discuss at length in a later chapter, but many colleges use the student’s completed FAFSA in conjunction with a separate scholarship application to award scholarship. Scholarships are good!

·      Residence hall applications, contracts, and deposits – Unless your child is commuting, he will need a place to live on or near campus. Many colleges require students to live on campus during their first year. Make sure your child has completed the application for housing, a contract if necessary, and has paid the typical deposit to hold his spot in the residence halls. Receiving confirmation of these deposits is essential.

·      Submit proof of immunizations – I’ll talk more about what immunizations are usually required and recommended later in the book. Some colleges will not allow students to attend class, or will cancel enrollment without proof of immunizations or a written refusal form.

·      Meal plan selection and deposits – In addition to a place to live, your child will need to eat. Most meal plans require a deposit or partial payment. If you’re up in the air about which plan to choose, review the options to see if there is a reasonable incentive to purchase a larger meal plan over a smaller one. If not, start with the smallest one possible; he can always increase it later.

·      Greek letter organization registration – Is required of students who are interested in joining a social fraternity or sorority. The formal recruitment process usually has its own set of forms, fees, and deadlines to follow as well. More on this later in the book.