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

College Parenting 101: Why we can't just "let go"

If you attended college any time before 1990 there were probably no parent orientations, parents’ associations, or family weekends at your college. In fact, if your parents ever spent any time at your college beyond move-in day or graduation you were part of a small minority. Obviously, things have changed dramatically over the past few decades, and colleges and universities are ramping up programs for the parents and families of their students that were completely absent 30 years ago. Some reasons for these changes in programs are:

1. College costs much more. I mean, much more, than it did 30 years ago.  I know I don’t need to tell you this since you are still swooning from the sticker shock you have undoubtedly experienced in the past several months. With these higher costs come higher expectations, especially from parents who are footing most, or at least more, of students’ college expenses.
2. We live in the age of twenty-four hour per day, seven day per week , three hundred and sixty five day per year communication and information. With cell phones, video chat, and social media readily available to almost everyone, we have come to expect the ability to find information and contact anyone, in any place, at any time immediately. This means that when students have even small problems they can immediately call a parent for advice instead of having to wait to find a phone. Years ago, waiting to find a phone, and the time to call one’s parent, meant that we had the time to process problems and decide whether or not they were worth discussing with a family member, which they usually weren’t.
3. Constant access to news media from around the world also means that any crisis that occurs at any college in the country, or anywhere in the world seems like it happened next door and is surely a crisis where our child attends. We fear that it is threatening them personally, instead of an isolated incident. We no longer have the comfortable insulation of time and distance to temper these sensational news stories and safety is always on our minds.
4. Our generation of parents has had fewer children than previous generations, and we have been more involved in their lives both in and out of school. In other words, we have a lot of time, money, effort, and love investing in our 2.06 children and their success. We have been told since they were in utero that we are 100% responsible, both socially and legally, for their care and behavior. Now, all of a sudden when they enroll in college, we are supposed to simply let go of this “adult” who it seems was just yesterday hitting a baseball off a tee. Letting go of your child is easier said than done, and most of us, and our college-bound children face a steep learning curve in these lessons of letting go.

What are Typical Mandatory Fees?

Depending on how your child’s college compiles bills, you may be surprised to notice that “fees” sometimes cost more than tuition. So, what exactly are these “fees” and why do they cost so much?Almost every college charges some kind of fees and they cost so much because they cover so many things. Fees usually cover the nuts and bolts of the university. Obviously, a college has physical structures to maintain, utilities to pay, water to treat, lawns to mow, and custodians to pay, these are usually lumped into something called facilities fees.

Other fees may cover technology including hardware maintenance, software licenses, print stations, the IT folks who make the computers and servers work. Still more fees may cover all the student events and activities that keep your child engaged in fun, positive activities instead some of the rather unhealthy activities that some students enjoy in bars and nightclubs.  In short, fees cover most of the non-academic foundations of the university and make it a nice, safe place to live and learn. At community, technical, and online colleges, these fees are often much lower, but also cover fewer amenities, so where your child attends college will make a big difference in his fee requirements.

Here's another way to look at fees - Consider all of the things that your child spent money on all through high school.  There were probably several small fees for several events, activities, sports teams, and field trips that you paid each month as the need arose, and if you ever kept a running total you'd easily see a figure between $600.00 to $6000.00 per year. But, now that your child is in college, those expenses are rolled into a lump sum called "activity fees".

Having said that, it is absolutely essential that you and your child know exactly where your fee money goes. Students who pay fees for a recreation center need to use that center unless they are interested in throwing away their money. Students whose fees include usage of the campus bus system can save thousands by taking the bus, that they’ve already paid for, instead of using a car

Discussing Family Finances With Your College Student

When I was a child people didn’t really talk about finances or how much they earned. I never asked my parents what they earned because I knew that the subject was taboo and there was no point in asking a question to which there would be no answer. My only reliable gauge of whether or not they were having financial trouble was how often they argued about money, and how nasty the arguments got. In short, I knew nothing about my family’s finances except that the lack of money caused arguments and family-wide tension. If you are of my generation and are now sending your child to college you may have had a similar experiences growing up, and if your own child doesn’t know much about family finances you need to have a frank discussion with him before he starts college.

This discussion is important for two reasons. First it expresses to your child how much you have to work to provide for the family and second it helps him understand his piece of the family’s financial pie. When I talk to college parents each summer, I cover this topic briefly and when I do, the audience grows tense.  While I understand the desire to take care of the tuition and fees for your child so he can focus on academics instead of money, it doesn’t mean that your child should remain in the dark about where the money comes from and how it's used.  

1. Discuss the college financing puzzle with your child. It’s rare for families to be able to pay cash for tuition, fees, room, board, books, and spending money. Even students from families that have saved diligently still seek out scholarships, part time jobs, or maybe even loans. Families often find that while tuition and fees can be paid from a 529 plan, room and board needs to be paid off monthly through a payment plan, and grandparents end up sending some cash to cover books or spending money. Most families collect funds from a variety of sources and have to assemble the college financing puzzle a little differently each year. Make sure your student understands this puzzle and actively helps you build it.

2. Talk about how he can help. Part time or summer employment, scholarships, student loans, graduating in 4 years, living frugally while in college; all of these are ways that parents hope their children will help them afford college, but we don’t always clearly express these expectations to our children. I have numerous conversations with parents halfway through each year in which they explain that they assumed their child would find a part time job to help pay for spending money and books. Unfortunately, the child was unaware of this assumption and never bothered to find a job. Instead, he’s used an entire year’s worth of spending money in four months. If you expect your child to live within a set budget or bring home $80.00 per week to reimburse you for his meal plan, tell him. Be clear and give him exact numbers so he knows that not only will he need to find a job, he’ll need to find one where he can earn at least $80.00 per week after taxes.

3. Plan for family financial emergencies. Having worked with college parents for nine years I’ve seen a lot of families go through a lot of financial problems. While there are some sad but rare occasions when a parent uses funds from a PLUS loan for a personal shopping spree or a vacation, most of the time financial emergencies happen because of job loss, illness and medical bills, or divorce. Your child deserves to know what your plan is in case these situations arise and it’s beneficial for everyone to work out a strategy to try to keep your child in college. This may mean that your child switches to part time status, transfers to a college near home, or has to take out a loan. Keep in mind that the goal of earning a college degree doesn’t have to change, but the strategies used to achieve that goal may.