Completion of Federal Online Form is Essential for Aid of Any Type
by James A. Boyle, President, College Parents of America

The race for financial aid dollars has begun. On January 1, 2010, the annual winter financial aid window swung open, during which key pieces of information must be submitted to the colleges and universities that college-aged children might attend next fall.  And parents must peer through that window with one essential form in their sights - the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as “the FAFSA.”

The FAFSA helps colleges make decisions about how and to whom they award precious, need-based financial aid dollars.  More complicated than the federal income tax form, the 2010-2011 federal student aid application asks as many as 130 income, asset, and dependency questions depending on a student’s status. States, colleges, and the federal government use the information to try to distribute this year’s estimated $145 billion in student aid equitably. While a new “skip logic” has been introduced, shortening the form for some low-income families, as a practical matter for most families there is little change in this year’s application compared with last year’s form.  

Developed by the U.S. Department of Education in the mid-1990s, the FAFSA is intended to help level the playing field in helping schools to make decisions about how and to whom they award precious, need-based financial aid dollars.  While deadlines vary from school to school, no school will award a penny of need-based aid unless and until the FAFSA has been reviewed and analyzed by the U.S. Department of Education and by the school's financial aid office.

There are several myths that abound when it comes to financial aid. These myths include:

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

Students and their parents may choose to complete the FAFSA themselves, but they should be careful not to make errors that the Department of Education’s computer does not find, resulting in  less aid than they are entitled to. Unfortunately, mistakes on the FAFSA are common and students can lose out on aid they are eligible to receive. To help families deal with the application’s complexity, the government allows students the option of getting professional help.

With the continuing weak economy, and so many public universities hiking tuitions in response to recent state budget cuts, more college students are expected  to be seeking financial aid in the coming year.  Since some schools make aid decisions through a largely first-come, first-served process, and some school deadlines are as early as February 15, students and their parents should not delay in completing a FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

To learn more about College Parents of America, you may visit the organization’s website at www.collegeparents.org

Obtaining a college education is becoming more expensive than ever. Many students and their families will need to rely on loans, grants, and scholarships in order to fund it. Another major tool for saving for college is a 529, which is a designated college savings plan that has major tax benefits.  

The website Freshman Fund offers a free registry for your 529 account that others can donate to (hat tip to Smart Wallet). Whether you are a parent starting a 529 account for your young child or a high school student looking for some last-minute money for college, this site offers a great way to help grow your college savings.  

How does it work? When you sign up, you submit the name of the future college student, his or her birthday, the account owner's email address, and the 529 plan information. It will then link your Freshman Fund account to your 529 account. You can also add a picture and even special events to the profile, such as birthdays or graduation dates. There are various privacy settings, so you can make the profile viewable to the public, only to registered users, or not viewable by anyone but the account owner.  

Once you have created a Freshman Fund profile for yourself or your child and linked it to the 529 account, your registry is created, much like a wedding registry. Anyone can donate directly to your 529 account through the site. You can import your address book from your email account in order to send notifications to people who may want to donate to the 529 account. You can set email reminders to go out, such as on birthdays or special holidays. If you are eager to get as much funding for college as possible, ask that your family and friends donate to your college account instead of giving traditional presents on your birthday or during the holidays. Your loved ones will be thrilled to contribute to such a good cause rather than buying a physical gift that may never be used. A 529 is less wasteful and more useful!

Now that it's January, it's time to start thinking about filling out the FAFSA, the government paperwork that determines a student's eligibility for financial aid for college. Some colleges and universities use it to determine financial aid, as well. Sure, the federal deadline isn't until June 30, but some states require its submission by February or March in order to qualify for state financial aid.

The hefty form has over 120 questions and takes a decent amount of time and effort to fill out, especially because it requires several tax forms and other documents. Despite the pain-in-the-butt factor, it's best to get started on it sooner rather than later, says a recent article from The Dallas Morning News. It's easy to procrastinate, but this is not something you want to put off and risk forgetting about if you need financial assistance for school.  

The article quotes Education Secretary Margaret Spellings as saying that the intimidation factor of the FAFSA alone keeps 40 percent of students from seeking financial aid, which is equivalent to about 8 million students (and she believes most of them would have been eligible for some type of aid had they applied). Because of this, in the next five years, the government is working to make the FAFSA simpler to understand and easier to complete, especially for low-income families.

In the meantime, what can you do to conquer the beast? Make the paperwork easier by filling out the form online, the article says, which is quicker and helps cut down on errors.  

Remember, the FAFSA isn't a one-time thing; students must re-submit it every year they're in college if they want to continue to receive financial aid. Look at it this way – you'll become a pro!

If you're in high school, your parents and guidance counselors are likely pushing you to do some sort of community service work. They've probably told you the following a million times: "It will look great on your resume!" "You will be helping people in need!" "It will make you look well-rounded!"  However, community service doesn't just look good on a college application. Nowadays, volunteering for free can literally pay off in the form of scholarships and even full rides, reports USA Today.

Sure, star athletes and geniuses are still first in line for the annual $29 billion in institutional grants given out by colleges, but there is a growing trend in what are called service scholarships. Schools such as The College of New Jersey, Tufts University, and Drew University have implemented major service scholarship programs to help those who give back.  

The USA Today article discusses a young woman from Rochester, New York, who was always very active in community service. She thought that would make colleges more likely to accept her, but she was shocked when she opened up an envelope and found that Drew University was offering her a service scholarship that would cover her entire tuition (which is about $36,000 a year).

While these service scholarships award students for helping the community while in high school, once they get a service scholarship to a college, the hard work doesn't end there. In order to attend, most of the schools require you to fulfill a certain number of community service hours (sometimes up to 300 hours per year). However, the community service activities are frequently related to classroom learning.   

Schools and organizations that are beginning to add more service scholarship programs hope this will help take away a little emphasis on grades and put more on giving back to the community.

With a slowing economy, many students nearing college are growing worried that loans will no longer be available and school will become unaffordable. Because of these increasing concerns, some colleges and universities are taking action in the face of a troubled economy.

The University of Texas at Austin, one of the largest universities in the country, is one such school.  President William Powers recently sent an e-mail to the UT community explaining what the fifth largest public university in the nation is doing to keep costs down for students in the sour economy. 

Here are some of the efforts he mentioned: 

• Cutting expenses by making smarter purchasing decisions and upgrading the campus electricity systems to make them more efficient
• Investing financial gifts from donors conservatively so they do not lose as much money in the troubled stock market Pushing a fundraising campaign, Campaign for Texas, in order to get donations to help improve the school and offer more to the students (Powers says even during the Great Depression, alumni were able to donate enough money to help build several major campus buildings that remain highly used today)
• Continuing to offer scholarships and make commitments to give financial aid (Tuition will still be covered for students whose families have income levels of less than $40,000 a year)
• Creating provisions for students whose families have encountered job losses or other economic hardships

While the thought of starting college during this recession is daunting, some schools, such as the University of Texas, are making strong efforts to keep the costs down and assist students in need. It remains a very affordable institution at $8,090–9,354 for Texas residents and $26,672–30,770 for non-residents, which is part of what makes it so popular. Have you heard of any other schools making efforts to help during this tough time?