The financial aid conference that I attended today is presented to counselors each year by the Ohio Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Most students will need to fill out the
FAFSA form (FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and it is essential to meet the deadlines established by your colleges of choice to determine what amount of aid they can offer. (Many deadlines will be February 15th.) So this is definitely not something you can put off once we hit the first of the year. There are some people who will automatically assume that they do not qualify for financial aid and it is important not to make assumptions and to read the fine print from the colleges carefully as there are some colleges that won't offer any financial packages (including merit scholarships) without having a FAFSA on file. Specific questions about each college's requirements and deadlines should be addressed to the financial aid offices at each respective college.
The way financial need is determined is taking the “Cost of Attendance” (which includes tuition, fees, room, board, books, and other miscellaneous expenses) and then subtracting from that the “Expected Family Contribution” and the remaining difference is what is known as your “Financial Need.”
They financial aid administrators reminded us that usually people do not agree with their Estimated Family Contribution, but it is the same for everyone so it is fair across the board.
For what it is worth, it is also important to know that it depends upon each school as to whether they guarantee to meet your entire financial need with a financial aid offer. You can usually find this information on the college financial aid website.
If you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or the parent of a student in one of these grades, you may be interested in using the
FAFSA4caster which provides an
estimated Expected Family Contribution to give you an idea of what you might qualify for regarding federal aid including grants.
When you are completing the FAFSA application, please remember that this is a
FREE application – do
not pay to have someone help you fill it out as there are plenty of opportunities to get free assistance to complete it if you need it. You will also want to make sure that you are using the correct website –
http://www.fafsa.gov/ – (do
not use .com as that is a site that has a fee.)
You can
request your PIN number now, but please make sure you save it and keep it in a safe place for future use as this will be your permanent PIN number. Parents, you will also need your own PIN number unless you have one that you have utilized with older students as it is the same PIN number for all of your children.
When you are filling out the FAFSA form please pay attention to who they are asking for information about – the beginning of the form is all about the student and later it is about the parents. This can be confusing if your parents are helping you fill out the form because it says “you and your” so sometimes parents will accidentally put their information in rather than putting in the student information.
If your parents are divorced, you will use the parent with whom you live with the majority of the time. You fill out the form based upon your “household” so anyone living in that household and under that roof are included in your FAFSA. So, for example, if your parents are divorced and you live with your mom who is remarried then your FAFSA application will include the information from your mom and your step-dad.
Please remember that you cannot fill out your FAFSA forms until
after January 1st. You will need your tax information as well as your parents tax information. If you cannot get the tax information completed early enough to meet the deadlines from the colleges, then be sure to use estimated numbers and then go back and revise the information once you have the actual data.
To help you with the college financial aid process we will have a
financial aid meeting for students and parents at
7:00pm at
WKHS on
Tuesday, January 12th.
There is also an event known as “
College Goal Sunday” which is
Sunday, February 14th at
2:00pm where financial aid administrators will provide free expert help in completing the FAFSA forms. To find locations and to register you can visit
http://www.ohiocollegegoalsunday.org/.
Here is also a
link to a blog with frequently asked questions about the FAFSA.
Today is my niece, Carly's, 7th birthday! It is hard to believe how fast she is growing up. I remember when she was born like it was yesterday. Carly is in 1st grade and loves to read. She is a very special little girl and I adore her. Happy Birthday Carly!
Save the Date! On Tuesday, January 12th at 7:00pm there will be a presentation about financial aid and filling out the FAFSA form in the WKHS Auditorium. (FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.) Most students will need to fill out the FAFSA form and it is essential to meet the deadlines established by your colleges of choice to determine what amount of aid they can offer. (Many deadlines will be February 15th.) So this is definitely not something you can put off once we hit the first of the year. There are some people who will automatically assume that they do not qualify for financial aid and it is important not to make assumptions and to read the fine print from the colleges carefully as there are some colleges that won't offer any financial packages (including merit scholarships) without having a FAFSA on file. Specific questions about each college's requirements and deadlines should be addressed to the financial aid offices at each respective college.
Merry Christmas! I know that everyone does not celebrate Christmas, but either way, I hope that you have a wonderful day today surrounded by the people who mean the most in your life. Be thankful for all that you have received and find joy in giving to others. I have so much to be grateful for this year - my family, friends, and the students with whom I work each day. Thanks for being a special part of my life. I hope you have a relaxing and memorable Christmas!
I realize that the college application process for this year is winding down and the waiting, for many of you, is just beginning. For other students, the application stage is next fall or beyond, but this is timely information to keep in mind at all stages.
I don't know about you, but I am relieved that we have reached winter break. I do find it a bit scary that we are nearly 1/2 way through the school year though. Does it seem to be flying past for you too? I hope you have plans to relax and enjoy the upcoming days off. I am nearly finished with my shopping (thank goodness because I hate to shop!) and I am quite proud of myself because I have already accomplished mailing out my Christmas cards and wrapping all of my gifts.
The countdown is on... we have just 11 days of school left this quarter before semester exams. I *know* some (or maybe all) of you don't want to hear this, but it is REALLY important that you start studying now for exams. Today I skimmed through the interim grade reports and was sad to see how many people are struggling. If your grades are not where they should be at this point in time, please make use of the resources available to you - the academic assistants in room 209 and, most importantly, your teachers. I am also here to help you with studying strategies and tips if needed. For many students, your final grade for the semester will come down to how you finish out this quarter and how well you do on semester exams. Please don't neglect this opportunity to make the most of the remaining time and use winter break as a chance to start reviewing for exams.
Yesterday many students across the country (and at WKHS) who had applied to colleges under the Early Decision and Early Action plans received their admissions decisions. As I heard people talking about college decisions today, I wanted to remind you that it is important to find a balance between hopes and expectations. Not only is this important when you are waiting for your own admissions decisions, but it is also essential that you keep in mind that your friends are facing the same worries. While it is normal to be curious to find out if someone in your class was accepted to a particular college, please remember that it could be very hard for your friend to announce to everyone that they had not been accepted. As a general rule, allow your friends and classmates to inform you of their admissions decisions on their own. Trust me, if they receive acceptances they are going to share the good news in their own time.
Just a quick reminder that tomorrow you are on a late-start schedule. 1st period starts at 9:10am so I hope you enjoy sleeping in tomorrow morning. (And yes, I am very jealous!)
I realize that many of you do not utilize e-mail at all or even regularly, however, it is very important to have an e-mail account of your own when it comes to college application time. College applications will ask you for your e-mail address. Often times the colleges will use your e-mail as their way to communicate with you including notifying you of your admissions decision. (This also points out that it is important to regularly check your e-mail.) Some questions to ask yourself, Do you have an account? (If not, you need to create one. There are tons of free choices available - gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc.) Do you have an appropriate account? (In other words, is the name of your account appropriate as the college admissions officers will be seeing the e-mail address when reviewing your application.) Is it YOUR account? (A lot of times students just rely on their parents e-mail addresses which works a lot in high school, but when you are at the college application point it is important to have your own account as the colleges will ask for your address and your parents address.)
I was reviewing the college application data for my students so far this year and it began to make me quite nervous as there are many students who have not yet submitted any applications or who have applied to just 1 school. Please make sure that you are paying attention to the application deadlines for your college and remember, the transcript release forms should be submitted at least 10 days in advance!
The financial aid conference that I attended today is presented to counselors each year by the Ohio Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Sorry! I always try to give you a few days notice about when I will be out of the office, but somehow this week snuck up on me. I am out of the school all day tomorrow in order to attend a Financial Aid meeting up at Bowling Green State University. (And yes, I do plan to take a picture for the "Oh the Places You'll Go" collection even with the crazy weather!) I am back on Thursday though so you won't miss me for long. :-) If you need anything stop in to see me Thursday or Friday. Have a great day tomorrow!
The college admissions tests (ACT and SAT) are one of the basic components that most colleges consider when evaluating an application. While any scores that we have appear on your transcript, the vast majority of the colleges want to receive the score results directly from the testing agency. You receive the option to send your scores to 4 colleges for free and there is an additional charge for any extra schools you want to send your results to after those initial four.
A special congratulations to "my" students who were among those recognized this month! (Left to Right): Sammi Adams, Ben Beall, Hayley Hills, Rachel Archambeau, and Kristin Black. Also, I had several students who are not pictured, but were inducted on Friday: Hussein Elfaour, Chad Ellwood, John Jacob, and Joey Jacob. I am proud of each of you!
Earlier this week one of the New York Times blog postings dealt with how colleges evaluate applicants. They received detailed information from the Admissions Director at College of the Holy Cross in MA which provides great insight into the process that takes place when an admissions office evaluates the application. The information shared in this blog posting is important not only to seniors, but for students and parents in every grade. I particularly liked the interactive explanation on their admissions office processing sheet. As you read the information I think it will give you a much better understanding of how colleges evaluate your transcript and what they are thinking as they look at your academic record. There was also a follow up blog post that gives some additional input.
Several Reminders for you...
Wow... my goodness have the last few days of school been crazy around the counseling center! The mad rush of college applications, essay revisions, and turning in transcript release forms has resulted in total chaos in my office. Luckily, it appears that everything is moving along and we will make it through. :-)
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