Financial Aid

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.

Out of the Office

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!

Test Scores

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.

You can log in to the ACT and SAT websites to review the locations where you selected to send your scores to make sure that every college you are considering has received a copy of your scores. This is an important step as you are completing the application process. So, in addition to making sure that you have completed your application form, written your essay, secured your recommendation letters, and submitted your transcript release form, please make sure that you have sent your test scores to each of the colleges where you are applying.

Don't forget, not every college will require these tests so it is not the end of the world if you are not a strong test taker. Visit http://www.fairtest.org/ for a list of the over 800 colleges that do not require admissions tests as a component to evaluate the applicant.

Socratic Society

On Friday morning 36 students were inducted into the Socratic Society. Staff members are given the opportunity to recognize students for excellence in one or more of the core socratic values of Scholarship, Integrity, Personal Effort, Compassion, or Lifelong Learning. Students are only eligible to be selected for this honor one time during their high school career.
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!

Evaluating an Applicant

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.

Random Reminders

Several Reminders for you...

- Don't forget to Register for PrepHQ! (Click on the link to the right to connect to PrepHQ.)

- Freshmen and Juniors, don't forget that after you have registered for PrepHQ to sign up on the bulletin board in the Counseling Center to show that you have registered so that you can be entered in the raffle to win the $10.00 gift cards to Chipotle! (The bulletin board is on the left wall when you enter the Counseling and Career Center.)

- Seniors: Remember that tomorrow (December 3rd) is the final day that Herff Jones will be in the Commons for you to order your caps and gowns. Prices increase with a $25.00 late fee as of December 6th so if you don't get order your cap and gown tomorrow, please visit their website to place your order. (How crazy is it to think that graduation is exactly 6 months from Sunday!?! WOW!)

- Juniors and any Freshmen or Sophomores who took the PSAT: Don't forget that your results are in so stop by the Counseling Center and see one of the secretaries to pick up your PSAT results.

Tomorrow's Schedule

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. :-)

Tomorrow is a 3A/ 3B Modified Bell Schedule.

Everyone will report to homeroom during 3A and you will all have your 3rd period class during the 3B time slot. In case you don't have it, here is a breakdown of the schedule:

1st Period: 7:45 - 8:27

2nd Period: 8:32 - 9:14

3A: 9:19 - 10:24

3B Period: 10:24 - 11:09

4th Period: 11:14 - 11:57

5th Period: 12:02 - 12:44

6th Period: 12:49 - 1:31

7th Period: 1:36 - 2:18

8th Period: 2:23 - 3:05

Hope you enjoy the shortened periods. Tomorrow during the homerooms I, along with the rest of the counselors, will be spending some time talking to you about PrepHQ, Study Skills, and things you should be working on.