College Financial Aid Advisors

As a high school senior you and your parents are trying to make the best decision about which college you will choose. You want to attend a great school, but also need to make sure it is affordable. You are leaning towards one of the schools but aren’t sure if their financial aid is really the best offer. Test it out with these six tips: 1. Don’t Get Emotional: Try to think of this decision in logical terms at the beginning. Don’t let your emotions about a particular college cloud your judgment regarding the financial aid package they are offering. Compare offers on an apples-to-apples basis. If everything else is equal money-wise, then you can let your heart make a choice. 2. Look at Outcomes: Check out the graduation rates at each college and find out how much money recent graduates earn. A great financial aid package from a school where you might not graduate could actually be worth less than another offer from a school where you have a better shot at graduating and landing a good job. 3. Ask for a Reassessment: Your financial situation may have changed since you filed your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If it has, ask the school if it will consider accepting new information from you that can help clarify your current financial picture. 4. Let The College Know About Extenuating Circumstances: The FAFSA may not truly reflect your family’s ability to pay for your education because it just does not ask about every aspect of your life. For example, your family may still be recovering from a natural disaster, or may be caring for an elderly relative. These situations could have an impact on your financial capabilities. 5. Ask About Any New Scholarships: The financial aid office is constantly being advised about scholarship opportunities. Ask if any new scholarships have been created since your financial aid package was presented. 6. Calculate Exactly What You Will Pay Out of Pocket: Don’t just look at the starting figure. Calculate exactly what you will pay out of your own pocket for all four years when you take all expenses into consideration and subtract all of the financial aid offered. Ask for Professional Help It can be difficult sorting through the college financial aid maze on your own, especially if you have siblings who will be attending college in the near future or if there is some type of financial change on the horizon. A professional college financial aid advisor can help you compare the offers you have, think about your earning capabilities over the next few years, and put together various financial scenarios. If you need help determining whether your financial aid is the best offer or understanding any component of the financial aid process, contact College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA). We can help assess your offers to make sure you make the choice that’s best for you.

As a high school senior, you may have set your heart on attending a particular college. You have visited the school, like its feel, met with students and faculty, and really think it would be a great fit for you. But when you receive your financial aid award letter from the school, you might be disappointed to find out that the amount of aid offered does not cover all the expenses and you cannot afford to pay the difference. You may decide to attend another college, but here are a few steps you can take to get more college financial aid from the school of your dreams: • Extenuating Circumstances: Tell the school about any extenuating circumstances that may have occurred since you submitted your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You should speak to the financial aid office if there will be a significant change in income due to job loss, disability, divorce, major illness or death. A catastrophe such as a house fire or a natural disaster could affect your family’s ability to pay for tuition or other expenses. • State Your Case: Provide any supporting documentation you might have and explain why the lower amount of financial aid could cause a hardship to you or your family. • Show Your Interest: Don’t make the college reconsider your application unless you are sincerely interested in attending. Tell them what you especially liked during your visit and what you think you will bring to their college community. • Just Ask: Don’t be afraid to ask what else you can do to be able to attend this college. They might not be able to offer you anything else, or they might just be able to find a work-study program, grant or scholarship that could make the difference in whether you can attend. Be Tactful in Asking for More College Financial Aid If there is a substantial difference in the amount of financial aid you are offered from your preferred college and others to which you have applied, it might be possible that your school made a mistake or is missing some information. Contact the financial aid office and ask if it would be possible to review your application. Ask about the criteria that was used to determine the amount of financial aid you were offered. Find out if there is any further documentation or information you can provide that might help sway their opinion. You might decide that you need help in asking for more college financial aid. In that case, contact College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA) as soon as possible and we will help you contact the school and put together your case for increasing the amount of financial aid you will receive. We can also help you search for scholarships that might be able to fill any financial aid gap. If you need professional insights on any other component of the financial aid process, contact CFAA now for a FREE financial aid strategy session.

If you are a high school senior, or the parent of one, you might be getting some very important mail from the colleges to which you have applied. This is the time of year when colleges are sending out financial aid award letters to students who have been accepted for admission. The school has reviewed the information you submitted on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to determine the financial aid it believes you are eligible to receive from federal, state, school and private sources. It is likely that there will still be some costs for which you and your parents will be responsible, but the financial aid award letter should give you a much better idea of what those out-of-pocket amounts will be. If you have not already selected your college, you can then use this information to help narrow down your choices. Although individual colleges may have different labels, the financial aid award letter contains at least two very important pieces of information: • The Cost of Attendance (COA): This is the starting point of what it costs to attend this college and includes such items as tuition, room and board, books, fees, average living expenses, and transportation. • Grants and Scholarships: This is the amount of financial aid for which the school believes you are qualified. Subtract the grants and scholarships from the cost of attendance to determine the net amount you will be expected to pay yourself through savings, non-work study employment, outside scholarships and federal or private student loans. Compare this amount with the bottom line figures you receive from the other colleges on your list. Weigh financial considerations along with your likes and dislikes about each school to make a final decision. Be Sure You Completely Understand Your Financial Aid Award Letter If you do not understand anything about your financial aid award letter, you can ask questions of the financial aid office at your selected college. If the amount does not seem right compared to your other schools, ask what criteria they used in the determination process that could have made the difference. If the cost of attendance is higher than what you anticipated, ask if there is any way you might be eligible to qualify for additional aid. If your financial situation has changed, find out if you can submit supplemental information. Your college financial aid advisor can also answer any questions you might have about your financial aid award letters and help you compare offers from the various colleges. Your advisor might also be able to talk to the college on your behalf to determine if there is anything else which can be done to help offset the cost of attendance at that institution. Set up an appointment with College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA) to find out what other steps you can take to make sure you receive the maximum amount of college financial aid available.

Completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) can take some careful thought and consideration. Many students and parents don’t want to think about it again once they’ve got it completed, but it’s important to take the next steps. In most cases, the FAFSA is your key to federal, state and college financial aid programs. Unlock those doors and you’ll increase your likelihood of being able to afford attendance at your selected college. So, strap those thinking caps back on and be sure to take these three crucial actions after you’ve finished the FAFSA: 1. Check Your Work! Mistakes can delay your application and limit the amount of aid you are eligible to receive. Homeroom, the official blog of the U.S. Department of Education, lists seven common FAFSA mistakes. Although it’s easy to understand mistakes in income and dependency status, the most surprising mistakes have to do with entering the wrong name and Social Security number. You must enter your full name as it appears on official government documents. An unnecessary mistake is completing the FAFSA, but then failing to sign it using a Federal Student Aid PIN. 2. Review the SAR and EFC: If the FAFSA is completed properly you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the office of Federal Student Aid at the U.S. Department of Education within three days to three weeks. This is a summary of the FAFSA data you submitted, and offers another chance to be sure you didn’t make a mistake on your FAFSA. It is still possible to correct certain errors on your FAFSA at this point, but be aware that it will further delay the financial aid process. If your application is complete, an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will display in the upper right-hand corner of your SAR. The EFC is the number that is used to determine your eligibility for federal student financial aid. If your application is incomplete, your SAR will not include an EFC, but will instead tell you what you need to do to resolve any issues. 3. Ask Questions if Necessary: If you think you made a mistake, are not sure about something on your Student Aid Report, or need more information about your Expected Family Contribution, it is important to ask questions now. The Federal Student Aid website has many resources to help answer your questions. You can also talk to the Financial Aid Office at any of the colleges that will be receiving your information. While some students might think a college financial aid advisor only helps through completion of the FAFSA, an impartial third party advisor can also provide advice on taking the necessary actions after you have finished the FAFSA, too. Set up an appointment now for a free financial aid strategy session with College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA) to find out what other steps you can take to make sure you receive the maximum amount of college financial aid available.

Getting your student into the best possible college with the least amount of financial impact on your child’s future and your family’s finances can be a very challenging and difficult time. Parents facing this challenge for the first time may feel like they are in above their heads, but even those who have done this before might have problems keeping up with some of the changes. Here are ten tips to help you navigate the financial aid process successfully: 1. Ace the FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the first step in the entire financial aid process. Minimize errors here and increase your chances of qualifying for the maximum amount of student aid to which you are entitled. 2. Know Your Deadlines: It can be helpful to have a giant calendar on the wall listing all deadlines for financial aid, scholarships, and grants. Don’t miss out on money because you missed a deadline! 3. Compare Net Costs: Don’t remove a college from contention based on a first glance at tuition and expenses. As colleges send out their financial aid packets, you will have a better idea of the bottom line cost for attending once all financial aid is taken into consideration. 4. Appeal Where Appropriate: If you feel a college is out of line with your other offers, you can ask about why there is a difference. Given the huge number of applications each college processes, it is possible for errors to be made. 5. Provide Supplemental Information: If your financial circumstances have changed due to job loss, medical emergency, divorce, or another situation which affects your ability to pay, document those changes and supply additional information to the schools. 6. Borrow Smart: If you need to borrow money to make up any shortfall, be smart about the process. Understand the difference between federal and private student loans, learn about interest rates, and calculate repayment amounts. 7. Don’t Borrow Too Much: Student loans should only be used for college expenses, not living expenses. Talk to your child about scholarships and employment opportunities. 8. Start Repayment Planning Now: Don’t wait until your child graduates to think about repayment. Make sure the amount your child can earn will be able to cover the estimated monthly payments. 9. Learn About Loan Consolidation: While it feels like it makes sense to consolidate loans to minimize paperwork and possibly lessen monthly payments, it might end up costing more money in the long run. 10. Invest the Necessary Time: Work the process properly and you could save your child and your family thousands of dollars. The best way to navigate the financial aid process successfully is to work with a professional advisor who can guide you through every step. Set up an appointment now for a free financial aid strategy session with College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA). 

This is the time of year when parents and high school seniors are receiving their financial aid award letters from various colleges. After reviewing your financial situation, each college sends out a letter which details the financial aid they have determined you are eligible to receive from federal, state, school and private sources. There is usually some difference between the cost for each college and the financial aid packages available that you will have to pay for yourselves. In some cases this amount might be substantial, but in others it could be relatively small compared to the full cost of attendance. For some students, though, it might impact their decision about which college to attend. While there is the option of taking out federal or private student loans to cover any remaining costs, another option is to go back out and see if there are any scholarships still available that might just make the difference. One great scholarship opportunity that was just announced is from Discover Student Loans. The company will be giving away scholarships to forty students in the amount of $1000 each for the 2014-2015 academic year. Students and their parents can use these scholarships to help pay for the cost of college attendance, including tuition, housing and books, at accredited, non-profit, four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The scholarships are available to high school seniors planning to attend college this fall, as well as students currently enrolled in college or graduate school. The application deadline is April 15, 2014. An independent judging organization will conduct a random drawing from all of the eligible entries. No transaction or loan application is necessary to enter or win one of these scholarships. The Scholarship Search Continues But don’t stop there. Keep looking for other late-deadline scholarships that can put you over the top at your college of choice. If you don’t know where to start, Discover Student Loans also has a new online scholarship search capability which provides access to over three million scholarship and grant opportunities worth more than $18 billion. You can receive personalized search results based on key categories such as your career goals, interests, and field of study. If you truly have your heart set on attending a particular college, don’t give up until you have exhausted all possible forms of college financial aid. Scholarships are a wonderful way of making up the shortfall between the cost of attending a certain college and the amount of financial aid available, but they don’t usually come looking for you. You have to do some work and go out and find them on your own. If you need more information on the financial aid award letter or finding scholarships to close the gap, set up an appointment now for a free financial aid strategy session with College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA).

There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about student loans. They seem to point with some alarm to the amount of outstanding debt, but don’t really go into detail about how many students have been able to attend the college of their dreams with this assistance. When handled properly, federal and private student loans can make a substantial difference in a student’s ability to attend college. Since some of the problems do focus on repayment, here are four smart tips for making student loan payments the right way: 1. Consolidate Where Possible: Many students or their parents take out a number of loans from federal and private sources throughout their college years. When the time comes to start repayment the student may be faced with different payment amounts, interest rates, payment dates and services. Consolidation allows you to combine multiple federal education loans into one loan. The result is a single monthly payment instead of multiple payments. You can also consolidate your private loans together to equal one payment after graduation. 2. Take Advantage of Income-Based Options: Several repayment plans are available to meet the different needs of borrowers. To make payments more affordable, these options can give you more time to repay your loans or can be based on your income. Federal student loans may be eligible for an Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR). Your maximum monthly payments will be 15 percent of discretionary income, the difference between your adjusted gross income and 150 percent of the poverty guideline for your family size and state of residence (other conditions apply). Your payments change as your income changes, with a repayment term of up to 25 years. Be aware that you will pay more for your loan over time than you would under the 10-year standard plan. Loan servicers can help find a federal student loan repayment plan that’s best for you. 3. Be Aware of Interest Rates: As with credit cards, student loans may have different interest rates. When possible you want to repay the highest interest rate loans quickly. Consolidation may be another option if interest rates are lower when you graduate. 4. Make Timely Payments: Falling behind on student loan payments can cause an avalanche of problems down the road. Penalties and interest charges add up and you find yourself falling farther and farther behind. Think ahead when taking out student loans and have a repayment plan in mind. Don’t take out more loans than you reasonably think you will be able to repay. Student loans are a helpful way of making up the shortfall between the cost of attending a certain college and the amount of financial aid available, but they are not to be taken lightly. Set up an appointment now for a free financial aid strategy session with College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA). Also be sure to request your free copy of The Twelve Most Helpful College Financial Aid Tips.

It has been a busy year so far. Now that the weather is calming down, it’s time for high school seniors and their parents to get to the serious business of figuring out how to pay for college. Some parents already have savings accounts or 529 plans, but most have to deal with the intricacies of the college financial aid process. Many find it overwhelming and feel they are not capable, but those with patience and perseverance who find their way through all the mazes come out on the other side with a substantial reward – their child gets to attend the best possible college with the least possible financial impact on the family or the student’s future. To help you find your way to this most desirable outcome, here are five tips for getting the financial aid you deserve: 1. Fill Out The FAFSA Correctly: Failure to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) correctly is perhaps the largest source of missed opportunity in the financial aid world. Although there is over $150 billion available in grants, work-study funds, and low-interest loans, the U.S. Department of Education estimates that “the majority of people fill out the FAFSA in such a way that they do not receive all of the aid they are eligible for.” 2. Meet or Beat Your Deadlines: Many parents are surprised to find that some colleges have FAFSA deadlines that fall very early in February. Colleges need time to review the applications and make their decisions so they can make timely offers to interested students. In addition, some financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so it is always best to get your FAFSA in as soon as possible. 3. Search Diligently for Scholarships: Scholarships are possibly the most underrated of all financial aid options, but it can be well worth the time to research opportunities if your child is awarded a substantial amount of scholarship money. 4. Compare College Offers: Once you start receiving financial aid packets from colleges you can calculate what your actual costs of attendance will be. If you don’t have offers from all of your selected colleges yet, use the net price calculator on each college’s website to determine your estimated expenses. Sometimes the college that appears to be the most expensive can be the most affordable once the financial aid package is taken into consideration. 5. Seek Out Professional Advice: Be sure you have tapped into all of your available financial aid resources. Even if you have already filed your FAFSA it may be possible to submit supplemental information if your financial circumstances have changed. Don’t miss out on getting the financial aid you deserve. Set up an appointment now for a free financial aid strategy session with College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA).