Preparing Your Finances for College
By Debbie Rodriquez, guidance counselor at Pasadena High School, Pasadena, TX

Your senior year is more than half over! You’ve sent off your application for admission and requested your transcript. Maybe you have even received your acceptance letter from the college of your choice. So what’s next?

Figuring out how to pay for your first year of college can seem a little overwhelming, but there are a couple of basic steps to take that can simplify the process. The first of these steps is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form which is available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov, in your high school or college counseling center, or by calling (800) 4-FEDAID. Most of the student assistance you are likely to receive will come from filing this form, including federal and state grants, work-study programs, and student loans. Colleges and universities use the information on this form to determine your eligibility for all types of aid and offer you a financial aid package from this.

Your parents will have to help in completing the FAFSA, as the form requires financial information from them in determining the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is the amount your family is deemed able to pay to send you to college. The form should be completed and submitted as soon after January 1st as is possible. Financial aid is determined based on the difference between the EFC and the cost of attending a given school. College financial aid offices will award aid only to students who have been accepted, and it is given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Often the best financial aid “packages” have been distributed quite early in the spring semester. If you do not submit the form early, you may qualify for assistance, yet the university may have awarded its money to the “early birds” and have none left to give you! 

In addition to filing your FAFSA early, many colleges and universities have a special scholarship application. You may have completed one when you applied for admission, but if not, check with your college financial aid officer to request one. These are used in awarding scholarships for the school or department to which you are applying. Many colleges and universities also offer financial aid workshops to prospective students and their parents, and these can be very helpful in assuring that you get as much assistance as is available to you. Be sure to attend, and take Mom or Dad along!

Continue to monitor the available scholarships, and apply for all of those for which you qualify. Most high school counseling centers publish listings and maintain an area for applications they have received. Your counselor or the school library may also provide a computer with access to Internet scholarship searches such as the one offered by Hobsons’ CollegeView (www.collegeview.com). Many of these are free or at very low cost to you, and can result in many possibilities for scholarship assistance. Scholarships do not usually affect the amount of financial aid offered and can help offset the EFC, making college even more affordable.

Applying for financial aid and scholarships can be time-consuming and sometimes tedious, but it is time well spent. Be persistent, and be sure to meet listed deadlines! Look upon your application time as a part-time job, with your payment coming at a later date.