Early Summer Financial Aid Action Plan

Early Preparations and Research

Congratulations on making it to your senior year! This is a very exciting time--not only for you, but for your family, too. While it is important to savor the year and its memories, it is also important to begin planning for your future. It is never too late to consider college and the opportunities available to you in pursuit of your education. This month, you will be researching and gathering information about colleges you may want to attend. You will be taking a serious look at different areas of study and majors that are available. Visiting campuses will help you narrow down a list of prospective schools that you would like to attend.

How much Financial Aid planning have you done so far?  The best time to start is during the summer leading up to your senior year. During this time, begin to consider which area of study or degree interests you. This is important because not all schools offer degrees in all fields. A good place to start researching top schools in your desired field is U.S. News Magazine. They release an issue every year with some of the best information about US colleges and universities. If you miss this issue of the magazine, you can access the same information on their website. The “Education” tab will lead you to important facts about different colleges.

If you are unsure of what career you would like to pursue, there are many resources you can use to help. Talk to your counselor about taking a career assessment test. High schools usually issue these tests for students to take during their sophomore or junior year. Perhaps you have already taken such a test and remember which field your strengths match to. If you don’t remember your scores, or if your counselor doesn’t offer a career assessment test, you can take one online through many sites. 1) Free Test - This is a good test as it uses the MAPP test, which is pretty comprehensive.  You get partial results free.  While there, take the free personality test like Myers Briggs. 2) Paid Test - reasonable prices for a good test.  The sites will ask you a series of questions in order to assess your interests, and then match you with a college major or career choice based on your answers. Keep in mind that this is just a starting point to offer suggestions on what careers are available and which majors coincide with them.

Now that you have a career in mind, start thinking about the type of school you will want to attend. There are many factors to consider when choosing a school. Do you want to live close to home or far away? Do you want to attend a public or a private school? Find out facts  about the universities you are interested in, such as cost of attendance, graduation rate, acceptance rate, average class size, accreditation, and the number of classes taught by full-time doctoral qualified faculty (as opposed to student teachers). Also, explore what life is like on campus: social clubs, campus resources, housing opportunities, and most importantly, safety statistics. You can research websites for each school or you can request that information be sent to you by mail. Some of the information you need may not be available in the packets the schools send. If you need more information or have questions, make a phone call to the admissions department and ask.

Now, you can narrow down your list of schools to your top three or four favorites. Find out what their admissions requirements are. Do they want you to have a certain SAT/ACT score? Do they require an essay? Are you likely to get accepted? These things are important to know when you are applying. Also, find out if you are missing any high school credits that may be required when applying. Many schools will have recommended courses that they expect you to have taken during high school. These may include an extra math, science, or language course. Every school has varying requirements, so find out if there are any required courses you are lacking and talk to your high school guidance counselor about adding them  to your schedule.

Once you have completed the necessary research into the schools you are interested in, create a calendar with all deadlines for admission applications and financial aid applications. Write down essay deadlines at least one month before the entire application is due. This will allow time for you to prepare and proofread it a few times before you submit it to the admissions department. Getting your calendar organized will also be helpful when scholarship deadlines and testing dates approach.

Be sure to include your parents or guardians in your planning process. Keep them updated on the schools you are interested in and discuss the possibility of visiting the campuses. A visit to the campus of your choice can really help you figure out which school is right for you. Usually a university will schedule tours for interested students. Tours include visits to major buildings around campus and appointments with financial aid counselors and college advisors. These visits provide the perfect opportunity for you and your parents to ask any questions you have and obtain more information about the university.  Also, if you haven’t already, make sure to get information on the cost of living and the cost of attendance. Understand that these are two separate costs. Cost of living will include an estimate of how much it will cost you for housing, groceries, bills, and other personal costs. (It’s really important for you to be aware of these costs if you plan on living off campus.) Cost of attendance is your l cost just to attend classes at the university.  Both of these costs will be important for you to know when you are planning and applying for financial aid.  You can find good, free financial aid calculators here along with the US Dept of Education's Federal Student Aid estimator.

Try not to become overwhelmed. Maintaining your calendar of deadlines will help ensure that nothing will surprise you. This issue is just a warm up to get you ready, but in future issues we will really get your plan moving forward.

In summary, this month you need to:

o   Research and gather information about different universities

o   Narrow your list down to your top three schools

o   Decide on a major

o   Think about your future career and your major

o   Arrange  a visit to your top three campuses

After you have completed these steps, you can begin your senior year with a clear idea about where you will be applying and what is required for you to prepare for the application process. The last thing you need during your senior year is more stress, so plan accordingly, and you will be just fine! Next month’s article will be discussing standardized testing, estimated family contribution, fee waivers and essay writing.