Financial Aid Application Information

My stepdad is actually a college financial planner and I work with him so I know a good deal about this stuff. The FAFSA (free application for student aid) can be filed on January 1 of the student's senior year in high school for next year in college. What you want to do is fill it out based on an estimate of your income (since you won't have your taxes done yet) and then go back and update it once your taxes are complete. However, since you have waited, your taxes are probably done so just head on over to the FAFSA website (fafsa.gov) and fill it out so the school(s) your son is applying to are alerted that he is seeking financial aid. Then you have to go to the FL state aid website and fill out that application so your son is considered for state aid (if he is going to an in state school).

Just be sure you fill the forms out correctly because a good majority of people fill them out wrong and can end up paying more for their children's education than they should have.

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FAFSA, Free Application Federal Student Aid should be completed Senior year of high school for Fall freshmen year of college. This application can be completed after January 1st Senior year and should be completed ASAP!! The earlier the better. Federal Aid is given on a first come first serve basis. This will potentially qualify him for FREE money (grants) and loans available to him(money to be paid back after college graduation.) Schools will evaluate the family financial situation based on the information you provide on the application and provide him with a 'package' of loan information he qualifies for. He should also be applying to schools NOW. To read more go to the following government site and start the process immediately. Do not wait in order to better your chances for the most FREE money. www.fafsa.ed.gov I used to work with families in the process with college planning and application status. It can be comlicated, but the sooner you start and the accuracy of your application will move along very smoothly. Good luck!!

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Hi:

One of the first step of the financial aid process is to meet with a financial aid representative at the school of your son's choice. Many of the representative are well verse in the field and may provide him some directions.

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The application is available around the beginning of the year, sometime in January or February if I remember correctly. It is definitely an experience, so start early. If your son is scheduled to start his college education in the Summer or Fall of the current year, then he should be filling out the form as soon as its available. For example, if he is starting Fall 2008, then he should fill out the form now, if he is staring Fall of 2009, then he should fill out the financial aid form next year, during January or February.

I think you also need to start thinking about what schools he may be interested in attending, do some online research on the cost of tuition, room and board cost if he will not be attending locally and travel....keep in mind, financial aid may not cover all of his cost, you may need to look at loans to subsidize the cost of his education, its good to get an idea of these cost early on to help make better decisions.

Also, the National Association of College Admission is hosting a college fair today, which I plan to attend with my daughter. See below for information.

Event Location:
Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel
711 NW 72nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33126
305/261-3800

Estimated Attendance: 10,000

Fair Hours:
Sunday, February 17, 2008
12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m

You may also want to communicate with a financial planner to assist you with planning a savings plan for him to meet the cost of higher education.

I hope this helps. gll

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High school guidance counselors are quite experienced with leading students through the process. Have your son make an appointment with his guidance counselor to discuss applications, etc... I know at the HS where I teach, one guidance counselor in particular works with all of the scholarship opportunities available, too!
Congrats on your college bound son.

T.

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He can fill them out after you file for your taxes for the 2008-2009 school year.

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I am a daughther who is 17 years old and also a senior. I already sent the papers for the financial aid. The school counselor is the person in charge for this application. Ask the school counselor for the papers and help to fill out the documents. The deadlines will depend on where or which university your son is planning to go. You can find the deadlines in the application of the financial aid. Hope
this information help you. God bless you.

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You can start now. Here is the website http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.com/
There is also Bright Futures in the state of Florida if he has a GPA 3.0 and higher and has volunteer hours past 40.

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The sooner the better. That way you can check out your scholarship options.

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