CONFUSED!! For those who have been here before, need help w/ timeline for senior year

Paying for College
1

<p>Hello everybody, I'm entering my last summer before HS senior year and as you can guess I'm going crazy.. I'm not the first in my family to attend college but I am the first to go straight out of high school and go through the financial aid/big college system. I just feel so overwhelmed by everything thats looming over the horizon (missed out on spring SATs :/) that I've attempted tried to organize all applications that need to be done and sent into timelines. I've gotten a couple from counselors as well as college sites but they all are kind of confusing..</p>

<p>Can anybody else provide some sort of timeline that can help me out? By timeline I mean during what times of my senior year should I begin sending out for applications, scholarships, begin the financial aid process, sending transcripts ect. ect. </p>

<p>Sorry if it seems like a stupid request but I'm just trying to get a better idea of what I should be preparing for and I've been confused by what I've seen so far. (Example: Most timelines I've seen say to send in college applications during Nov/Dec & apply for FAFSA during Jan/Feb; however how will college a know my financial situation and what to award if I complete my FAFSA after I send them an application?? please explain!! lol)</p>

<p>Thank you all in advance! I've already learned alot of things from this site, one of which is my senior year won't be the breeze I thought it was going to be. ;-( haha</p>

2

<p>Hey, first off, don’t worry. Your senior year will end up being awesome, and all your stuff will get done in regards to applying to college. If you’re doing EA or ED to any schools, the deadline is around November 1. RD deadline for apps is around Jan. 1. You should probably start writing your essays about 2 months before they are due if you want to have time to think about them, get feedback, etc. That is not to say that you can’t pump out an awesome essay the night before the deadline. But to be safe, 2 months. Also, in terms of applying for scholarships, I don’t know much, but I do know that <a href=“http://www.fastweb*****************%5B/url%5D”>www.fastweb*****************</a> or FastWeb.com (something close to one of those 2 names), is a great place to look for scholarships. You kind of get a lot of junk email but the site is completely legitimate and very helpful and full of potential scholarships (and internships). Scholarships are ALWAYS available, so you can apply for any number of scholarships at any given time of the year. In regards to your transcripts, don’t worry, your school counselor will tell you what to do about that. Your school will probably send them out for you. Send your SAT and ACT scores at any time before/after you send your app in.</p>

3

<p>For the financial aid process, the first thing to do is figure out all the deadlines. These are available at the financial aid page of each college’s website; most have a calendar or list of deadlines. You can do this now, but don’t wait past November or so. With everything else going on, you want to be able to hit the ground running in January. I found it useful to make a big chart so that I could keep track.</p>

<p>FAFSA is the first thing you need to attend to, required for all financial aid everywhere. You’ll need to enlist your parents’ help, as you’ll need information from their federal tax returns. The FAFSA will become available online on Jan. 1, 2010, but you can begin now looking at what will be needed to complete it. Once all the source documents are gathered up, it’s not that onerous, but do jump on it early in January in case there are any hitches. You’ll very likely need to use estimates for the intial submission, because FAFSA is often due before tax returns are done, and that’s OK. As soon as the actual returns are done, you just file a corrected FAFSA. But tell your parents that their return needs to be done as soon as possible so that you can file the correction. Tell them they can’t wait till April 15 this year.</p>

<p>Many schools also require something called CSS PROFILE, which is much more detailed than FAFSA. Take a look at it early as well, because there’s alot more information to gather, and it takes much longer to complete.</p>

<p>In addition, some schools have their own college-specific forms. The two that we had to do were quick and simple compared to FAFSA and PROFILE, but are nonetheless important and must also be filed on time. These forms are found on the colleges’ websites.</p>

<p>As well as the above forms, your parents (and you, if applicable) may eventually need to supply copies of your federal returns and W2s, so keep those handy. If you don’t file, the college will likely require a Non-Filers Statement; be sure to check for that.</p>

<p>Other random tips: </p>

<p>*If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the Financial Aid office. Every FA office we dealt with was very happy to explain things to us.
*Keep copies of everything you file and everything you send. Note the dates of submission/mailing.
*Follow up with the financial aid offices once everything is submitted, just to make sure they’ve got everything they need.<br>
*Don’t wait till the last minute. Submit everything as soon as you can.
*Be very organized about keeping track of deadlines. Timely submission is the name of the game with financial aid.</p>

4

<p>This is not a hard and fast must do list as everyone seems to do it a little differently. But it will save you some craziness and stress during your senior year.</p>

<p>Summer:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Decide which tests you’ll need (ACT, SAT, Subject tests) and make note of the registration dates! If you need fee waivers, call the HS guidance office. They work all summer. Practice for your upcoming tests - if you’re just starting now, it may be worth taking the ACT first since there’s a September test date. SATs don’t start again til October. </p></li>
<li><p>Get an estimate of your EFC. You can do this at fafsa4caster, college board, or on paper here (which will give you/your parents the best understanding of what the FAFSA EFC is based on):
<a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111408EFCFormulaGuide0910.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111408EFCFormulaGuide0910.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
<li><p>Have a discussion with your folks about finances and how much they can contribute per year to your education. It will save heartache later. Realize now that the EFC really only determines your eligibility for certain types of need based financial aid. It is NOT what colleges will expect you to pay…that amount is generally higher and many schools can’t meet need. This is where the % Need Met figure becomes useful.</p></li>
<li><p>Finish researching colleges and making your college list. Make sure you include one or more “financial safeties” - for most people that’s an instate public school. Plan visits if needed/desired - you won’t get much of a feel for the campus during summer so try to visit when classes resume. It’s okay for some to apply and then visit if you’re accepted and the FA looks good. Spring is often less hectic and you get the more in-depth “accepted student” tour and maybe an overnight. My daughter had a small notebook with pockets she could put photos and take notes on schools as she visited which helped to keep them straight and remind her of what she liked/didn’t like and questions to ask.</p></li>
<li><p>Organize your college info. D found it helpful to make a big spreadsheet/matrix of her schools with categories such as Admissions Averages (SAT/GPA), Admissions Deadlines (EA and RD if you’re applying to several, not doing ED), Program Notes (for the major she wanted), Dorm Info (mandatory, guaranteed, private bathrooms, anything to help her remember what they looked like/or seemed interesting), Ave % Need Met W/Out Loans (see link below), Merit Scholarship Criteria…you get the idea. She kept hers visible by posting it on a bulletin board at home by the computer. She also found it helpful to have a separate folder for each school (a checklist on the inside cover gives you instant info on what you need to do/have done), one general folder for essays/resume/recommendations, and a third for financial aid info (FAFSA, copies of tax returns, scholarship/grants, etc.) - organize in a way that makes sense to you but do try to stay organized. Anyway, find out what you can and fill in the blanks as you visit or get more info. College Board has a college list feature which also posts reminders of upcoming deadlines for your colleges on your account page. This site provides FA info in a bit more depth:
[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://www.studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/campustour/]Student”>http://www.studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/campustour/)</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Most applications aren’t available yet for the 10/11 academic year, but you can usually get a good idea what the requirements/type of essay is from looking at the 09-10 app. Ditto for many scholarships - but most don’t change significantly from year to year. Mark your calendar for dates the apps will become available.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Request a transcript (unofficial) from your GC and create a 1-2 page resume of your important high school activities, honors, awards, jobs, etc. This will be very helpful and a timesaver when it comes to filling out all those apps. Check your transcript for any errors - rare, but they do happen!</p></li>
<li><p>Decide which teachers you will ask for recommendations. Prepare a little cover letter for your resume to go with each - give them a little background on schools and majors you’re considering, why you’re asking them, etc. Most kids wait til October/November to ask and teachers are overwhelmed with requests. Some teachers will only do a certain number of recs. Remember, they don’t have to do this for you so make your request known early, in a polite and professional way!</p></li>
</ul>

<p>That should give you plenty to think about for the summer. Fall will be consumed with schoolwork, test taking, and app/essay writing. Keep your grades up and try not to get overwhelmed, except for meeting deadlines for apps and financial aid it really is up to you when/how you go about it. Try to enjoy the process even though you may feel like a bug under a magnifier at times. It will all come together in the end and your efforts will have been worth it. Good luck!</p>