<p>When I get accepted to several colleges do I apply for all or just one?</p>
<p>When filling out your FAFSA put all colleges you are interested in that you applied to down to receive your information. They only ones that you applied to that you should leave off are ones that rejected you - or any that you decided you absolutely do not want to go to. If they accepted you, or the decision is still pending, if there is even a small chance that you may want to go there, then have the info sent to them.</p>
<p>Most colleges have separate financial aid deadlines and many have already past, though most will still consider you for aid even missing it (though sometimes you do miss out on what’s gone). You had better look at what each college’s instructions are in this regard. Get that FAFSA done NOW. Get the PINs and your parents returns and assets and start the process. You may already be late.</p>
<p>Make sure you fill it out on a day that your accounts are not flush with money as the assets reported are as of the day you fill out the FAFSA. You should probably open up an account with a parent, with the parent’s name and SSN primary on it and use it to reimburse them for your expenses this year, since students are hit up 20% on all assets right off the bat, whereas parents get an allowance and are assessed only 5.6% on the excess. But you had better start moving NOW.</p>
<p>Do NOT wait until you are accepted to do the financial aid applications. If you do that, you will miss virtually all deadlines for institutional aid. I’m hoping you are a junior…if so, do your financial aid applications to ALL schools you apply to as soon as possible next January. If you are a current senior, get them done now…you need to check each website to see if you have missed their deadlines.</p>
<p>She’s a junior this year:</p>
<p>What if Financial Aid isn’t enough ? </p>
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<p>The University I want to go to is about 36,157 dollars a year. An average financial aid is about 18,000 it leaves at the most 18,000 dollars left? I calculated our EFC and its barely anything.
I know I could get a couple scholarships but what are some other choices? </p>
<p>Leya, have you had “the talk” with your parents about how much they are able and willing to pay for your college education? If you have an EFC of “barely anything” you need to be looking at schools that are very generous with financial aid.</p>
<p>What is your GPA, and have you taken the SAT or ACT yet? If the grades and scores are high enough, you should look at schools with guaranteed merit aid.</p>
<p>It did not occur to me that the student might be a junior. Hopefully, that is the case, the more I think about it, it’s likely to be the case.</p>
<p>OP when you research your colleges and fill out the applications, make sure you read and know their fin aid rules, upside, downside, and side ways. You meet the deadlines EARLY, because some money is first come first serve. When it s’ gone, that 's it. Few schools guarantee to meet full need because they do not have enough money allocated towards that, so whatever is in the pot is never enough. You should also let your parents know that the next year’s taxes should be done as quickly as possible because the final awards often will not be given without that info. Not the year to do extensions. If it’s a real issue, file them the best they can and do an amended return later. Get comfortable now with the FAFSA, and if you are looking at PROFILE schools that form, and all the rules pertaining to them. Read some guidebooks for information and tips on how to best approach all of this.</p>