In New York City, it has been three weeks since the start of the new school year. Although 21 days is a considerable amount of time to complete a plethora of tasks, for many educators, much time has been dedicated to adjusting students academically and socially. Additionally, these same educators have worked doggedly to set a standard of tone of excellence within the classroom, in addition to finding their voice among colleagues. While we, the educators, commence working collaboratively to ensure that our students put for the maximum effort needed towards their development and growth, our attention is being unequally divided, which has left us drained. From finding small pockets of time to finally complete year-long curriculum maps, to (unsuccessfully) maintaining a healthy work-life balance, the past three weeks have seen no rest for the weary.
Nevertheless, as I continue to roll full-speed ahead, which includes checking tasks off of my to-do list, I find that I have arrived at my next task: assisting my juniors and seniors in the complex college application process. There are multiple, moving parts to college application process that go far beyond writing autobiographical statements and supplemental essays. Copious amounts of research must be dedicated to understanding the various institutional types, college choice/fit, admissions criteria, and tuition prices, to name a few. Likewise, because every student applying is unique, as well as their needs, the process as a whole can be overwhelming. Therefore, to decrease anxiety and stress among students and their families, educators (myself included) heavily stress creating comprehensive checklists. Solely focusing on the creation of a Financial Checklist for your junior or senior, items on this checklist include, but are not limited to: reviewing financial aid packages, which entails researching unfamiliar terms and conditions and comprehending all of the intricacies of FAFSA; shopping for first-year dorming essentials (this will be completed if your child is attending college hours away or out-of-state); and frequently discussing collegiate money management tips. As the creation of this checklist seemingly becomes a breeze, I will purposely drizzle on your parade in an effort to gauge if preparation for the financial unexpected has occurred. Example: Two weeks before your child’s first Intro to Microeconomics session, the professor emails students notifying them that another textbook is required for purchase. Simultaneously, the university has emailed both the student and parent/guardian alerting all parties of an impending tuition hike, for which additional miscellaneous fees have been incurred. Panic begins to set in as the previous check has yet to clear, and you dread the thought of having to borrow loans to cover new costs. The multiple dilemmas before you can be categorized from stress-worthy to migraine-inducing. Your child potentially needing to shell out an additional $100 for a textbook can be avoided through a myriad of options. The first option is to explore cost-effective websites such as www.amazon.com, www.bigwords.com, and www.chegg.com that sell textbooks (new, gently-used, and old) for a fraction of the retail price. The second option is to purchase the textbook from saved summer employment earnings – one to two summers before college should be utilized to earn income that will help subsidize costs and fees. Crossing this task off your checklist, tackling institutional (college or university) miscellaneous fees, and who will subsequently bear the financial burden, remains. Therefore, in the midst of collegiate preparation, answering the following questions will provide all parties with honest insight into how far they’ve come and how far they have to go. The questions are: Were discussions surrounding tuition payment plans had? Was an agreement made that the child would pay 100, 75, or 50 percent of the bill? If the decision was made years ago that paying for college would be a “family affair”, were adequate funds set aside? Lastly, what financial alternatives have been provided for your child to explore? Hackneyed and widely-known: time waits for no one. Furthermore, time will not be accommodating 90 days prior to the start of your child’s first college course. Thus, to avoid frantically exploring financial options in a crunch, I reiterate the necessity of early action planning to eliminate opportunities future financial doom. One financial alternative, that should be thoroughly explored, is scholarships. Community boards and reputable organizations, such as community-based and religious-affiliated organizations to name a few, are constantly looking to uphold and adhere to their philanthropic mission: funding the scholastic futures of educators, scholars, and changemakers. To be a recipient of a scholarship, one must not only research rewards that best fit their financial needs, but must showcase experiences and skills through well-crafted essays. As such, once scholarships have been researched and narrowed down, the realization that sleep, time, and often immune systems, will be sacrificed in order to write winning essays must be understood. Likewise, it is imperative that applicants strictly adhere to essay guidelines, while concisely convincing readers to subsidize their prospective collegiate experience. Although daunting, the goal of attending college while incurring minimal to non-existent debt can meet bragging with ease. Always mindful that every student and every monetary need is unique, should applying for scholarships not be an option met with enthusiasm, increase the level of dialogue regarding their decision. Additionally, because a plethora of financing options exist, I offer expertise utilized in my personal and professional work with families and students – federal/state financial aid and FAFSA. Analyzing the criteria for obtaining federal and state aid is highly-implored. One source that provides easy-to-read information regarding federal and state financial aid is www.studentaid.ed.gov. Within this comprehensive website contains a wealth of knowledge of FAFSA, often described as the be-all-end-all of financial aid. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov) can be filed electronically, which saves families twice as much time when completing and submitting the application. Educators and financial aid counselors repeatedly stress the importance of the words “Free” and “ed.gov”, for any website(s) ending in “.com” and a “required payment” is a scam, and should be avoided at all costs. Now, to start, students and one parent/guardian are required to obtain a PIN (Personal Identification Number). Parent/guardian and student PINs should NOT be similar; choose your own or let the site select one for you. Additionally PINs should NOT be shared with others. Next, gather all of the necessary documents needed to apply (a checklist of necessities can be found via the Federal Student Aid website). Third, which is the most important step, fill out the FAFSA application. Registration begins October 1st, as opposed to the traditional January 1st date, to ensure that families meet ALL deadlines as quickly and accurately as possible. State deadlines are also available at fafsa.ed.gov, with school deadlines listed on individual sites. Importing prior, prior (two years prior from the application date) federal income taxes into the IRS Data Retrieval tool is available as well, with assistance appearing in the form of a FAFSA “live chat” and 1-800-4-FED-AID. Once completed, be alert for correspondence via mail or email confirming that your FAFSA application was received and is being processed. Double-checking information to ensure maximum accuracy is possible by simply logging back onto the FAFSA site and reviewing your Student Aid Report (SAR). Correct any mistakes promptly! Finally, families will commence playing the waiting game, which includes but is not limited to, watching for emails and letters from schools to arrive and subsequently submitting supplemental paperwork. With all of the information presented, and the financial possibilities yet to be explored, your future financial forecast looks bright.
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WhitneyEducation enthusiast whose mission it is to see Financial Literacy receive well-deserved shine. Archives
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