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Parents
and Students -
Answers to Your
Financial Aid Questions
Due
to the many financial aid questions we've received,
we've started a monthly newsletter providing answers
to some of those questions.
www.collegeisfree.com
reserves the right to edit questions when it seems
appropriate. Only the first letter of a person's
last name will be printed to respect one's privacy.
October 2004
Dear Barry,
Last year I took out a parent plus loan to make
up the difference between the
cost of the school
and the financial aid package my daughter's university
gave us. It worked out well. This year, we decided
to manage the portion we were responsible for
ourselves using a private service that allowed
us to split up are payments and make them in monthly
installments. But things are getting difficult
to manage and at this point in the year can we
cancel that service and pay the remainder with
another Parent Plus Loan.
George L.,
Bucks County, Pa. - 10/8/2004
George,
Usually you can. Two popular companies that provide
this service are Academic Management Services
www.tuitionpayenroll.com
and Key Education Resources www.key.com/paymentplan.
I'm not sure which service you've chosen, be I
know of several people who did the exact same
thing with Key Education Resources and there was
no penalty. Simply contact your school and tell
them your situation. But make sure before
you cancel the service you're able to get another
Plus Loan. If your credit rating since last year
has suffered a bit and as a result you don't qualify,
that option may not be open to you again. In that
case, if you speak to the school, you may qualify
for additional Stafford loans through your daughter
to make up the difference.
=====================================================================
Dear
Barry,
My son applied early admission to a private university
in the Midwest and we asked for financial aid.
When I spoke to the financial aid department at
the school they assured us they were need blind.
We haven't as yet heard back from the school and
I was wondering if asking for aid with early decision
put us at a disadvantage.
Barbara K.,
Chicago, Ill.. - 10/13/2004
Barbara,
I actually address this in my book. I attended
an informational session last spring at an upstate
New York university where a parent asked that
exact question. I was actually taken back by the
honesty of the school administrator who said,
"Because students applying early admission
are bound to accept our offer, we unfortunately
do give preference to full paying students with
the knowledge that if we accept them, we're guaranteed
that they'll attend." I also received the
same advice several years ago from the high school
guidance teacher at my son's high school. But
it would be unfair to characterize all schools
that way. The best advice I can give you is to
make sure you follow the old standards when applying
for colleges: Apply to at least one safe school
regular admissions, because even if your accepted
early admission, it is possible that the financial
aid package will not be enough to cover all of
your expenses.
-Top
-
November
2004
Dear
Barry,
My son will be entering his freshman year in the
fall of 2005. Do I have to apply for all the different
types of financial aid, Pell Grants, Stafford
Loans etc. or do I just fill out a single form?
Larry D., Brooklyn,
New York - 11/14/2004
Larry,
It depends on the college. Some schools require
you to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for
Federal Student Aid Form), the CSS Profile, and
their own financial aid forms as well as providing
the school with tax returns. Most university web
sites do a great job in stepping through the required
forms. If your child is accepted to the school,
you will receive a financial aid package listing
all the awards you've received. To answer your
question, you don't have to fill out preliminary
forms for Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, Perkins
Loans etc.
=====================================================================
Dear
Barry,
My daughter will be an entering freshman in the
fall of 2005. I
never feel comfortable filling out forms over
the Internet. Is providing all that information
for the FAFSA form on-line safe?
Laura V., Detroit,
Michigan.. - 11/19/2004
Laura,
I can't speak directly for the security applications
of the Department of Education, and there's always
the possibility of information being compromised,
but they process millions of applications a year,
and I'm personally unaware of any data security
problems. The best thing to do to quiet your concerns
would be to call the Federal Student Aid Information
Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).
-Top
-
December
2004
Dear
Barry,
As this is my first experience with college, can
anyone apply for financial aid? My parents aren't
poor although paying for a private university
is probably out of their reach?
Sarah B., Newport,
De. - 12/6/2004
Sarah,
This may be the single biggest mistake first year
students make. Not applying for finanical aid.
Anyone can apply and you'd be shocked at how many
people feel a stigma attached to applying.
=====================================================================
Dear
Barry,
How does the government determine whether or not
a student is eligible for Pell Grant dollars after
filling out the FAFSA form?
Donald B.,
New Hope, Pa. - 12/13/2004
Donald,
There's actually a series of schedules much like
tax forms that sit behind the FAFSA form. Based
on your income, your assets, the amount of other
family members currently enrolled in an accredited
college, your social security tax, state income
tax and so forth, a determination is made called
the EFC or Expected Family Contribution, that
tells the university your applying to how much
your can afford to pay for college. This information
is collected by the University who then put together
a financial aid package that may contain such
things as Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, Perkins
Loans and the universities own need based financial
awards.
-Top
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January
2005 - Coming Soon
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