A New Year's Wish

A NEW YEAR’S WISH

May the New Year bring you more time with your family, greater understanding towards yourself and others, a gentler heart, fulfillment, a continued sense of purpose and most of all, peace. We wish you a most Happy New Year!

TAXES

First time financial aid applicants do not have to have their parent’s tax returns completed before the FAFSA or the CSS/Profile is filed. Best guesses based on end of year pay stubs and third quarter financial statements are absolutely fine and expected. Business owners may use estimates based on 2008 filings, with any 2009 peculiarities considered. Call us for help.


THOSE DARN FINANCIAL AID FORMS


FAFSA and CSS/PROFILE financial aid forms for high school seniors: Each year, the colleges, high schools and media find it necessary to put fear into people regarding filing financial aid forms. There is added pressure on financial aid applications this year, primarily due to electronic applications and a greater number of students applying.

Getting your forms in earlier than later is better, but as long as you meet the college’s deadlines, your student is in NO DANGER of losing eligibility for aid. We do ask that parents provide us their complete information as soon as possible as well, but we don’t want you to hit the panic button just yet.

As far as the FAFSA being filed, if your information is ready, it should be filed between the 15th and the 20th of January! This is more than enough time for 99.9 % for the majority of financial aid deadlines. Every year there are changes to the FAFSA that require programming changes.

Be prepared to submit signed copies of your completed tax returns to the financial aid office before your student’s award is finalized.



Parents of students that file the CSS/PROFILE: About thirty-five of the colleges and universities who use the CSS/Profile gather tax information via the Institutional Documentation Service (IDOC) for short. This is a free service the College Board has provided. When your taxes are complete, you will send a signed copy of your federal tax form with W-2s 1099s and requested schedules to the IDOC Center. From there your taxes will be scanned and digitally sent to the participating college(s).



SENIORS:



The colleges that request secondary reports from your school will be looking to see that you have kept your grades up. They will also be requesting your final transcript, so don’t slack off now as you head into the home stretch. Typically, the more selective colleges will let you know end of March/early April if you have been offered a seat in the Class of 2014. Be patient and make sure that you have applied to at least a couple of safety schools.

Colleges and universities that have rolling admissions policies can take up to six weeks before you hear back, so be patient.



Haven’t completed your college applications? What are you waiting for? Sharpen that pencil or get on your computer and get going! If you don’t do it now you will likely miss the boat. You don’t have to decide on which college to go to but you do need to have some in mind that you think might work out for you. And make your application shine with a résumé (complete with highlights of your achievements and put notes in the margins), include a flattering picture of yourself and a very compelling essay (if required).



Don’t be too proud to apply to a college that your parents or college planning specialist suggested. The reason they thought it wise to consider it was because they felt that the college would serve your major course of study, provide successful internships and maybe offer you a better than average financial aid package.



JUNIORS:

If you have already identified a college that you want to visit this year, call and set up the visit. At this point in the selection process, don’t offer any more information than asked for. Colleges tend to do a little homework of their own when they think a student has an above average interest. A visit definitely indicates interest.



Find out if they have an instant messenger program for you to IM current students. These students may answer questions that you may not want to ask of an admissions counselor. See if the college’s student newspaper is on-line and check out what the students write about.



If your PSAT scores didn’t meet with your expectations, now is a good time to visit with your guidance counselor and discuss your options to improve them. We’ve mentioned this before and with good reason, as it gets you thinking about getting better results. Sign up for the SAT Question of the Day . You’ll have a question a day emailed to your inbox. SAT practice tests, can be ordered directly from Eureka or the College Board if your guidance counselor is out of them, and private tutoring can be of great help. Call for referrals! The better you do on the standardized tests, the better your chances of reducing college bills through merit awards (free money).



If you like, call our office to ask which SAT prep course our students have had the most success with.



SATs may not be the deciding factor in the admission decision, but they can be the critical factor for your receiving a favorable financial aid package, e.g. merit award and grants (free money).



There is another test you can take instead of the SAT, and that is the ACT. The ACT is a knowledge-based standardized test that is popular in the Midwest . It measures what you know. Some students do better on the ACT than the SAT, and just about all colleges accept the ACT— so ask your counselor about taking this test.. Locate Where and When the Next ACT is Scheduled.



To get more information on the SAT or SAT Subject Tests, access useful tools, or register, visit the College Board's Web site (www.collegeboard.com) or call (866) 756-7346.

To get more information on the ACT, access useful tools, or register, visit the ACT Web site (www.act.org) or call (319) 337-1270.



Have a Happy & Safe New Year!



Brad Asbury

Access College Foundation