Of course getting scholarships from your potential college is the first stop. You should have filled out the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile by now if you have applied to college. If you have not completed those financial aid applications, do it ASAP! Colleges use these forms for determining financial aid awards and a lot of it is awarded on a first come-first serve basis. You will see what your scholarship and aid awards are on your financial aid award letter which you will receive from your potential colleges before May 1. If you are a junior considering your options, remember to take a look at the academic scholarships and financial aid colleges offer before applying. Some of the scholarships require a separate application and may even have an earlier deadline than the regular college applications. You do not want to miss out on those.

There are so many scholarship search websites it is often overwhelming. Select just 2-3 and consistently check them for updates. Some of the to best pages are:

• Fastweb – After signing up and completing a profile (yes, many pages require this), you will be able to search and get matched with their database of around 1.5 million scholarships. You are able to keep your scholarships organized by those you are not interested in, those you would like to apply for and those you have already applied for. 
• Scholarships.com – Scholarships.com updates their database of more than 3.5 million scholarships to be sure to only include legitimate, current scholarships.
• Similar to Fastweb, you sign up and complete a profile to get matched with potential scholarships. 

Consider the local opportunities before jumping into the small nationwide scholarships. Great scholarship resources can be local community organizations, student and parent employers, banks, churches, and companies. SWFL students should definitely apply for the SWFL Community Foundation scholarships. Each year, the SWFLCF awards more than $700,000 in scholarships and the application(s) are fairly simple. The deadline for this is February 24. Also, the Collier County Community Foundation has a scholarship search tool for local and foundation supported scholarships. These scholarships are updated on an ongoing basis, so students need to check the page regularly for new opportunities. 

Students planning on attending an in-state college should not forget about the Bright Futures Scholarship. This program requires a certain GPA, test scores, and community service hours which need to be taken into consideration as early as possible. The deadline for applying for Bright Futures is August 31 after the student’s HS graduation.

Although it may seem daunting to have to write yet another essay for an application or fill out another form, it may end up being well worth your time. As someone recently pointed out to me, ‘if you spend 2 hours on an application and end up getting $1000, that is $500 an hour. Where else can you get that?’

Take some time and submit quality applications.

A final note of caution to those of you on the hunt for funds – beware of the websites which require payment for access to scholarship lists or people who guarantee they will get you scholarships. As you know by now, almost nothing in the college application world is a guarantee and you are capable of finding the scholarships on free websites.

Additional Resources

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators parent and student resources: https://www.nasfaa.org/students_parents_counselors

Read more about scholarship scams here: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0082-scholarship-and-financial-aid-scams

 Ashley McNaughton, Independent College Counselor and founder of ACM College Consulting, LLC.

The post The Spring College Scholarship Search appeared first on SWFL Family.

Sophomores – Spend time researching college and career options

By now, many students have had a broad discussion of college plans with their parents and/or high school counselor. What they probably haven’t done is actually sit down and do some self reflecting and research. What are their potential career and course of study interests? What type of college do they envision for themselves? What are the requirements for admission to those colleges? They should make it a goal to spend time doing research now while they still have time to adjust their high school path, visit schools, prep for tests, and set up job shadowing and classes to help them with their admission and final decision. That small amount of time they spend over the next year has the potential to make a BIG difference.

Juniors – Establish college application timeline and goals NOW

Students in their next to last year of high school should establish their timeline for college applications now! Although they may not have their ‘list’ narrowed down to the final few schools, it is not too early to establish personal deadlines for getting their applications done. The key is to set those deadlines early – take the potential college deadlines and move them back by 6-8 weeks! There can be a lot of unexpected delays, added requirements and other bumps along the college application road, and it is better to be done early than to risk an incomplete application. Students who stay organized and work ahead often forget to take into consideration the fact that there are pieces to the applications which are not in their hands. Recommendation letters, high school transcripts, and test scores are just a few examples of requirements which may not be sent directly by the student. Students need to give their counselors and recommenders plenty of time to complete their pieces.

Seniors – Continue to put forth best effort in school and remember college decisions are NOT everything

By now many students at this stage in their high school careers have completed their applications, especially those for out-of-state colleges. Most of those even have their offers of admission already. The first of two resolutions for students at this time are to continue to put forth their best effort in school. There are plenty of other students willing to take their spot at their potential future college and there is little room for slacking and decline in grades. Colleges do pay attention to this and indeed have the power to revoke their admission offer if they feel the student is not meeting their academic standards.

The second resolution and unarguably the most important, is for students to remember that admissions decisions are not everything. Unfortunately colleges are unable to truly get to know each student before making an acceptance decision. Although a student may not have gotten into their dream school, their future is still very bright and they have plenty of opportunity to shape it the way they want it to be. Every college has something great to offer, students just have to take advantage of it. I do believe some colleges are better fits than others and strive to help students find the best matches, but ‘the perfect college’ does not exist. College is only the beginning of the journey. It can be a spectacular part of it, but it is not everything and it is certainly not the end.

Ashley McNaughton is an Independent College Counselor and Founder of ACM College Consulting, LLC.

The post Year-by-Year Timeline for College-Bound High School Students appeared first on SWFL Family.

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the standard form used by all schools to determine the amount of fed- eral aid a student will receive. The application opens online on October 1 each year and closes the following June 30. The FAFSA calculates the EFC (Expected Family Contribution), what the government considers a reasonable amount the family should be able to contribute to the student’s educational costs whether or not a parent wants to contribute to their child’s education. For 2022-23, you will file using prior-prior (2020) tax year information.

The CSS Profile (College Scholarship Search Profile) is used by many colleges, primarily private, to determine eligibility for non-federal funding (institutional aid). It is filed through the College Board online. This application also opens October 1 and will use prior and prior-prior tax year information. So if you are applying for 2022-23, you will use 2020 and 2019 information.

It is important to know that the earlier you file the CSS Profile and FAFSA, the more funding you may receive as some grants are given on a first-come, first-serve basis. Also, each state and college has its own deadline for when you need to file, and these often fall around the time the college applications are due. Start early and aim to have your financial aid applications complete two weeks before your student’s first admission application deadline. There is no harm in submitting the forms before the actual admission applications are completed. If you are about to make a large purchase or make any significant payments, you should make them before updating your bank balance information. Other than that, do not delay completing your financial aid applications. While the FAFSA is primarily used to determine federal funding, some schools also use it to determine the distribution of their own institutional aid if they do not require the CSS Profile. Therefore, it is often recommended that all students fill out the FAFSA and do it early, whether or not they think they will be eligible for federal aid. Visit the colleges’ financial aid websites to find out whether you need to file the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA. The CSS Profile digs a little deeper into your family’s financials than the FAFSA. Some key differences are that it includes home equity of primary dwelling, family farms, value of small businesses, and for some schools, the non-custodial and/or step- parent income, and cash value of life insurance policies. Before you begin, it is helpful to gather the materials you will need to complete the applications:

An FSA ID to sign the FAFSA electronically. You can apply for this special username and password online via fsaid.ed.gov or other U.S. Department of Education websites. The student and the custodial parent will need separate IDs.

A College Board account to complete a CSS Profile – the student and custodial parent will share the login. If a non-custodial parent needs to fill out a separate application, you will receive notification after adding your schools to the list.

Social Security numbers.

Federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records

of income earned. You may be able to use the FAFSA’s IRS Data Retrieval Tool, which transfers the data directly from your completed tax returns to your application.

Bank statements and records of investments.

Mortgage statement.

Records of untaxed income such as child support or

interest income.

List of schools student is applying to.

Ensure that the information you have entered is accurate and complete to prevent any delays in the processing of your application. Make sure you have added any schools to which you are applying to the FAFSA and CSS Profile applications so that they receive the information. Filing the FAFSA is free, but the CSS Profile costs $25 for the application and first school and $16 for any additional schools. If you need to add colleges to either application later, you can always log back in and do that.

If your family’s financial situation has changed for the current year and the tax information you must use for the application does not properly reflect this development, it is important that you contact each of the colleges and inform them of your current situation. Examples may include hurricane loss, death in the family, loss of job, or illness. For any questions regarding each college’s financial aid policy and types of aid awarded, take a look at its website and feel free to reach out to the college’s financial aid office.

ASHLEY McNAUGHTON is an independent college counselor and founder of ACM College Consulting, LLC. For more information, call 814-935-4244 or visit www.acmcollegeconsulting.com.

The post How to Navigate the College Financial Aid System appeared first on SWFL Family.