한글 | English

education

Top Ten Financial Tips for Parents

Looking for financial aid to help foot the tuition bill? Follow these 10 tips to help you secure the funding you need and remember - don't wait until your child's senior year to start thinking about financial aid. Use this month to prepare and learn about FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid – as it is required by the schools for financial aid. January 1st is the earliest date it can be filed. The sooner you start the more money you may be able to find. Learn, Prepare, and File!

1. Get an early idea of your EFC www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml

Estimate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Federal Student Aid uses the data on your FAFSA to calculate an Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is an indicator of your family's financial strength to pay for education after high school. Your school will subtract your EFC from your total cost of attendance. The result is your financial need.

The EFC is not the amount of money that your family must provide. Rather, you should think of the EFC as an index that colleges use to determine how much financial aid (grants, loans or work-study) you would receive if you were to attend their school.

By getting an idea of what you might pay, you can find colleges within your price range and identify what you might need in scholarships and loans to manage your tuition costs.

2. Learn about FAFSA www.fafsa.ed.gov

Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, provides need-based federal aid called Federal Student Financial Aid. Its programs are the largest source of student aid in America; the more you know the more help you’ ll get for your child’s education.

3. Complete the FAFSA

Fill out this form, even if you think you won't qualify - very affluent families sometimes qualify for aid at certain high-tuition schools. This single application is your gateway to all federal loan, grant, and work-study awards that total in the billions of dollars.

4. Reduce your child’s savings

An entire 20 percent of your child's assets are considered available for college, as opposed to just 5.6 percent of yours. Encourage your child to save, but keep college funds in a custodial account.

5. Learn a little about marketing

This is one of the most important aspects of competing for merit-based awards. Highlight your child's accomplishments and an award committee will be that much more likely to consider giving a scholarship to your son or daughter.

6. Make financial aid a part of your campus visits

Ask to speak with someone in the financial aid office - it's the best way to get your family on the radar for campus-based awards. Afterwards, take some notes! These contacts could come in handy later.

7. Do a bit of detective work

Determine if your child's application for aid affects the probability of admittance. If so, find out how.

8. Determine the effect of outside awards

If your child receives an outside scholarship, find out how it will affect your financial aid award. Some schools will lessen grant aid, and others will pare down on loans. The school’s policy will affect the amount you’ll have to borrow.

9. Pay attention to deadlines

The sooner your child files his or her college applications, the better your chances of receiving aid. To assist with financial aid forms, file your taxes as early in the year as possible. Keep in mind that if you are applying to schools that require the PROFILE financial aid application, it may have an earlier deadline than the FAFSA.

The PROFILE (www.collegeboard.com/profile) form is administered by the College Scholarship Service (CSS), the financial aid division of the College Board. The CSS PROFILE is required by many private colleges and universities to determine your eligibility for non-government financial aid, such as the institution's own grants, loans and scholarships.

10. Make your college aware of special circumstances

If you have lost your job since completing the FAFSA or PROFILE, inform schools about your situation. Most have standard policies that allow for the use of projected income, which could increase financial assistance.

BACK TO TOP