New FAFSA Available next week!

The new FAFSA will be out soon and the financial aid process begins! Pick up a copy of Financial Aid Sense today so you have good information along the way!http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Aid-Sense-College-Financing/dp/1469931591/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356544980&sr=1-1&keywords=financial+aid+sense

For information about financial aid and college financing, visit Financial Aid Sense for newly updated information. Subscribe to the Financial Aid Sense BLOG so that you can stay informed during the entire financial aid process.

Financial Aid Application

Lots of new information on our main Financial Aid Sense BLOG about the college financial aid application process and outside scholarship search process! Check out our main BLOG for pertinent information for college bound seniors!

Financial Aid Sense BLOG

CSS Profile Form for the 2012-13 Academic Year is Available Soon

Just added a new post on our main Financial Aid Sense BLOG related to the CSS Profile Form for the 2012-13 Academic Year Available Soon. It will be available on October 1st. Check out our post for all the information.

College Planning Timeline

New Post on the Financial Aid Sense BLOG - College Planning Timeline

Check our our Timeline for College Planning - Don't Miss Out on Financial Aid Opportunities!

Financial Aid Sense BLOG

Greetings everyone! Financial Aid Sense's main BLOG is now housed on our website Financial Aid Sense so we hope that you will click on over to our main website and keep updated on financial aid and college financing information as we add BLOG updates all the time as well as new pages to our website full of financial aid information.

In addition, our newly updated financial aid publication is now available! Check out Financial Aid Sense - A Practical Guide about Financial Aid and the College Financing Process.

A Practical Guide about Financial Aid and the College Financing Process 

Marriage and Loan Repayment Obligations

Marriage and Loan Repayment? Doesn't sound very romantic at all, however, there is some very important information to know if you will be in a repayment situation for your student loans while married. 

The folks over at bachelorsdegreeonline.com shared this very informative article with me and I thought that I would pass it along. Check out the article below:

10 Things You Should Know About Student Loans Before Getting Married

As always, visit the Financial Aid Sense website for timely and pertinent information on the financial aid and college financing processes.

Foundation Helps Pediatric Cancer Survivors with College Planning | PRLog

Foundation Helps Pediatric Cancer Survivors with College Planning | PRLog

Saving Money on College Textbooks

Many students will be gearing up very soon and heading off to college thus I thought that I would start a series of posts geared towards saving money on college expenses as well as financing options. Financial Aid Sense has a number of published articles - tonight I will share the first of many.

Check out our article on "How to Save Money on College Textbooks" for some valuable information on how to slice book costs. Financial Aid Sense is also packed with helpful information about the entire college financing process.

National GRACE Foundation is devoted to helping pediatric cancer patients

The National GRACE Foundation is devoted to helping pediatric cancer patients with their college planning. Check out their story at the link below - they are doing amazing things in this area!

National GRACE Foundation

Financial Aid Sense on PR LOG

Check Out Financial Aid Sense on Press Release on PR LOG

Financial Aid Sense Launches Website Full of Resources

Great news! Just launched the Financial Aid Sense Website which is full of useful articles, a timeline, a glossary, and all sorts of other great information about financial aid and the college financing process. Check it out for financial aid information! Articles will be added every week so check back often for other financial aid related topics.

Check out Financial Aid Sense for financial aid resources!

New Website Launched - Financial Aid Sense

Check out our new website and financial aid resource library!

Financial Aid Sense

Net Price of College - Comparing Financial Aid Award Letters

AWARD LETTERS

An award letter includes the offer of financial aid to a student from a college. The award letter typically is provided at the same time as or following the admissions acceptance letter, providing all financial aid application requirements have been met.

Over the next few weeks, newly admitted college students should begin receiving financial aid award letters and the very important comparison process will begin. Over the next few weeks, we will share some important information on how to compare financial aid award letters. 


The first of which is information on the NET PRICE of college. Net Price is the difference between a college’s cost of attendance and the total need-based and merit-based grant awarded. Although an estimate, it is an important metric when considering colleges as the net price is the true out-of-pocket cost to the student to attend college. Although financial aid award letters may include many types of financial aid, it is important to look at the net cost which just takes into consideration the cost of college minus gift aid sources.


Net price calculators are displayed on college websites as well as on the Student Federal Aid site and are a good resource for families. Calculators allows students to calculate an estimated net price of attendance at the college by looking at the defined cost of education at that college minus grant and scholarship aid. That way a family can compare the net price of each of the schools that a student is accepted to and compare actual out of pocket costs. 

Check out college websites for their net price calculators!

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Free Credit Reports Provide Valuable Information

Although it is only February and many of you are just finishing up the FAFSA and related financial aid application required, it is not too early to think about paying the college bill that will come in this summer.

Hopefully you have completed all of the financial aid application requirements so that colleges can give you a financial aid award letter after being admitted to college. There are many types of financial aid programs available, however, in many cases a family will need additional funds to meet college costs.

In the event that a family will need to borrow through either the Federal PLUS Loan Program or a private loan program from a bank, credit union or state agency, these loans are based on credit. Applicants will need to pass a credit analysis in order to qualify for a private loan. Most families that need private loans will apply beginning in June, however it is never too early to plan ahead.

Before you begin reviewing private loan offering available from banks,  credit unions and state agencies, it is important to understand the role of credit in the private loan process as private loans are not automatic financing options for all families. Private education loans from banks, credit unions, state agencies and private companies are credit based. What does that mean exactly?

Private loan programs use a borrower’s and co-borrower’s (if applicable) credit worthiness as a determinant when considering applicants for private loan eligibility. A borrower’s credit worthiness not only determines if they are approved for the loan but what interest rate is assigned to the loan. Ultimately, when talking about private loans, your credit rating is a very important determinant in the private loan review process.

Although lender analysis formulas are proprietary information and unpublished to the consumer, it is a worthwhile exercise to get a handle on your credit, regardless, as it is important to establish and maintain good credit for many reasons.  A free way to get a sense of your credit standing it to request a free credit report from one of the three main credit reporting agencies. Annual Credit Report allows consumers to request a free credit report one time per year from EACH of the three main credit agencies, thus you can get three free credit reports each year. 

FOR FREE CREDIT REPORTS CHECK OUT

: www.annualcreditreport.com

Be sure to check your credit report carefully to make sure there are no errors, such as credit card account standings or other credit history.  It takes time to clear up your credit report and to correct any errors or discrepancies. Do NOT wait until you need to apply for a private loan to remedy a credit report issue as it takes time. Private education loan decisions are made at a certain time – if you have discrepancies then it could affect your chances for approval and/or the competitiveness of the interest rate. Start early and correct any errors you find on your credit report, if applicable. The strength of your credit is based in part on repayment history, thus missing a monthly payment can damage your credit standing.

Even if you are not sure if you will need to borrow to finance college, reviewing your credit report is a worthwhile exercise. Since it is free at www.annualcreditreport.com you really have nothing to lose!

FAFSA4CASTER

Greetings folks! Hopefully you have all read the page on the BLOG about filing your FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov and have been able to complete that task (and if you haven't NOW is the time!)

While you wait for your FAFSA to get processed, check out the FAFSA4CASTER on the Federal Student Aid Site. This site is very helpful and can give you an idea of what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for the upcoming academic year will be. As you know from reading my BLOG, the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the amount that you are deemed able to pay toward the cost of college for one academic year. The EFC is used in computing federal financial aid eligibility and should be used as a guide when budgeting and planning for college.

Check out the forecaster and start planning ahead today!

FAFSA DAY MASSACHUSETTS - January 29, 2012

Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone is compiling their information and chugging along on getting your FAFSA filed (or at least planning on doing it by early February)!

Just wanted to share a great resource with you - FREE Help for filing your FAFSA is available at over 25 locations across Massachusetts.

COLLEGE GOAL SUNDAY ~ FAFSA DAY MASSACHUSETTS  will be held on
Sunday,  January 29, 2012 - over 25 locations across the state will be staffed with knowledgeable financial aid professionals and will provide FREE assistance to students and families to complete the FAFSA as well as share lots of pertinent information on financial aid.

Visit www.FAFSADAY.org to view site locations, times, get directions, and a list of all the wonderful services that will be available at each of the sites.

FAFSA Filing - Please be sure to go to the right FAFSA Site

As you know from an earlier post, I have a page devoted to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid on this BLOG which I highly recommend that you read so that you can get started on completing your FAFSA so that you can be evaluated for federal need-based financial aid options.

Please be sure that you go to the Federal Student Aid Site to complete your FAFSA - remember this is a FREE application. The site is http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. I wanted to make a note about this as there is a FAFSA dot com site out there as well which actually comes up first in a google search due to their paid advertising. BEWARE as this dot com site asks people to pay to complete the FAFSA which is NOT necessary at all.

Completng the FAFSA is something that everyone can do on their own - no one needs to pay for a company to complete their FAFSA for them. Yes, you will need to spend some time completing it and will need to have your financial information with you (see list of helpful documents on the FAFSA.ed.gov site) but you can do it!

Scholarships

Greetings! Just wanted to share that there is a newly published page available for you to read and the topic is Scholarship Searches - timely information as you move forward with your college financial aid plans - definitely worth checking it out!

CSS Profile Form - Check to See if it is Required at Your School

As I mentioned in yesterday's post (January 10, 2012) "FAFSA" Post, everyone needs to file a FAFSA to be considered for federal need-based financial aid programs. In addition to the FAFSA, some college bound students and their parents will need to file the CSS Profile Form. The CSS Profile Form is a product of The College Board and is required by some PRIVATE institutions. It is NOT free (the cost is $25 for the initial application and first school report and $16 for each additional report), thus you should only file this form if the college or university requires it. A complete list of private schools that require the CSS Profile is available on The College Board's website http://www.collegeboard.com under the "Pay for College" tab. If your private college requires it then this is the time of year that you should complete it and file it two weeks prior to your college's financial aid deadline. Many colleges have deadlines in early to mid-February, so now is a good time to think about completing this form.

You will need to "register" online at The College Board's site before completing the form. Similar to the FAFSA, the CSS Profile Form will collect information on parent and student income and assets, although in greater detail than the FAFSA. For example, home equity information and retirement account information will need to be included on the CSS Profile among other things.

Families will receive an acknowledgement form after the form is filed and payment received and colleges will receive the processed information electronically.

So there you have it, the FAFSA and CSS Profile Form (only if required) should be a focus of your financial aid planning efforts this month.

To see our newest magazine article on the FAFSA, please visit our Financial Aid $ense Article.

Thanks for being part of the Financial Aid $ense BLOG.

Financial Aid Application - Need to Complete FAFSA

FAFSA - Time to File your FAFSA

Don't miss out on federal financial aid options! Be sure to complete your FAFSA online and on time so that you are considered for federal financial aid programs.

Please see our Free Application for Federal Student Aid Page on this BLOG for more detailed information about filing your FAFSA.

Welcome to Financial Aid Sense

Navigating the financial aid process can be both confusing and stressful! As a financial aid professional for almost 25 years, I wanted to develop a blog to assist families through the financial aid process. People come up to me all the time ~ neighbors, family members, parents at sporting events, parents of my kid's teammates, etc, and ask me questions about financial aid ~ all the time!!!! I realized that there is a lot of anxiety concerning the financial aid process thus I wanted to "give back" to those around me. As a longtime committed financial aid professional I wanted to share accurate, solid, and helpful information about financial aid and the related process. Check back often for financial aid related articles, updates and posts that will be designed to assist you in navigating through the process and hopefully providing you useful tips related to college financing in general.