College Admission Help

Two Myths and One Sure Truth About Financial Aid and College Grants

By BECKETT HOWORTH
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

Today's column covers two common myths and one sure truth about college financial aid. That truth? The early bird catches the worm: The "worm" in this case is any type of limited-fund need-based financial aid or scholarship. The most dollars are available to those who apply at the earliest possible date. The key document in determining need is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Go online today with your tax return in hand and complete the FAFSA. If you haven't done your taxes, use last year's to estimate and then update later.

Which brings us to those myths:

1: "You make too much money to get financial aid so there's no need to fill out the FAFSA."

Since you cannot really know without filing the FAFSA, it is far better to go ahead and cover your bases. Keep in mind that the number of dependents in the home and especially the number who will be in college can greatly increase the calculation of a family's financial need. Some families, perhaps those who farm or own businesses, may be cash-poor and show need despite the potential liquidated value of what they own.

Since the official estimated Coast of Attendance can vary tremendously from college to college, a family's relative need for financial assistance can change greatly depending on where the student goes. The COA includes tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and some amount for "miscellaneous" expenses.

For example, this year a well-known private university in a contiguous state estimated annual COA for a first-year student living on campus at "$50,200 + transportation"; a nearby public university estimated $16,797; and a local community college calculated $10,350. The greater the COA, the greater the potential need.
When comparing costs, make sure you are getting the official COA. Every college has one.


2: "If you do well in high school, you won't have to pay for college."

College is free for very few students. We generally think of varsity athletes playing high profile sports as getting "free rides," but they have regular expenses not covered by their athletic scholarships. Yes, a few top academic students do win scholarships that cover everything, possibly including summer travel, research support, a computer - the works - but those who win those most generous scholarships 1) have demonstrated extraordinary leadership skills, 2) have consistently excelled in all classes, including the most challenging their high schools offer, and 3) almost without exception have eye-popping standardized test scores.
There are a huge number of very good reasons to do well in high school, starting with building a foundation you can rely on in the future and including earning at least a partial academic scholarship, but, sorry to say, getting to go to college free is rarely one of them.

A note on the FAFSA: If you Google "FAFSA," you will get many sites, some asking for fees. The FAFSA is free, so be sure you go to www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Beckett Howorth, M.Ed., former director of admissions and a past president of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling, has 33 years of admissions experience. He now guides students and families as an independent college counselor. To contact him or to read more information on college, go to www.howortheducationalplanning.com. Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 2/23/2009,


Two Myths and One Sure Truth About Financial Aid and College Grants