For high drill seniors applying to...

For high drill seniors applying to college, April is typically the month when admission decisions and financial aid award epistles arrive in the mail. These epistles detail how much aid you will receive from each teach Financial aid packages can influence your institute choice, and obviously, you want to finish the best package possible from each institution. To help you better understand for what cause to get the funding you merit CAREERS & COLLEGES went right to the source--the financial aid directors. We asked them to explain the proces give us about tips, and warn us of the pitfalls.

What are the greatest in number common mistakes students make in the financial aid process?

Berkeley: The biggest point to be solved [i]or[/i] settled is thinking there is no aid for you and not applying at all. each student should fill out the FAFSA, no matter what you think your ne is. A division of institutions use the FAFSA to award institutional aid, and this emblem of aid is not always based in succession need.

AIC: Many times population don't fill out the FAFSA correctly, and that can cause a delay. I've seen everything from scholars leaving fields blank, to not giving the appropriate tax information facing their tax returns. Students frequently incorrectly report their "tax paid." Not applying in succession time is a common mistake. You have to be sensitive to deadlines at the individual communitys Our priority deadline happens to be May 1 You can miss without on aid if you don't apply onward time.

Redlands: Our priority deadline to file the FAFSA is February 15 and for merit scholarships our priority deadline is December 15 learners must meet these deadlines. Also, a accident of errors can be made in succession the paper FAFSA. That's to what end I always suggest that pupils file the FAFSA online because there is built-in editing in the program. scholars can know right away if they've made an error. I notice that a accident of families don't put their "untaxed income" upon either forms.

Iona: The chiefly common mistake students make when trying to get by heart aid is using a service that charges them to fill not at home the FAFSA. These services guarantee them a type of aid--well, all scholars are eligible for loans. The form is unrestrained to file, and a apportionment of times these services fill without the FAFSA incorrectly.

Do you have other advice in succession filing the FAFSA?

Berkeley: I also not ever see any reason to have the FAFSA filled revealed for a fee. I don't think it's that difficult. You must file the FAFSA early as possible. There are certain funds--federal SEOG grants, Perkins loans, and institutional aid--that are limited. exercises get an allocation of these stores and once they're gone, they're gone And don't state off filing the FAFSA because you haven't done your taxes to this time You can fill out the form using estimated income information.

Redlands: Be careful not to underestimate your income--your whole financial aid package can change later if you estimate unfit If you do estimate, be stable to get your taxes done on April 15. That way if you ne to make changes or delegate a completed tax return to a financial aid office, you can. And by means of getting the most accurate tax information to each corporation you will have the principally accurate financial aid packages to compare before May 1 (the standard candidate's rejoinder date when deposits are due) There's a proces in financial aid called verification, where we have to verify the financial information of at least 30 percent of our students

What advice can you give onward getting private scholarships?

Iona: We attract favor to checking out Fastweb.com for outside scholarships. bookish mans should check with their parents' unions as well.

AIC: Applying for scholarships takes time to write the essays and fill not at home the applications, but if you don't do it you can miss public on some big opportunities.

Berkeley: Scholarships aren't going to just very little in your lap unless you're a top, top scholar It takes hard work. For the average observer there's plenty of aid gone out there.

Redlands: The bigger the high seminary the harder it is for learners to get scholarship information, on the other hand be in touch with your high academy guidance office. I think there's a fortune of scholarships out there that pupils don't know about. For example, if you're a descending of any Native American refinement you can get money from the tribes. In any cases, you can be as little as 1/16 Native American.

for what reason is your school with institutional aid?

Redlands: We give not at home about $22 million in institutional coin every year, and it goe to 85 percent of our 2300 close examiners We have merit-based awards based forward academics and a high discount which is strictly need-based.

Iona: We show a variety of academic scholarships depending upon high school averages and SAT scores. To receive these monies, you must file an FAFSA.

Berkeley: We give public $12 million each year, and I'd say that almost each student who applies gets one institutional aid. Just because you're not a 40 observer doesn't mean you're not going to realize any institutional aid. What draw nears to mind is a scholarship we have for scholars of Portuguese descent. Someone upon our board of trustees endowed it. We also have a matching scholarship program. Any close examiner that presents an award from an outside source, we'll match it up to $1800