(written by Val, College Counselor at the Center for College Planning)

Hi bloggers,

In my travels I speak with many students preparing to go to college next year (whether they are a current high school senior, someone already in college, or someone who took some time off from school and is about to head back) who are concerned about receiving funding to help pay for it.  Yes, you may have missed the deadline for financial aid given out by your college specifically; but you can still file your financial aid paperwork to receive help from the government.

Your first step is to file your FAFSA form.  If you plan to file the form online, you can go to the following website: www.fafsa.ed.gov w.fafsa.ed.gov   in order to do that.  If you do not want to file the form online, you need to call the FAFSA office at 800-4-FED-AID and ask them for that paper form.  Filing your FAFSA makes you eligible for things like the Federal Direct Loan (a loan students can have in their own name without a co-signer at a fixed interest rate), Federal Work-Study (the ability to work on campus and earn money that could help cover the cost of books and your personal expenses), and Pell Grant money (FREE money to help pay for college-if you qualify based on yours and your family’s finances).

There is still time to take advantage of these opportunities to help reach your educational goals.  For more information about the benefits of filing your Federal Financial Aid form, check out the following article to learn more about it.

And as always, if you have any questions about what any of the questions on the FAFSA mean, or you would like help filing the actual form, you can always call the folks at the Center for College Planning at 888.7.GRADUATE x119.

File your FAFSA today!
Val