As if being the parent of a hormonal walking ball of energy is not enough excitement, half way through your child’s junior year of high school in Connecticut you realize that you will be the one filling out the college admission forms, financial aid forms and paying for the application fees. This means that you will most likely be the one stressing out about deadlines, scrambling for your financial records and being tempted to apply to a couple of Connecticut Colleges because each one charges a small fee to apply.
If you have all of a sudden found yourself in this situation then here are some life and hair saving tips:
- Apply to at least 6-8 colleges. Make an appointment with a Connecticut college consultants because this will give you some financial aid options.
- Apply to some colleges where you know you will get a good award.
- Request a refund of room deposits and admission fees from the college by May 1.
- Some colleges will waive the admission fee if requested to do so, especially in the case where the fee is a hardship.
- Some colleges waive the admission fee if the admission application is filed over the internet.
- Attend any Connecticut college admission counseling and help or speak with a Connecticut college admissions consultant
- Apply early to attract Connecticut college scholarships which are awarded not on the financial need of the student but on the college’s desire to meet their enrollment quota at an early date. Don’t apply early decision unless the student is on the borderline of being admitted and the desire to be admitted is greater than the need for financial aid. Early Decision often leads to poor offers of financial aid. Some colleges state that early decision will not be binding if the financial aid offer is not satisfactory. The family should inquire if this is the policy of the college. Here are some financial aid form tips that will keep you from making big mistakes when applying for financial aid.
- Application for financial aid may adversely affect the student’s chances for admissions. Therefore, don’t apply for financial aid until after the student is admitted. And learn as much as possible about Connecticut colleges admission processes.
- Be aware of the deadlines for filing the various application forms required by each college. Missing a college’s financial aid deadline can result in a reduced or zero offer of financial aid from the college.
- Know what application forms (FAFSA, PROFILE, etc.) are required by each college.
- Estimate tax return numbers to meet college financial aid deadlines or to file early to be in line for the first-come, first-serve sources of financial aid.
- Connecticut parents should apply for financial aid even though you may not qualify because he must file to be eligible for a Federal PLUS loan and to be able to file an appeal. Also, some colleges will not consider the student for future financial aid if he did not file the application forms in prior years.Know what the application form deadlines are for the student’s state of residency.
- Be advised that estimated tax numbers used on the financial aid application may trigger selection for verification.
- Inconsistency of data reported on the financial aid application form may trigger selection for verification (e.g., interest income reported, but no corresponding asset is listed).
- Connecticut real estate values that are greatly less than the Inflation Index Multiplier tables may trigger selection for verification.
- Typically, verification consists of sending in a copy of the parents and students tax returns, reporting the number of persons in the household, and reporting the number of persons in the household who are planning to enroll in college.
- If assets are verified, usually the financial aid officer will request information or values from the family’s accountant. They will not ask for a formal valuation of the family’s assets.
These are just a few of the insider tips and strategies for Connecticut parents of college bound students that you can access for FREE by clicking on the link below.
