Countdown to FAFSA!!!

The 2009-2010 FAFSA will be available for completion beginning on January 1, 2009!!! However, just because you have 4 days to wait until the wonderful opportunity of completing the FAFSA online, you can still get prepared. If you click here, it will lead you to the 2009-2010 FAFSA on the WEB worksheet. You can print this out, work on the form and then be ready for online submission bright and early on New Year's Day!!! So for accuracy, keep your partying to a minimum on New Year's Eve and feel free to ask any questions regarding the completion of the FAFSA by writing to me at slmconsulting@optonline.net!!!

Some scholarship and fun money news!!

Wow, I can't believe it is 10 days since I posted. This month is truly flying by with end of semester activities and the holidays quickly approaching. It is easy to get caught up in activities that seem more fun that the college finance process, however, 'tis the season!!! That's right, a lot of time now should be spent preparing for the filing of the 2009-2010 financial aid applications and for the completion of scholarship applications!!

There is a brand new site and concept out there that could help kids raise some money for college. This is a new and awesome concept. A new website called gradefund.com was recently started by two brothers, Michael and Matthew Kopko. It works like this. The site allows students to create online profiles and invite family and friends to "sponsor" the student for the achievement of good grades at the end of an academic term. Students can also get corporate sponsorship if they are studying something of interest to specific corporations.

This site, only a little over a month old has over 900 users. About 15-25% of them are sponsors, the rest are students. This runs much like "pledging" funds when people are raising money for a particular charity, say the American Cancer Society.

This is a way to raise money by "thinking outside the box"! Now if they had a way to invest the funds a student raises, much like "UPromise" does, this could truly be a unique venue for raising funds. The idea came to the Kopko brothers when they became aware of a friend, recently graduated from college, who came out with their degree and $120,000 of student loan debt.

So students, get motivated, start studying and raise some money!!!! Right now, the highest price being paid for an "A" is $400.00!!!!!

Start collecting that paperwork!!

Recalling that I have mentioned never to miss a financial aid application deadline, it is important to begin gathering the information that you will use to compile the 2008 tax documents. Since you might not have your taxes done prior to the financial aid application deadlines, make sure you keep track of documents that will help you complete the financial aid applications without your completed taxes. For example, year end pay stubs, quarter and month ending bank statements will help provide you with information to help complete the FAFSA when your taxes aren't quite done.

However, it is important to be as accurate as possible when completing the FAFSA because the results of that form will determine the initial financial aid packages offered to students. If you don't want massive changes in the financial aid offered due to large errors in the FAFSA, use what current income and asset information you have to insure the most up to date numbers possible!!!

FAFSA worksheets are on the way!!!

FAFSA on the web worksheets for the 2009-2010 academic year will be available in mid-December according to the federal government. While they are usually available sometime in November, there are so many regulatory changes for the 2009-2010 year, it is not a surprise that there is a delay in their arrival. However, even though the worksheets will be available for work to begin on the FAFSA, the actual FAFSA for the 2009-2010 academic year will not be available for online completion until January 1, 2009!!

I would encourage parents and students to get a 2009-2010 FAFSA worksheet as soon as they are available and start completing the worksheet with as much information as possible. The income data may require a bit more time and you might be waiting for the last pay stubs or statements of the year, but the basic identification and demographic information can be completed on the worksheet, so that it is ready for submission any time after 1/1/09!