Admittedly, my October: College Planning Cohort News is a long blog posting. However, this is an important topic and each year, far too many students neglect to complete and submit their FAFSA (and apply for financial aid by the deadlines set by their institution) in a timely manner, if at all. As a result, thousands of students lose out on limited funding opportunities such as the FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant), and other institutional grants and scholarships distributed on a first-come, first-served basis by many institutions. Procrastination can result in losing out on thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships, and instead, being forced to borrow thousands of dollars in student loans or unable to attend college in the fall following high school graduation.
The FAFSA filing period opens today, October 1, 2016, and our goal is for all students participating in our College Planning Cohorts to complete and submit their FAFSA by the end of the month. Each student will use the information contained in their SAR (Student Aid Report) to focus their college choice and scholarship research.
Read the October: College Planning Cohort News blog posting for a comprehensive overview of the FAFSA, how to acquire your FSA ID (required to submit the FAFSA online), videos from the U.S. Department of Education, and all of the links required to complete and submit a FAFSA for the 2017/18 school year.
Current college students should not only complete and submit their FAFSA, but utilize the same strategies as high school seniors to replace student loans with scholarships.
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