The Secret to Getting the Best Financial Aid Package

All financial aid packages are not equal.  By following three important tips you can make sure you get the most financial aid possible. 

1. Apply early.  Financial aid is handed out on a first come basis.  Make sure you submit a carefully completed on-line FAFSA as soon after January 1st as possible.  Do not wait until February.
2. Apply to colleges where you will be in the top of the applicant pool.  In other words, if the college feels you are a highly desirable applicant, the college will entice you to attend by offering you additional scholarship money.  Remember, colleges want to recruit top students and will make it affordable if they want you.
3. Contact the financial aid officer at the college if you need more financial assistance.  Explain your concerns and negotiate a better offer.  College financial aid officers have leeway to increase your aid.

Unclaimed Scholarship Money

We've all heard it:  There are millions of dollars of unclaimed scholarships each year.  Possibly, but the truth is these scholarships go unclaimed because nobody can claim them.  Many scholarships are too specific- only for the 4th son of a graduate of some no-name college or for a red-headed woman over 6 feet tall who plans a career in microbiology- you get the idea... often no one meets the criteria so the scholarship goes unclaimed.

My advice is to forget about it.  Don't waste time chasing fools gold.  There are many ways to find legitimate scholarship opportunities if you focus on the real main sources of scholarship money. 

Is there really free money for college?

It's financial aid season so it is important to understand some basics about paying for college.  Financial aid is money from the government (Federal and State) to help you pay for college.  The good news is that it is quite simple to apply for financial aid.  You complete one on-line application http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ and you are applying for all kinds of aid programs at the same time.  You don't need to understand all the different aid options - just fill out one form and submit it. You will automatically be considered for any aid programs for which you qualify.

The bad news is that depending on your income level, much of the aid you receive will be in the form of education loans.   Education loans are very cool, especially if they are subsidized (which means the payback doesn't start until after you finish college), but they do have to be paid back one day.  Those with low income will be able to get grant money.  Grant money is the best because it really is free money.

There is also another little-talked-about type of financial aid:  work study.  Work study is a program that allows you to work while you are going to college.  Your salary is paid by the government, through your financial aid, and then you just use your paycheck to pay for your books, etc.  With work study there is no debt building up to be paid back later.

More on all of these financial aid topics later...