One of the most important things in the college financial aid process is to make sure you are never on the wrong side of a deadline. Take a moment to watch this brief video so you understand the timelines for this important process—starting in the fall of your high school student’s senior year. Make sure you know what to expect; organize your data; and always check in with the college if you have questions.

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

How Home Equity and Other Assets Affect Financial Aid

With college costs at an all-time high, it is no wonder that parents are looking for ways to increase their financial aid eligibility. There is a lot of advice flying around the rumor mill about ways to get more financial aid—some of it true, a lot of it false, and much based in kernels of truth. Among these questionable pieces of advice is the common refrain that you ought to pay off your house in order to get more financial aid.

by Tara Piantanida-Kelly, former financial aid officer at Menlo College

This time of year, I talk to a lot of parents who are anxious about completing financial aid applications. They’ll ask “Do we really need to complete the FAFSA (and CSS Profile, if applicable)?” And my answer is always “No. But there may be some reasons you may want to complete them.”

No one is required to complete a financial aid application. But before you throw your hat up in the air in celebration of a to-do you can cross off the list, consider these hidden benefits that may change your mind about completing the form(s).

by Jeanne Mahan, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

It’s April and your student has (hopefully!) received financial aid offers from the schools to which they were accepted. While some schools still send these via the postal service, many others will notify your student via email that the information is available on their student portal, and still others will make it your student’s responsibility to check the portal regularly to find this information. As you’ve probably noticed, there is no standardization to these offer letters, which causes confusion. Are you comparing apples to apples, or apples to bananas, or bananas to oranges? If I had a magic wand, one of the first improvements I’d make is standardizing financial aid award letters so they’d be easier to compare.

by Robyn Stewart, former financial aid officer at College of the Holy Cross

Spend 10 minutes speaking with the parent of a high school senior, and I guarantee that I will spend some time dispelling some halftruths that have emerged from today’s college financing process. Anecdotal stories – you know the thing you heard that happened to your neighbor’s son’s friend’s cousin – all seem to have these magical happy endings that we understandably want to replicate.

Here are some top financial aid chestnuts that walk the fine line between myth and reality.

“Students can walk into a bank and get a student loan.”

by Chrissy Foran, former financial aid officer at Washington State University

Financial aid can be a very confusing and overwhelming subject for many families. You go through the process with your child, fill out applications, and pore over financial aid award letters, carefully deciphering each one. After months of comparing and discussing and debating, your child makes that all-important decision of where they want to attend. Victory! You feel so proud, mostly for your child, but also for yourself, having survived the process! You think your hard work is done, and you can now relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. It then dawns on you… wait… do I have to do this every year?!?!?? And then scarier questions arise: Could my child’s financial aid change next year? Might I get less?

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

The COVID pandemic has upended the world of college admissions in all sorts of ways. You may have read recently about the tremendous upsurge in applications at some of the most selective schools in the country, but those positive numbers only tell a limited part of the “admissions in the age of COVID” story.

by Robyn Stewart, former financial aid officer at College of the Holy Cross

Many high school seniors and their families selected for financial aid verification are currently wondering, “What could the Financial Aid Office possibly want now?” May 1, the national deadline to deposit at your chosen college is looming in the not-so-distant future, and yet some students are still submitting additional information to the aid offices on their college list. “Didn’t we already send them this?” families may ask as they jump through what they perceive to be another hoop on the road to receiving financial aid. Remember, the financial aid process is an exchange of information for dollars: your financial information for financial aid dollars. Don’t be discouraged! Your financial aid offer is on the way, but you may have a few extra steps to take.

Common questions from students who are selected for verification include:

As admission decisions start to roll in, students across the country are receiving both good (accepted) and bad (denied) news. And along with these clear-cut outcomes, many students are receiving some ambiguous news: yes, you’ve been accepted, but no, we are not awarding you enough financial aid to actually allow you to attend. This type of result can be the worst of all for families, as it often puts parents in the heartbreaking position of having to say no to their child’s dream school. Is there, however, any other option?

Paying for college for a child is a challenge, let alone paying for college for two or three or four children. Does the financial aid formula account for the added cost of raising and educating multiple children? Find out in the latest article on the Edmit blog by Bright Horizons College Coach finance consultant Shannon Vasconcelos.