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 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:

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

Winter is an exciting time for high school seniors and their parents. Even (and maybe especially) in this unusual year, the receipt of a college acceptance is cause for celebration. For many families, however, the initial elation of a college acceptance is quickly tempered by the receipt of a financial aid offer and the realization that, even after the awarded financial assistance, a given college’s cost is still out-of-reach for your family. While disappointing, that inadequate financial aid offer is not necessarily the end of the story, nor the end of your child’s relationship with that school of choice. The college aid application is, while daunting, necessarily limited in scope and does not paint a complete picture of many families’ financial circumstances, especially in these complicated times. For that reason, colleges are given latitude to use their discretion in considering families’ special circumstances when awarding both government and institutional aid. Consider if you may have had any of these special circumstances that would warrant an appeal to the Financial Aid Offices for special consideration:

Standardized test date cancellations across the world have led many universities to institute temporary and permanent test optional policies. This week we’ll help you decide whether or not to report your test scores to the colleges on your list who aren’t requiring them. It’s October 1, and the FAFSA is out—we have all the details you need to know to file this important financial document. Finally, host Ian Fisher joins the show to share his story about not getting into his first choice college.

If you couldn’t otherwise afford to attend college, applying for financial aid is a no-brainer. Of course you should complete a FAFSA! The decision may not quite as simple, however, for families who may be able to pay for college on their own. Is there any reason you should submit a FAFSA if you don’t expect to qualify for financial aid? Find out from former Boston University and Tufts University financial aid officer, Shannon Vasconcelos, in the first installment of the Bright Horizons College Coach video series, Ask the College Finance Expert.

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

Once upon a time, the college application process was simple.  By and large, students applied to just one or a couple of local colleges, they were easily accepted, and they could often pay for tuition with not much more than a summer job.

Nowadays, lots of students are considering a much more expansive network of the more than 4,000 colleges available across the country, many of those colleges have grown increasingly competitive, and paying tuition with no more than a summer job?  Forget about it!

In another in our series of stories from our team, Sai Somboon will share his decision to apply to and attend college in the United States despite growing up in Thailand. We’re also offering tips for the Georgetown application essays and previewing the FAFSA and CSS Profiles so that you can pull together the information you’ll need to complete these when they become available this fall.

by Shannon Vasconcelos, former financial aid officer at Tufts University

How to Pay for College Without Receiving Any Financial Aid

Paying for college is a challenge.  While this statement is probably not news to anyone, we sometimes overlook the extent to which this challenge affects all income groups.  Whether rich, poor, or somewhere in between, most people spend most of what they earn. Few of us can write an annual check for $70,000 without breaking a sweat (or, perhaps, suffering a complete panic attack).  As a College Coach college finance expert, I work with families of all income levels struggling with the prospect of paying for college.  While students from lower income households often qualify for need-based financial aid, the assistance options for higher income families are more limited.  But that doesn’t mean they are nonexistent. Families can employ a number of strategies and utilize a wide range of resources to help pay for college when they don’t qualify for financial aid.

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

The Sibling Factor: How EFC and Financial Aid Packages Can Change

When I worked in a Financial Aid Office, there was something that I could count on without fail every year. Whenever a student’s sibling graduated from college, I would inevitably get THE CALL from parents wondering “where has our financial aid gone?”

Behold the Sibling Factor: the effect on financial aid awards when siblings enter or leave undergraduate study. Parents might be delighted at the effect of a second child entering college (packages may increase). They get panicked, however, when a sibling leaves undergraduate study, and aid amounts for remaining undergraduate children decrease. (The other most common reason for changes to financial aid eligibility is a significant change in family income.)

If you’re the parent of a high school senior, you’ve likely completed the FAFSA by now. And if your child applied to any private colleges, you may have also completed a CSS/Profile.  So congratulations!  The most difficult part of the financial aid application process is over.  You can now sit back, relax, and let the money roll in, right?

Wrong! Did you know you can ask for more financial aid?