College planning and financing

The biggest mistake made by college parents and students, along with returning students, according to many experts, is to not file for financial assistance to help with the expenses.

Why? Many assume they won’t be eligible because their families don’t qualify for “traditional” forms of need-based financial assistance, and therefore they don’t want to waste their time.

However! There are completely different formulas at work for college assistance as compared to everyday household needs such as housing, utilities and groceries.

With a lot of southeast Michigan people losing their jobs, going on longer layoffs than usual or sitting out some furlough days, a lot of families may find their college aid eligibility has changed significantly.

My daughter is junior at a college in Indiana. Because of our college requirements, I not only have to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, but also the CSS Profile report.

Yes, filling out those applications can be tedious. But in order to make your college education as cheap as possible, you really do have to go through the process. Any grants, work-study or subsidized loans that may result from a FAFSA application are much better for your pocketbook than taking out private commercial loans for college.

And as a further quirk: some scholarships that give awards based on academics, talent, community service or leadership will expect that you have also applied for any available need-based assistance.

You can search my blog archive with keywords “college” and “scholarships” to find headlines and announcements of interest to local college families.

In the meantime, here are some links and resources you’ll find helpful:

• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is mandatory paperwork for many financial aid programs.
• College Goal Sunday. On the designated date of this annual event, you can participate in a hands-on workshop that will help lead you step by step through the FAFSA process. Monroe County Community College is one of the host sites.
• The FinAid.org site has practical tips at Maximizing your aid eligibility.
• Know How 2 Go. This site has college how-to tips and advice for students at every grade level from middle school through high school seniors. It’s a great place to start for those students (and their parents) who are the first generation in their family to attend college.
• Michigan State University Library system has an extensive list of scholarships that are available to Michigan students.
• Monroe County Library System has a college resources page with useful links.
• Monroe High School has a Resources for College page that includes scholarship opportunities for local students, web sites for dozens of Michigan colleges and an explanation of college application procedures.
• Are you looking for scholarships that Monroe County students are eligible for? Read my post “Where all all those unclaimed scholarships?”
• Scholarship and grant resources also can be found at College Scholarships.org. There also are tips on this site on how to write scholarship essays, scholarship scam tactics, and an introduction to the education tax credits.
• Owens Community College in Toledo has a series of workshops called Parent College 101, which is aimed at first-generation college families.
• Michigan.gov’s Student Financial Aid section spells out financial resources of particular interest to Michigan students, including links to information about the Michigan Promise Scholarship, Michigan Education Trust and a Searching for Scholarships flier on pdf format.
• Monroe County Community College’s Dual Enrollment Program. This program allows high school students to take college-level courses. Before you sign up, think through how will you handle the transportation issues of attending classes at two campuses that are on different academic calendars?
  
• Advice on Student Finances at My Money Management. This web site discusses financial details you might not have thought of, such as budgeting for campus life and your first apartment.
• Michigan Transfer Network. If your student is planning to start at a two-year college and then transfer out (this is a very popular approach for Monroe County families on a budget), check out this web site to understand the logistics. Monroe County Community College does participate in this program.
• Early College Alliance is a program at Eastern Michigan University that is available to Milan High School students and other students in the Washtenaw County area. Schools of Choice transfer students are eligible in some circumstances, see the web site for details. ECA students are “on their own” as far as arranging transportation to and from the EMU campus.
• National Association of Financial Aid Administrators has a detailed web resource and planning list that you can refer to as you work through the financial aid application process.
• Professional Education Services in Grand Rapids has a scholarship search function on its web site.
• What to do when you can’t afford to pay for college anymore at American Consumer News has some practical tips for families in that dilemma, including part-timing the education schedule if full-time school is too expensive.
• The Finding the College Funds series on this blog, which includes tips from Professional Education Services, a financial aid consulting firm in Grand Rapids.
• The Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project is sponsored by the National Consumer Law Center and can answer some of your questions about student loans.
• Fox has a College Planning page with lots of tips and advice.
• Toledo Community Foundation has a list of metro Toledo scholarship programs, some of which Monroe County, Mich., students qualify for. There is also a helpful links page in its scholarship section.
• KeyBank has a page at key.com/school with information specific to its current and prospective customers, but keep clicking and you’ll find an Education Planning page with tips for a wider audience. And you can request a free College Planning Guide.
• QuestBridge is a non-profit program that links bright, motivated low-income high school students with educational and scholarship opportunities. Michigan students have been accepted into the program.
• President Barack Obama’s administration has a web site outlining new goals and programs at www.opportunity.gov. This site is specifically aimed at displaced workers who are returning to school to train for new or different jobs.

Last updated Sept. 20, 2009.