The Invisible Gaijin

Even though yesterday was the party and almost everyone took pictures, I was pretty saddened to find out that I was hardly in any of them. Apparently they took a big group shot after I left to bring my things downstairs after the party ended. I had asked someone to come get me if anything happened -if we went to karaoke or whatever- but no one ever came. I ended up going back up again 10 or so minutes later, but no one mentioned a group photo or anything.

So when Yuta gave me the photo card this afternoon, I was a bit bummed-- for a moment, I thought I had something I could send to Scott, but no; why would I send a postcard that has a bunch of people he doesn't know on it, and not the slightest trace that I was even there?

I already asked Yuta, John, Christine and Erica if they had any photos of me; none of them do, except for a few where I'm in the background or partially obscured. Not exactly the kind of photo I'd like to send others. I did ask Christine if she could get ahold of Kimchi, since she was the one who KEPT taking pictures of me (or rather, my chest, but it's better than nothing, right?).

Still, I feel kind of left out. Photos are supposed to be people's solid memories, but judging by the way so few people had me in their pictures, I guess I'm just not that memorable. *sigh*

Acronyms, money, and school

ETA (2/18/07): This was formerly a paid post sponsored by PayPerPost. However, because such entries are forbidden by the LiveJournal TOS, I've decided to remove all sponsorship notices, links, trackers, etc. However, because the entry itself is my own (thoughts and opinions), I will leave this entry up. I highly recommend that people visit the site mentioned, FAFSA Online dot Com (which is not the same as fafsa.ed.gov, the official site for filing your FAFSA).

I suppose I'm one of those overzealous types that likes to be over-prepared when it comes to things like college. I like to know what classes I'm going to take, where they will be, what I will need, and what the professor will be like. But all of that's for moot if I don't get financial aid. THANK GOODNESS FOR FINANCIAL AID. Seriously, I would not be where I am (w00t, Japan!) if it weren't for financial aid. And it baffles me to hear from so many of my friends, classmates, etc. that they didn't qualify for/get financial aid. It always surprises me.

So I guess this post is my answer to them-- and anyone else on my FL that might need/want financial aid. But since it strictly applies to the U.S. government, sorry anyone from elsewhere... :P Maybe you can learn something interesting about the American system by reading this.

I know I'm one of maybe MILLIONS of students that knows about FastWeb.com, but even if scholarship-hunting isn't your thing, the U.S. government actually hands out millions (maybe even billions?) of dollars a year to "needy students." And believe you me, you probably are needy. Aren't you? Wouldn't you like some free money from the government? (That's a rhetorical question.) So the first step to getting the government to recognize you as a needy student is to fill out that loverly form, the FAFSA (note: not the FASFA. I suppose acronyms are easier to remember if you know the words they stand for. FAFSA stands for "Free Application for Federal Student Aid." There's no such thing as the FASFA -and any site offering to help you with it probably shouldn't be trusted- but if you misspell it, Google will kindly point you in the right direction).

It used to be the bane of my existence, because I consistently got rejected for California's state financial aid program, the Cal Grant. But luckily CSUN gave its own financial aid for student that didn't qualify for the Cal Grant, and through that grant, I've been able to go to college. :) It took several tries and many years of filling out the FAFSA before it became second nature to me, but that doesn't mean I skim through it each year. I make sure I'm prepared with every piece of paperwork I need, with my mom on the phone or sitting nearby, and a calculator at the ready. No mistakes, this is my educational future!

And then of course, I discover (through the wonders of the Internet) FAFSA online, which is not the site where you fill out the FAFSA, but where you get all sorts of advice and tips on it. I wish this site had been around when I was filling out the FAFSA for the first time! But of course, as a college student, I have to fill it out every year, or risk losing all my government-based aid. So I'm certainly going to take advantage of it, especially now that I'm in Japan and everything that I do will be through the Internet.

Being a supposed "FAFSA veteran," the first thing I did was check out their 9 secrets to the FAFSA. I treated it a bit like a quiz, to see how many of them I knew. ( 9 Is A Very Magical Number )

The FAFSA online site's got a lot more than secrets to the FAFSA though; they also have a handy podcast-style MP3 you can download, videos, and a breakdown of the FAFSA and what it looks at (and when). For any of you first-time FAFSA applicants (be it because you're a new college student or because you never applied for financial aid before), it's really helpful!

The MP3 is a bit fast-paced, but the good thing is you can pause it and rewind it! You can't do that with the financial aid or college counselors at school! So if they intimidate you or overwhelm you with facts, numbers, and paperwork, then this site is the way to go. You can take it at your own pace and double-check all your facts-- and being that it's just November, you can be ULTRA PREPARED for the 2007 FAFSA come January 1!

I know I'm going to see what I need soon, and make sure to plan everything with my mom. This is definitely one of those cases when preparation pays off!