Acronyms, money, and school
Nov. 1st, 2006 09:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteETA (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. Secret #1: FAFSA Aid = f(1/AGI)
Did I know this? Well, sort of. I knew AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) factored in as a big part of one's financial aid, but I didn't know exactly how. What can I say, math equations don't exactly stick in my head very long.
AUGH! MATH!!!!!!! Kill it, kill it dead! If there's one thing that's my weakness, it's math. Equations, functions, calculations... I'm sorry, it's just not my strong point! But thankfully the FAFSA actually TRIES to put things in plain English, for those of us that aren't whizzes with numbers. What that whole complicated-looking thing means is that your adjusted gross income plays a big role in how much financial aid you get. And SOOO many people I have heard don't calculate their AGI properly. My mother and I learned the hard way, and now we make sure to use TurboTax when we do our taxes. Even better, Mom was an H&R Block Tax Preparer for a while, and her boyfriend Gary is an accountant, so I always have at least two people to double-check all my work.
The best thing I did for my AGI this year was to consolidate my student loans. Yes, I gave up my grace period (which means I have to start paying back my loans about 2 months after I graduate), but it also means I locked in my low interest rate, rather than get swept up with the giant increase that happened as of July. Any new loans I take out after the consolidation (that is, for this semester and beyond) will be at the new rate, and if I consolidate them prior to graduation, they will reflect the new interest rate. But it's a pretty decent trade-off, considering how much LESS money I'll be paying in the long run.
Secret #2: In order to get cash, you can't HAVE cash.
This is a given. I remember every time I filled out my FAFSA, it would always ask how much was in my bank accounts, and if I had savings plans like 401k and the like. I don't have any special savings account set up yet, and my checking accounts are typically pretty low when I fill out the FAFSA. The primary reason is because I spend so much money in December, and the FAFSA is first available on Jan. 1 of the new year. It's usually not due until Mar. 2, but the sooner you get it in, the more money is available to you. And since I tend to be broke from Christmas shopping, it works out in my favor. Same goes for those of you who are lucky enough to have parents that CAN chip in. Just ask them to spend a bit more on you before you go/return to college as "Christmas" presents or whatnot. When FAFSA checks your taxes (or your parents'), they'll see just how needy you are!
Secret #3: Life Insurance
I don't know about you, but I don't have life insurance. Neither my school nor my current job provide the kind of medical coverage to cover life insurance, because IT'S EXPENSIVE. If you ever decide to become a parent, life insurance is typically the thing you invest when your kid is just a baby, because it's cheaper that way, and like other savings plans, the more that you get saved up, the more it's worth-- just in case something terrible does happen. No one likes to admit to that possibility, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
But I didn't know that the FAFSA intentionally excluded this. So it's worth it to HAVE life insurance, just because the amount you pay goes toward something worthwhile, and the FAFSA people never see it. It's a savings plan of sorts that doesn't deduct from what you could possibly get from the government. Maybe I should look into getting some...
Secret #4: Make lemonade...?
You know the phrase "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade"? It means "Make the best out of a bad situation." For the FAFSA, that means if you invested in something that sunk, find a way to unload the bad thing, suck up the loss, and overall have the whole thing LOOK like an investment. This doesn't mean you should intentionally invest in something with a bad reputation though. I guess it only counts if you (or your parents) invest. If they do, remember to take this into account. My mom doesn't, so it's not a worry of mine. She's the one whose taxes I always look at for my FAFSA, even if technically I'm not her dependent anymore. My grandparents COULD claim me, but they won't (because they're nice???).
Secret #5: Watch what's in your name
It used to be an old idea that parents had a secret "college fund" saved up for their kids-- hidden away at some bank, in their kid's name. I never had any such thing, and I suppose it ended up being a good thing in the long run. It turns out that if your parents set up a savings account IN YOUR NAME, it has more weight on the FAFSA, and can detract from the amount of money you get. But if they save up money for you but don't INDICATE on the account "This is money for (Your Name Here)," then the FAFSA only counts it as your parents' savings, not yours. The catch to this is, all of us working students probably have personal bank accounts in our name... and those DO count against us. But then, if you don't have a bunch of money in said account when you fill out your FAFSA, you're probably not in too much danger.
Secret #6: Details, details, details
Even though the Paper FAFSA is maybe something like 4 pages at most, many people neglect to read the fine print and end up getting their FAFSA sent back to them, or rejected on the basis of errors. Better to get everything right the first time by double, triple, and quadruple-checking all the details. That means not filling anything out in sparkly, scented pink ink, writing in loopy letters, or writing it when you're half-asleep. It also means doing it with someone who knows the details-- and has the paper proof to back it up, rather than "I think..."
I remember my first FAFSA was a complete bomb because I just wanted to get it over with, and I didn't read the details about what to do about blank spaces. I think I put N/A in the fields that didn't apply to me, when that's 100% UNACCEPTABLE to the FAFSA people. Better just to put 0 than leave ANYTHING on the FAFSA blank. Thankfully, on the online version, you can't really get away with leaving anything blank. The form will annoy you with big red letters and tell you to put SOMETHING or put 0 to indicate it doesn't apply. But always read the fine print-- it matters a lot. If you haven't received an important form (W-2, etc.) in the mail yet, better to wait for it before even attempting to fill out the FAFSA. It's not worth it to submit everything and then have to make corrections.
So I did know this-- but I learned it the hard way.
Secret #7: Timing is everything
Like I said before, the FAFSA goes online (and is available to be sent via snail mail) starting Jan. 1 of each year. While many people are still caught in the revelry of New Year's Day, it takes a few minutes to go to the FAFSA site and check everything out. If you know what you need, once you get all your paperwork together, you'll be ready to tackle the FAFSA with confidence. Then, once it's filed and done, you can file for scholarships-- because if you get them BEFORE you file for the FAFSA, it counts against you. Luckily, my own CSUN Presidential Scholarship had a deadline in October, way after the FAFSA was due, so when they announced the winners for the following semester, it did no harm against my FAFSA. Since I have to present a project in order to renew it, I don't even know if it'll be visible on my coming FAFSA; I'll have to check with them first.
Secret #8: Work it!
I remember worksheets as being one of the most fun things about class. True, FAFSA's worksheets aren't that fun, but they certainly make filling out the whole thing easier. They have both a paper and online version, so you can fill out what information you know, and then when you fill out your FAFSA for real, all you have to do is "refer to line" XX or YY on the worksheet, and presto! One less thing to worry about! It's like a mini-FAFSA in a way, because it asks for all the important information, but it condenses it, writes out all the formulas for you, and then says "You will need this for THIS part of the FAFSA," so you're 100% ready when you're facing the real deal.
Secret #9: It's not ALL about the FAFSA
It's not the end-all, be-all if you don't get the money from the government. Actually, you can always get loans (because organizations love to give out money with the promise that they'll get it back--and then some!), or scholarships from other sources, like school, companies, etc. My CSUN scholarship technically covers my entire tuition and books, but the FAFSA helps me cover other necessary costs, especially now that I'm abroad. So it's always a good idea to look for other sources. Like I said in the beginning, "better safe than sorry." And if you get BOTH the FAFSA and other financial aid? GO YOU! It's better than relying 100% on your parents' contribution or your own savings.
So out of all the secrets, I'd say I knew 6 out of 9. That's pretty good, considering the odds. How many did YOU know?
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!
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. Secret #1: FAFSA Aid = f(1/AGI)
Did I know this? Well, sort of. I knew AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) factored in as a big part of one's financial aid, but I didn't know exactly how. What can I say, math equations don't exactly stick in my head very long.
AUGH! MATH!!!!!!! Kill it, kill it dead! If there's one thing that's my weakness, it's math. Equations, functions, calculations... I'm sorry, it's just not my strong point! But thankfully the FAFSA actually TRIES to put things in plain English, for those of us that aren't whizzes with numbers. What that whole complicated-looking thing means is that your adjusted gross income plays a big role in how much financial aid you get. And SOOO many people I have heard don't calculate their AGI properly. My mother and I learned the hard way, and now we make sure to use TurboTax when we do our taxes. Even better, Mom was an H&R Block Tax Preparer for a while, and her boyfriend Gary is an accountant, so I always have at least two people to double-check all my work.
The best thing I did for my AGI this year was to consolidate my student loans. Yes, I gave up my grace period (which means I have to start paying back my loans about 2 months after I graduate), but it also means I locked in my low interest rate, rather than get swept up with the giant increase that happened as of July. Any new loans I take out after the consolidation (that is, for this semester and beyond) will be at the new rate, and if I consolidate them prior to graduation, they will reflect the new interest rate. But it's a pretty decent trade-off, considering how much LESS money I'll be paying in the long run.
Secret #2: In order to get cash, you can't HAVE cash.
This is a given. I remember every time I filled out my FAFSA, it would always ask how much was in my bank accounts, and if I had savings plans like 401k and the like. I don't have any special savings account set up yet, and my checking accounts are typically pretty low when I fill out the FAFSA. The primary reason is because I spend so much money in December, and the FAFSA is first available on Jan. 1 of the new year. It's usually not due until Mar. 2, but the sooner you get it in, the more money is available to you. And since I tend to be broke from Christmas shopping, it works out in my favor. Same goes for those of you who are lucky enough to have parents that CAN chip in. Just ask them to spend a bit more on you before you go/return to college as "Christmas" presents or whatnot. When FAFSA checks your taxes (or your parents'), they'll see just how needy you are!
Secret #3: Life Insurance
I don't know about you, but I don't have life insurance. Neither my school nor my current job provide the kind of medical coverage to cover life insurance, because IT'S EXPENSIVE. If you ever decide to become a parent, life insurance is typically the thing you invest when your kid is just a baby, because it's cheaper that way, and like other savings plans, the more that you get saved up, the more it's worth-- just in case something terrible does happen. No one likes to admit to that possibility, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
But I didn't know that the FAFSA intentionally excluded this. So it's worth it to HAVE life insurance, just because the amount you pay goes toward something worthwhile, and the FAFSA people never see it. It's a savings plan of sorts that doesn't deduct from what you could possibly get from the government. Maybe I should look into getting some...
Secret #4: Make lemonade...?
You know the phrase "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade"? It means "Make the best out of a bad situation." For the FAFSA, that means if you invested in something that sunk, find a way to unload the bad thing, suck up the loss, and overall have the whole thing LOOK like an investment. This doesn't mean you should intentionally invest in something with a bad reputation though. I guess it only counts if you (or your parents) invest. If they do, remember to take this into account. My mom doesn't, so it's not a worry of mine. She's the one whose taxes I always look at for my FAFSA, even if technically I'm not her dependent anymore. My grandparents COULD claim me, but they won't (because they're nice???).
Secret #5: Watch what's in your name
It used to be an old idea that parents had a secret "college fund" saved up for their kids-- hidden away at some bank, in their kid's name. I never had any such thing, and I suppose it ended up being a good thing in the long run. It turns out that if your parents set up a savings account IN YOUR NAME, it has more weight on the FAFSA, and can detract from the amount of money you get. But if they save up money for you but don't INDICATE on the account "This is money for (Your Name Here)," then the FAFSA only counts it as your parents' savings, not yours. The catch to this is, all of us working students probably have personal bank accounts in our name... and those DO count against us. But then, if you don't have a bunch of money in said account when you fill out your FAFSA, you're probably not in too much danger.
Secret #6: Details, details, details
Even though the Paper FAFSA is maybe something like 4 pages at most, many people neglect to read the fine print and end up getting their FAFSA sent back to them, or rejected on the basis of errors. Better to get everything right the first time by double, triple, and quadruple-checking all the details. That means not filling anything out in sparkly, scented pink ink, writing in loopy letters, or writing it when you're half-asleep. It also means doing it with someone who knows the details-- and has the paper proof to back it up, rather than "I think..."
I remember my first FAFSA was a complete bomb because I just wanted to get it over with, and I didn't read the details about what to do about blank spaces. I think I put N/A in the fields that didn't apply to me, when that's 100% UNACCEPTABLE to the FAFSA people. Better just to put 0 than leave ANYTHING on the FAFSA blank. Thankfully, on the online version, you can't really get away with leaving anything blank. The form will annoy you with big red letters and tell you to put SOMETHING or put 0 to indicate it doesn't apply. But always read the fine print-- it matters a lot. If you haven't received an important form (W-2, etc.) in the mail yet, better to wait for it before even attempting to fill out the FAFSA. It's not worth it to submit everything and then have to make corrections.
So I did know this-- but I learned it the hard way.
Secret #7: Timing is everything
Like I said before, the FAFSA goes online (and is available to be sent via snail mail) starting Jan. 1 of each year. While many people are still caught in the revelry of New Year's Day, it takes a few minutes to go to the FAFSA site and check everything out. If you know what you need, once you get all your paperwork together, you'll be ready to tackle the FAFSA with confidence. Then, once it's filed and done, you can file for scholarships-- because if you get them BEFORE you file for the FAFSA, it counts against you. Luckily, my own CSUN Presidential Scholarship had a deadline in October, way after the FAFSA was due, so when they announced the winners for the following semester, it did no harm against my FAFSA. Since I have to present a project in order to renew it, I don't even know if it'll be visible on my coming FAFSA; I'll have to check with them first.
Secret #8: Work it!
I remember worksheets as being one of the most fun things about class. True, FAFSA's worksheets aren't that fun, but they certainly make filling out the whole thing easier. They have both a paper and online version, so you can fill out what information you know, and then when you fill out your FAFSA for real, all you have to do is "refer to line" XX or YY on the worksheet, and presto! One less thing to worry about! It's like a mini-FAFSA in a way, because it asks for all the important information, but it condenses it, writes out all the formulas for you, and then says "You will need this for THIS part of the FAFSA," so you're 100% ready when you're facing the real deal.
Secret #9: It's not ALL about the FAFSA
It's not the end-all, be-all if you don't get the money from the government. Actually, you can always get loans (because organizations love to give out money with the promise that they'll get it back--and then some!), or scholarships from other sources, like school, companies, etc. My CSUN scholarship technically covers my entire tuition and books, but the FAFSA helps me cover other necessary costs, especially now that I'm abroad. So it's always a good idea to look for other sources. Like I said in the beginning, "better safe than sorry." And if you get BOTH the FAFSA and other financial aid? GO YOU! It's better than relying 100% on your parents' contribution or your own savings.
So out of all the secrets, I'd say I knew 6 out of 9. That's pretty good, considering the odds. How many did YOU know?
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!
