Paying for College 101: Financial Aid Deadlines Matter!

September 9, 2010 | posted by Myra Smith.

This is the second post in a series entitled “Paying for College 101: What You Need to Know about Financial Aid” by Myra Baas Smith, Executive Director of Financial Aid Services at the College Board.

I’m continuing today with the top 10-things you need to know about financial aid. Last time we learned that everyone should apply for financial aid, even if you don’t think you’ll qualify. So now that you’ve decided to apply, what do you need to know about the process?

#2. Deadlines Matter!

Meeting deadlines is essential in the financial aid process. Colleges have finite amounts of institutional funding, and aid awards must stay within budgeted amounts for financial aid. At some point the aid budget will be exhausted. Find out what the deadlines are and meet them – once the money’s gone, there’s nothing the financial aid officer can do!

Not only do the deadlines matter, they are different at each school. So how do you keep track of them all? The best source of up-to-date deadline information for all of the possible sources of aid is the college’s website. If you are applying to an in-state school, it is also good to check your state’s higher education website to make sure you fill out your state’s application on time. Once you have done your research, make a chart showing the financial aid deadlines for each school on your list.

Begin this process early – you should do it at the same time you begin to research and consider applying to schools. The College Board’s “College Search” website can help you with this task. There you will be able to both search for colleges that are a good match for you and find information about each college, including financial aid application deadlines.

You may not be able to complete an aid application early, but know when the various application materials are due, and make sure you at least start the application on time. For example, The Free Federal Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) isn’t available until January 1^st. If a school wants information prior to January, make sure they get it and then do the FAFSA as soon as you can when it becomes available.

You may also be asked for supporting documents later in the application cycle – things like tax returns or scholarship forms. Send those in as soon as you have them, but do not hold up sending in the rest of your application. Both the FAFSA and the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE^® Application will allow you to estimate income figures – do so if it means getting the applications filed on time.

And that leads us directly to the third thing you need to know, which I will cover in the next post.

Written by Myra Smith

Myra Baas Smith is the Executive Director of Financial Aid Services at the College Board. The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Myra also has served as the Director of Student Financial Services at Yale University and Smith College.

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