Some big deadlines are coming up for the month of January. Financial aid, like the FAFSA, and application deadlines will be due this month. FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. FAFSA’s started to be filed on January 1st.
According to the FAFSA website, “Many states, colleges, and universities have filing deadlines as early as the first weeks in January.”
The FAFSA website also states that almost every student is eligible for some form of financial aid, regardless of income or circumstances, as long as you meet a few certain requirements. These requirements can be found on the FAFSA website.
Seniors be careful, some applications put the deadline that financial aid is due, while others put the date that your financial aid needs to be sent by. Make sure you figure out which dates your colleges of choice refer to.
More than $227 billion in financial aid is available to help pay for student’s college. FAFSA allows students to apply for more than 90% of this money.
This financial aid is limited and is offered on a first come, first serve basis. The sooner you complete it, the sooner you will have an idea of what financial aid may be offered to you. So seniors, start applying as soon as you can.
Seniors: you need to also make sure you have started your applications and make sure you are fulfilling out the requirements to graduate.
“If you haven’t started your applications, you are behind schedule. You need to send in your late applications and see your counselor immediately. Even rolling deadline schools are filling up. It is also important to have everything sent in because of housing,” counselor Carolyn Brooks said.
Counselor Jenn Fieldman agrees with counselor Carolyn Brooks.
Counselor Jenn Fieldman adds that, “seniors need to know they’re on track with credit and make sure they have all of their credits.”
The counseling department also adds that some colleges require that you send in your midyear report, which includes your new GPA, class rank and your seventh semester grades. Students can find the forms in their English classes and in the counseling office. The guidance office says that if your colleges do not require a midyear report, do not send one.
Your new class ranking and GPA will be out at the end of the month.
“Cards will be handed out at lunch as soon as they are ready,” registrar Carla Kind says.
Other things you can do this month to get a head start on college are registering for the February ACT (some colleges will still be able to accept it) and keeping track of the upcoming graduation meetings.
By meeting these deadlines, you will be sure to be on time for all of the dates coming up. Make sure to check back in February to make sure you continue to be on track.
