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Guess who’s back, back again..

Helloooooo, I’m back! After a very hard year where I didn’t really make improvements on my interaction with my blog, I’m back and trying to be more organized this year!

You know what else is back?

FINANCIAL AID!

If you follow my blog and live in the state of Texas, just a head up that the Texas Priority Deadline for Financial Aid is……..

January 15, 2020

What does this mean? It means that if you want to receive any kind of financial aid from the State of Texas, you must complete either the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or the TASFA (Texas Application for Student Financial Aid) by January 15, 2020.

Need a refresh on Financial Aid? Feel free to check out my previous blog posts explaining more on what the application entails and qualifies you for. Check it out here:

Financial Aid – What is this & why is it important?
Financial Aid for Students without Socials

If you are familiar with Financial Aid but just need a quick recap, read here:

1 Application = 4 areas of consideration: Grants (free money), Scholarships (free money), Work Study (on-campus job to pay off tuition). EVERYONE QUALIFIES FOR SOMETHING.

Additionally, most colleges are requiring an application to be on file before they will award a scholarship.

If you, the student has a Social Security Number then you can complete the FAFSA online at fafsa.ed.gov. If you, the student DO NOT have a Social Security Number, then you have to complete the paper application that can be found online in English or Spanish at: http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/index.cfm?ObjectID=699A998A-E7F3-1DCC-3F460F26136EEA05.

So complete one of these applications by ……. (drumroll please)………

JANUARY 15, 2020

to be eligible for all the opportunities! If you miss this deadline, you can still qualify for federal aid but not state aid. If you have any questions, email me at lacollegeadvisor@gmail.com.

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Financial Aid for Students without Socials

Hello!

It’s been a while since I have posted and I apologize. Back to talking about financial aid. If you do not have a SSN, there is still state aid available in some states. Texas is a state that offers aid to students who do not have socials but if you don’t live in Texas, check to see what your options are. I like how in depth this website is but it is definitely not the most current so check around: http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/undocumented-student-tuition-overview.aspx.

In Texas, the application is called the “TASFA” and that stands for the Texas Application for Student Federal Aid. The application is updated every year and can be found online in both English & Spanish. Download here:

TASFA in English: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/PDF/11596.PDF?CFID=68578290&CFTOKEN=83961888

TASFA in Spanish: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/PDF/11597.PDF?CFID=68578290&CFTOKEN=83961888

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Financial Aid – What is this & why is it important?

“Financial Aid” aka “FAFSA” aka “How am I going to pay for college?”

 

Last year I did a parent presentation titled “Financial Aid & Other Scary Things.” I think this theme is still appropriate seeing as it’s October and Financial Aid can be super scary and intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be.

I always ask my students, “how many of you have $20,000 to just give away?” The answer is almost 90% no one. That’s because college is expensive no matter if you’re going for 1 year or 4 years. It costs money that we would miss if we had to part with it all at once.

This is where financial aid comes in. Financial Aid is grants, scholarships, work study and loans that can be offered in any combination to the student. These offers come in “award packages” and will combine available monies from the federal & state governments as well as the college.

To apply for financial aid, students with a Social Security Number can complete the online application by 1. Creating a username at https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm. A student and 1 parent will need this username as long as they have a SSN. Then 2. the student can go to fill out the online application at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa.