1. Senior College Prep
9/28/17

2. Student Debt
Video

3. FAFSA
The FAFSA is the Free Application For Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA determines eligibility for a variety of aid including grants, scholarships, student loans, and work study.
Everyone should complete the FAFSA, even if you don't believe you will receive anything. You never know what you will get until you try, and some scholarships may require you to complete the FAFSA.
The FAFSA will open on October 1.
To complete the FAFSA, you will need your 2016 tax returns and financial information.

4. FAFSA
The IRS data retrieval tool will automatically fill in your tax information.
In order to use the IRS data retrieval tool, the student and at least one parent must create an FSA ID. You will also use the FSA ID to electronically sign the FAFSA.
Seniors and parents should go ahead and create your FSA ID now. Keep this information in a safe place because you will need it to complete the FAFSA every year you are in college.
For information about how to create your FSA ID please see How To Create An FSA ID.
To determine who should be included on the FAFSA, please see Who Is My Parent When I Fill Out My FAFSA.

5. Completing the FAFSA
The sooner you complete the FAFSA, the better. Funding is on a space available basis.
Seniors need to check with each school they are applying to to see when the FAFSA is due. The deadline for Maryland state schools is March 1. Some schools could have a deadline as early as the application deadline (November, December or January).
In order to send the FAFSA to your schools, you need to add the Federal School Code. To find a school code you can use the Federal School Code Search. I do not recommend that you add schools to the FAFSA until you have decided that you will apply.

6. FAFSA
When your FAFSA is submitted, it will be sent directly to the Department of Education. After three business days, the Department of Education will forward the FAFSA to the Financial Aid Office at each college you listed. A Student Aid Report (SAR) will be sent to the student with a summary of all information included in the FAFSA.
You can receive financial aid packages as early as December and as late as March.

7. Borrowing Responsibly
Video

8. CSS PROFILE Some schools may require the CSS Profile.
This is an application for non-federal student aid.
Here is a List of Institutions Using the CSS Profile.
Please check each school's website to verify that they require the CSS Profile.
The CSS Profile becomes available on October 1 and each school will have its own deadline.

9. International financial aid
Big Future College Search – In the “Paying” section you can select a box to find schools that give international students financial aid
Financial Aid for Nonresident Alien Undergraduates

10. Institutional scholarships
Your application to the institution is usually also the application for scholarships. They are typically based on the GPA and standardized test scores.
Make sure you know whether your schools have a scholarship priority deadline

11. Other Scholarships
To see local and national scholarship opportunities, visit the College Counseling Website.
You can hover over "Scholarship and Financial Aid" in the menu to see scholarships listed by month.
I will update this list throughout the year.
Most deadlines will be in the spring.
In order to receive state scholarships and grants, you must create an MDCAPS account. If you receive a state scholarship, you must accept that award within two and half weeks from the time you were notified.

12. Determining the cost of college
The College Scorecard will show you the average annual cost of each institution. You can also use the College Scorecard website to find each institution’s Net Price Calculator. To see your net price, input academic and financial information.

13. Other things Due soon Update resume
Complete Senior Teacher Recommendation Request Forms (Due to two teachers at least one month before your first application deadline)
Complete Senior Counselor Recommendation Request Form (Due at least one month before your first application deadline)
Work on Personal Statement rough draft

14. Other things to think about
Have a preliminary college list
Research admissions requirements and deadlines
Research middle 50% ranges for each school (GPA and ACT) to ensure you have a mixture of safety, match, and dream schools
Use college planning spreadsheet to keep track of information