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College Money Matters November 2023 Newsletter
Know your college costs before you make your decision
With the "new look" FAFSA not coming out until December, now is a good time to concentrate on your college and scholarship applications. This edition of the College Money Matters Newsletter offers a host of helpful tips on how to make the most of the time before the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid needs to be filled out.
Great places to find scholarships and grants
Once you know your budget for college, it’s time to find schools that match it. A great place to go to is Tuitionfit.org, a crowd-sourced website that lets you input your price range to see which of the schools in its large database match your criteria. The basic site is free, and you can dive deeper into the details with premium access.
Did you know that many deadline dates for scholarship applications close in December? That’s why it’s good to find and submit them now. Here are some good places to look:
- In your community – Ask about scholarships at: business & professional organizations, clubs & community groups, your school’s college counselor, your local library, and your house of worship
- From your state or local government – Contact the people who are there to represent you.
- Try less selective schools – A big advantage of applying to colleges that are less selective than the “big names” is that they might offer you a better deal because your grades and test scores could make their numbers look better.
- Contact non-profit foundations – For a list of nonprofit organizations, many of which offer scholarships, visit GuideStar.org
Why you need an FSA ID – and who should get one
Right now is a good time for you and your parent or guardian to apply for an FSA ID. What’s an FSA ID? It stands for Federal Student Aid Identification, and it’s a very important username and password combination that you’ll need from now until the day you’ve made the last payment on your final government student loan.
Why is now the right time to apply? Because in December, the US Government is coming out with an entirely new online form and process for Federal Student Aid, and you’ll need an FSA ID to access it. Once the new form is available, you can be sure the Federal Student Loan website and customer service representatives will be extremely busy, so get ahead of the crowd and apply for your FSA ID today. It’s also important for a student’s parent or guardian to have an FSA ID, so make sure they sign up, too.
Coming attraction: In December, students starting college in the 2024-2025 school year will be able to fill out the 2024-25 FAFSA. If that’s you, be careful that you don’t fill out the 2023-24 FAFSA by mistake, because that one’s also available on studentaid.gov.
Here are some helpful links you can use:
- Apply for your FSA ID here. Once you get it, don’t lose your password and be sure to have your mobile phone with you for authentication.
- The Federal Student Aid youtube channel provides helpful information here.
Watch this free webinar for ways to keep college affordable
Going to college is smart, but paying too much for it isn’t. College Money Matters wants to help students and parents learn better ways to approach the financial side of higher education, so we put together an online webinar entitled “Six Ways to Be Financially Smart from the Start.”
It’s an engaging and informative video that presents a number of different strategies for keeping college costs in line. Plus it contains no ads, no sign-in is necessary, and you can watch it for free – right here.
Topics covered in the webinar include:
- Why Paying for College is Different from Other Things We Buy (at 02:09)
- What is Financial Aid? (at 12:06 )
- Have the Money Conversation Early (at 15:27)
- College Types and Relative Costs (at 17:11)
- Scholarships: How, Where, and When to Apply (at 22:54)
- Figuring Out Which Colleges May Be Within Your Budget (at 28:30)
Note: You can also choose to watch the video with closed captions and in Spanish subtitles.
