Federal Financial Aid: A Student Guide For Successful Applications

Guest Blogger: Susan McCrackin , College Board

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is how millions of students apply for federal, state and most college-based financial aid. And because government grants compose 74 percent of this $185 billion pool, it’s understandable for families to feel anxious when filling out the FAFSA.

1.   Gather Your Documents

It is much easier to fill out the FAFSA if you have all the needed forms in hand before you start. Here’s a list of documents to get you going. You should also get a U.S. Department of Education personal identification number (PIN.) Here’s the PIN application link 

2.   Think About Taxes

Parents’ taxes are an important part in the FAFSA process. Getting taxes done by February 1^st may be unrealistic, so last year’s taxes and this year’s paystubs can help create estimates. After February 3^rd, the IRS Data Retrieval Tool becomes available, allowing students and parents to access the IRS tax return information needed to complete the FAFSA and transfer the data directly into their FAFSA from the IRS website. And if you owe the government money, take note: you can complete your taxes without actually filing and cutting a check to Uncle Sam.

3.   Find Quiet Time  

The FAFSA has a lot of sections. Breaking them into smaller pieces makes the FAFSA easier to navigate. Consider these do’s and don’ts.

1.     Don’t sprint. Take questions one at a time and give yourself time to properly answer each question.

2.     Do read each question carefully and out loud. It will help you understand the question better.

3.     Don’t multi-task. Put your mobile phone away, and turn off the television.

4.     Do find a quiet place where the FAFSA will have your full attention.

4.   Stay Student Focused

Parents often forget that the student always provides information. Parents are required to provide their information if the student is dependent.

So if see a question that refers to “I,” remember that “I” is the student. “You” is also the student. When questions address parents, they will see questions that refer to “your parents.”  This is where parental information goes.

5.   Avoid Parent Traps

As families evolve, so do questions about who needs to provide information for the FAFSA. When you see “parents,” FAFSA is referring to the student’s biological or adoptive parents. When the parents are married, then the student and both parents complete the FAFSA.

If the parents are not together, things can get confusing.  BigFuture by the College Board created the corresponding infographic to help address some commonly asked questions.

6.   Keep Track of Deadlines

Every college has a different set of deadlines based on priority, merit, early decisions etc. BigFuture by the College Board helps families sort through these deadlines with detailed college profiles and a free, customized action plan. And, should you have specific questions about specific colleges or universities, don’t be afraid to call the college’s financial aid office and ask questions.

7.   Profile CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®

The FAFSA opens the doors to federal aid. There’s also almost $50 billion in non-federal aid available – from colleges, states and private institutions. Some colleges and programs use the College Board’s CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE to help award these monies.

CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE is an online application that collects information used by almost 400 colleges and scholarship programs to award financial aid outside sources from the federal government. Families must complete the application and the College Board sends it to the colleges and scholarship programs they have chosen.

Here’s a list of colleges that use CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® and where you go to complete the  CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®.  Sending your CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® report to one college or scholarship program costs $25. Additional reports are $16 each. There are fee waivers available for low-income families.

8.   Gain Experience

The more you experience something, the better you do. This free FAFSA webinar walks you section by section through an actual application with the College Board’s Senior Director for Financial Aid Methodology, Susan McCrackin. Families can access the free FAFSA webinar 24/7.

It’s time. Go after your piece of the more than $185 billion in financial aid to help make college possible. Use BigFuture for advice and to help create a customized plan. Then follow the map. Chances are it will lead to an investment that provides returns for the rest of your life.

 

 

Financial Aid: A 50 Year Review Of Effectiveness

Two well-regarded researchers have scanned 50 years of financial aid practice and research to “review what is known and what is not known about how well various student aid programs work,” they write. After outlining the history of financial aid and explaining the difficulty of evaluating which policies are effective and which aren’t, their paper offers four major lessons,

Source:ECS

Understanding Gender Inequalities In College Transition

Gender Inequalities in the Transition to College
by Claudia Buchmann  for Teachers College Record Online
This article provides an overview of gender inequalities in the transition to college and in college experiences by examining the ways that women are advantaged in higher education and the arenas where they still trail men. It also discusses theoretical perspectives useful in assessing the causes of gender inequality and then suggests how future research could advance our understanding of the complex nature of gender inequality in higher education.

More Transfers From 4 year to 2 Year Colleges

Large numbers of students at four-year institutions are transferring to community colleges, according to a new study from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Most of them don’t come back, but that isn’t always a bad thing. Roughly 14 percent of first-time students who enrolled at a four-year institution in the fall of 2005 had transferred to a community college by 2011, the study found — excluding students who merely took summer classes at a community college.

Federal Financial Aid Information: A Review Of Its Effectiveness For Students And Parents

Higher Ed Watch

The process for learning about and applying for financial aid can be intimidating and overwhelming. A new resource, studentaid.gov, provides students and families with clearer information about federal financial aid and the financial aid application process.

Read More

Colleges Spend Three To Six Times More On Athletes

The athletic departments of most public colleges and universities competing in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I sports typically spend three to six times as much per athlete as their institutions spend to educate their students, according to a new report by the Delta Cost Project at American Institutes for Research (AIR).

The report, titled Academic Spending Versus Athletic Spending: Who Wins?, also shows that athletic costs increased at least twice as fast as academic spending, on a per capita basis, across each of the three Division I subdivisions between 2005 and 2010 and that most athletic departments receive subsidies from their colleges and universities because they do not generate enough revenue to cover all of their costs.

Download the full report on the Delta Cost Project website or read the AIR news release

New Report Projects High School Classes Will Be Smaller And Diverse

Boulder, Colorado – The 8th edition of Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates, released today by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), indicates that the population of U.S. high school graduates is entering a period of modest decline after nearly two decades of sustained growth. In addition, the pool of future college students is rapidly growing more racially and ethnically diverse, putting pressure on policymakers and practitioners to address educational attainment gaps among many traditionally underrepresented populations.

“These two trends will define the ‘new normal’ for our colleges and universities-and will require those of us working in higher education to change the way we do business,” says David Longanecker, president of WICHE, which published Knocking at the College Door, with support from ACT and the College Board. “Institutions will no longer be able to rely on growth in the number of traditional-aged students to boost funding. At the same time, the changing demographics of our high school graduating classes will mean greater demand for a college education from students we traditionally have not served well. Higher education must commit to finding innovative, cost-effective ways to prepare those students to succeed in our 21st century global economy.”

Increasing the share of young people who enroll in and complete a postsecondary degree is critical for the United States, if our workforce is to remain competitive. For the higher education community that recruits, enrolls, and graduates those young people, understanding high school graduation trends is more important than ever. Here are some of Knocking’s highlights.

High School Graduates: Past the Peak

According to Knocking’s projections, national high school graduate numbers peaked at 3.4 million in 2010-11 after 15 years of growth, then began a decline that will stabilize in 2013-14 at 3.2-3.3 million graduates. The next period of significant growth is projected to begin in 2020-21.

Changes in the number of high school graduates will vary considerably across the United States from 2008-09 through 2019-20. Many states in the South and West are projected to experience at least some growth, while numerous states across the Midwest and Northeast can expect declines. While growth states may struggle to find the resources and capacity to serve their students, states with dwindling numbers may face a very different problem: sustaining the infrastructure they’ve built up over many years. Our projections find that states can expect the following.

Dwindling production (losses of 15 percent or more): The District of Columbia, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Slowing production (losses of between 5 and 15 percent): Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Manageable decline (losses of less than 5 percent): Arizona, Delaware, Indiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oregon, and West Virginia.

Manageable growth (increases of less than 5 percent): Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.

Accelerated expansion (increases of between 5 and 15 percent): Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

Swift expansion (increases greater than 15 percent): Colorado, Texas, and Utah.

Race/Ethnicity: Diversity Ramps Up

Our high school graduating classes are rapidly becoming more diverse. By 2019-20 45 percent of the nation’s public high school graduates are projected to be non-White, up by more than 7 percent over the class of 2009. This trend is driven by the rapid increase in the number of Hispanics completing high school, corresponding to a nearly equivalent decline in the number of White non-Hispanics: between 2008-09 and 2019-20, the number of White public high school grads will drop by 228,000, while Hispanic graduates will increase by 197,000. At the same time, the number of Asians/Pacific Islanders graduating from high school is projected to rise rapidly (by 49,000), offsetting Black non-Hispanic numbers, which are expected to drop (by 41,000).

These national trends are reflected in almost every state, though the pace at which minority populations are gaining (or losing) shares varies. In most states the number of high school graduates of Hispanic descent is projected to increase, as is the number of Asian/Pacific Islander grads. Only a handful of states can expect to see growth in the number of White non-Hispanic graduates. And about half the states will see decreases among Black non-Hispanic graduates. Also by 2019-20, high school graduating classes in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and Nevada are projected to reach “majority-minority” status (graduating more minorities than Whites), joining California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas.

 

Top 10 College Stories From 2012

	1. The Great Unbundling of the University Read the article: theatlantic.com2. Remediation: Higher Education’s Bridge to Nowhere Download the report: completecollege.org 3. The Story of the University of Phoenix Read the article: publicradio.org 4. 6 adult decisions delayed by the economy Read the article: cnn.com 5. Why College May Be Totally Free Within 10 Years Read the article: time.com 6. Backing Off on State Authorization Read the article: insidehighered.com 7. Enrollment Drops Again In Graduate Programs Read the article: nytimes.com 8. Old School: College’s Most Important Trend is the Rise  of the Adult Student Read the article: theatlantic.com 9. Engagement Is Key to Community College Success, Says Author Read the article: chicagotribune.com 10. New Front In For-Profit Battle? Read the article: insidehighered.com
			Source :www.insidetrack.com programs@insidetrack.com 415 354 4341 Y

 

 

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Degrees Help with Better Jobs and Income Even In A Recession

Amid much public discussion about whether college is a good investment for graduates, a Pew Economic Mobility Project report considers whether or not a degree still helps people find better jobs and earn more money. The simple answer is yes. And, as the study’s main finding suggests, the impact of a college degree has not been affected by the recession nearly as much as some reports

How To Use An Online Classrooms To Collaborate Better

Guest Blogger: Andrew Roth

Online classrooms allow you to teach or learn from just about any place that has a computer and Internet connectivity. You can connect with the other participants at any time. However, staring at the computer screen all the time could make you feel isolated. With the lack of personal interaction, students are at risk of losing out on the social aspect of learning, which might affect their ability to successfully perform team work outside the classroom. Online learning can be made more productive and fun by improving collaboration.

What Is Effective Collaboration?

This is more than just communicating with the other participants or building a community. Effective collaboration requires students and instructors to cooperate with each other in achieving a common goal. Students who join an online classroom already have a common purpose; the social presence aspect helps them share information and resources to improve learning.

Tips for Better Collaboration in an Online Classroom:

– Planning the Course:

The online course has to be carefully tailored to incorporate collaboration. When group participation is made mandatory, its importance is conveyed to the students. Give them an agenda to follow, along with clear instructions for carrying out assigned activities. If they know what is expected of them in advance, they are more likely to believe in the effectiveness of collaboration in an online classroom if they see the instructors and management share a strong belief that the system works.

– Role of the Instructor:

An online instructor plays an important role in making collaboration work. He or she needs to decide whether the entire group should collaborate as one or whether smaller groups would bring about better results. The instructor must monitor the forums constantly to ensure that students are interacting as expected and learning objectives are being met by the collaborative environment.

– Involve Students:

Let the students start interacting with each other much before the actual group course work begins; this will foster camaraderie and make it easier to work as a team when required. Also, welcome and appreciate their ideas for improving collaboration; they know what works best for their group. Encourage them to document their plans to specify the group coordinator, the means to be used for communication and a task breakdown with internal deadlines.

– Technology and Tools:

The right technology is needed to allow collaboration between remotely located students and teachers. Set up discussion boards and forums with access control. Students and instructors can also collaborate via web calls and synchronous chat sessions over the Internet.

Online Classrooms for a Collaborative Future:

Besides the course material, an online classroom teaches students valuable lessons like working as a team, being flexible and respecting other cultures. Their problem-solving and negotiating skills are also sharpened through peer interaction. You need to keep coming up with innovative tasks like case studies and team games to make online classroom collaboration fun and help the students to learn and grow. With the right approach, an online classroom can be a highly productive social learning environment.

Andrew Roth is a professional tutor. He blogs regularly on  using technology to facilitate the educational process. To learn more about long distance degree programs, check out the Concordia University Blog.