Federal Student Aid updates

The office of Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education has several downloading options of their publications and booklets.

1. The new College Preparation Checklist (www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov/collprep) is a small booklet that explains how to prepare academically and financially for college through "to do" lists aimed at elementary and secondary school students and their parents, as well as adult students. It is recommended that you use the checklist as the foundational information and outreach publication for any students who are considering college.

2. Funding Education Beyond High School should be accessed online at www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov/guide. This site has comprehensive detail about the federal student aid programs. It is available in both html and PDF forms.

3. Students may read most of the FSA publications at www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov/pubs or may order single copies from www.edpubs.ed.gov or from the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID.

4. Seniors are encouraged to apply for federal student aid using FAFSA on the Web. The online application is going to be significantly simpler in 2010-11, so FSA strong urges all students to fill out the application at www.fafsa.ed.gov. This form needs to be filled out AFTER January 1, 2011 in order to use the 2010 IRS tax information. The FAFSA is required for any student who is applying for any grants, scholarships, or loans from the government or a college/university.

C-C-C-Courage!

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." ~C.S. Lewis

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow." ~Mary Anne Radmacher

"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." ~Mark Twain

I've been thinking a lot about courage, and what it means in the face of today's people. My son, Jordan, is heading off for Afghanistan to face the rigors of war. I've heard of other mom's doing this, seeing a child headed for battle; I never thought I'd be one of them. I don't question Jordan's courage; I definitely question mine.

To me, courage is confronting an enemy in every form, and standing firmly anyway. It means that we don't think this situation that we're in is the end of all things...but rather a new door to "grow" us, to "faith" us, to "mercy" us...whether at school, at home, or in foreign lands.

On a day-to-day basis, students face fears of acceptance, fears of failure, fears of losing or letting down peers, and fears of their own education and futures in today's world. These are valid. How we react in each step of growth creates in us something marvelous, if we've used the Bible as our standard.

Psalm 46:10 says to, "Be still, and know that I am God." We are called to put our everything into God's hands. THIS takes courage...to believe that an entity beyond ourselves cares enough to do ALL things for good.

Courage is a call for faith in unseen things. It is a call for tenacity. It is a call for endurance to the end.

"Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme effort of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be conquered." ~ Oswald Chambers

Courage is the ability to put our futures into God's hands expecting the very best to occur. It is working deliberately and daily on the certainty that God will not be bested.

Sometimes, the events that occur take our breath away...this surely can't be God! But purification takes time, of which God has bucket loads. We pray to stand firmly in knowing that He is in control despite that which our eyes may see.

"Yes, before the day was, I am He; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder or reverse it?" Isaiah 43:13

It's Possible to get college financial aid increased.

Here are some tips that could help get your college aid offer increased:

• Understand the process. Before you ask for more money, do your homework about how the aid process works and whether there's an appeals process in place. If you aren't working with a college consultant, read college planning books, visit sites such as Finaid.org or CollegeBoard.com, or simply Google "appeal financial aid" and you'll find plenty of information and advice. Just don't expect a bidding war.


• Cite special circumstances. While colleges abide by a federal formula indetermining your financial need, they can adjust an aid package based on unusual circumstances. Those include a parent's job loss or salary reduction, high medical costs, divorce or any other recent development that would alter your presumed ability to pay based on the previous year's tax data. In such cases, the family should contact the financial aid administrator at the school and ask for an appeal, formally called a professional judgment review or sometimes a special circumstances review.


• Show competing offers. If a comparable school has given you a better financial aid offer, use it as a bargaining chip but with caution. Many schools need to hear other reasons in order to re-evaluate your package. You might want to cite, if not one of the unusual circumstances mentioned above, another legitimate cause of increased financial stress such as a big upcoming required expenditure, costs of caring for an elderly parent or, other issues. Don't just say, "These other schools have offered me more money, what are you going to do for me?". Rather request a reconsideration. It's a matter of semantics.


• Be concise. Be polite, be concise and focus on the facts in a letter or e-mail asking if there's anything the college can do to improve the aid package. Your goal should be to get the financial aid administrator on your side by providing information, such as some of the factors described above, that any reasonable person would consider sufficient for an adjustment. Just don't ramble on.


• Don't telegraph your intentions. Consider stating in the letter that if School A matches School B's offer, your child will attend School A. Don't overplay your hand. Calling the school as soon as you get the aid package, for example, is a bad idea because it telegraphs that the child wants to go there badly. Signaling too strongly that a school is the top choice lessens any incentive its officials may have to sweeten the deal for you.

Sourced from Dave Carpenter, Associated Press, 4-7-10