Upcoming Scholarship Deadlines

The holidays have come and gone and it's time to start thinking about college again. First up is the FAFSA. As soon as you have all your financial documentation for last year, get started on the FAFSA...many schools have early deadlines and you don't want to miss out on any financial aid opportunities. For more information, visit the FAFSA page at College-Loans.us.

Next, there are several scholarships available that have submission dates in January and February. The Sam Walton Community Scholarship is coming up and has a January 31, 2011 application deadline.

The KFC Colonel's Scholars Program is offering scholarships of up to $5,000 per year. Applications must be in by February 9, 2011.

The Ben Carson Scholarships from the Carson Scholars Fund which presents $1,000 college scholarships to students in grades 4-11 has an application deadline of January 14, 2011.

The Bank of America Joe Martin Scholarship awards $1,000 to $5,000 scholarships to Dependents of Bank of America associates and the deadline is February 28, 2011.

New and updated pages at College-Loans.us include:

Missouri 529 Plan
Montana 529 Plan
529 Tax Deductions

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FAFSA - The time to prepare is now.

We're almost through January and you should be preparing your FAFSA now. Though the Department of Education allows you to submit through June 30, 2011, for the 2010-11 academic year, many states and colleges have a deadline in February or March. The sooner you get it in, the better your chances of receiving college funding. The reason for this is many colleges have a limited amount of funding and they will begin doling it out to qualifying students early. Once the money is gone, you're out of luck.

A couple of things to remember...

The Federal FAFSA website is at http://www.fafsa.gov. If you come across sites with a .com or other ending, you are at a commercial site and they will probably charge you to do your FAFSA. Go to the site above and you can submit for FREE.

If you don't have your W2's or 1099's yet, you can still do your taxes with estimated numbers and file. Should the numbers change significantly, you can go back and submit an amended FAFSA when you get the final numbers.

Here is a listing of states with early deadlines for FAFSA:

February - Connecticut, Tennessee.
March - California, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island.

Some of these are the 1st of the month, so check it out and start filling out now. There are other states who haven't posted definite deadlines, make sure you check with your financial aid administrator.

For more information, you can check www.college-loans.us/fafsa.html.

Michigan's Oakland University to Eliminate Loans

A few years go, I took a couple of courses at one of our state universities and was amazed when the fees they charged cost more (much more) than the tuition. Of course, that's just the way state schools get around having tuition increases more massive than they already are.

So, I was kind of surprised when I read an article about Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, and saw that they charge no fees...no activity fees, no registration fees, not even application fees.

On top of that,they are expanding scholarships for next year so that incoming freshmen with financial need will be able to attend Oakland Unversity loan-free. Students must meet the normal admissions criteria and must submit the FAFSA. The tuition grant will cover the difference after the EFC and all other scholarship and grant awards have been applied.

Recently added and updated pages at College Scholarships, Loans & Grants
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) ,
Missouri Grants & Loans, College Loans Site Map.

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The University of Oregon announce that beginning in September, all incoming Oregonian freshmen who qualify for Pell Grants will receive aid packages that will cover the total cost of their tuition and fees. The program, called PathwayOregon, will pick up whatever costs aren't covered by federal and state aid.

Students qualifying for PathwayOregon will also be provided with academic support. Some students may also qualify for room and board.

To qualify, Oregon students must be eligible for the Pell Grants, have their admissions applications in by January 15, have the FAFSA into the University by March 1, apply for one of two University scholarships, as well as other requirements. You can read more about PathwayOregon at http://www.uoregon.edu/~pathway/

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2008-09 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

OK, it's time to start thinking about the FAFSA again. If you (or your child) are planning on going to college in the fall, and you will be looking for financial aid, the FAFSA is your first stop. All of the following programs require a FAFSA, as well as many state run programs and privately funded grants and scholarships.

• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal Stafford Loans
• Federal PLUS Loans
• Campus-Based Programs
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
• Federal Work Study
• Perkins Loans

You can either fill out a paper FAFSA or do it online. For the 2008-2009 school year, you can submit it any time after Jan 1, 2008 up until June 30, 2009. You will want to fill it out and submit as soon as possible. Many programs have limited funding and the earlier you apply, the better chance of getting your share.

Before you can fill out the FAFSA online, you will need a PIN (Personal Identification Number). If you have one from last year, it should still be good. If you don't remember or this will be your first year in college, you can get one at http://www.pin.ed.gov/. After you get your PIN, you will also need your income tax forms as soon as you have them done. If you are still your parent's dependent, you will need their tax forms as well. Employers are supposed to get your W-2 forms out by January 31, but you can get a head start by checking your final paystub of the year. It will usually have your unofficial yearly totals of income and taxes.

Once submitted, as long as everything is in order, you will receive an Student Aid Report (SAR) which shows all the answers that you submitted on the FAFSA. Make any corrections necessary, or if ok you may submit either electronically or sign the SAR and mail back. Your SAR will also include your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) which is used to determine your eligibility for federal financial aid.

Now is a good time to start preparing for next year. Get your PIN now if you haven't already.

Good luck

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