THE APPLICATION PERIOD IS:
OCTOBER 1 - MARCH 2 OF YOUR SENIOR YEAR.
Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form to apply for financial aid for college, career school, or graduate school.
It is recommended you complete the application before winter break.
TO QUALIFY:
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You must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non citizen and have a valid Social Security.
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You must have a high school diploma or a GED certificate
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You must be enrolled or accepted as a student in an eligible degree or certificate program.
AFTER MARCH 2:
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If you have not completed your FAFSA or DREAM ACT and are planning on going to a university, college or trade school, please get that completed as soon as possible.
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If you are considering a community college, make sure you apply to that college now for admissions.
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The college you are choosing to attend should be listed in your list of schools in FAFSA or DREAM ACT.
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Create an account at webgrants4students.org if you will be using your financial aid in California. This portal shows items such as Cal Grant Status, what college you are claiming as the school of attendance (you can also change it here), the estimated cost of attending the school you are choosing to attend, the estimated aid of schools you listed on your FAFSA/Dream Act, the housing status you reported on FAFSA/Dream Act and their estimated cost of attendance. Here is a video on how to create your account https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrVZqQYve_c This video describes the many of the features of this portal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb4vQoPoRLI
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Go to your college portal and look for your FINANCIAL AID AWARD LETTER. This letter will tell you the cost of all items (books, tuition, room and board, transportation, personal costs) as it pertains to that school, the type of aid you are receiving (Cal Grants, Federal Grants, Loans, works study, etc) and how much you have to pay.
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CONTACT YOUR FUTURE COLLEGE for more questions about specific awards or costs—they are the best people to contact especially if your financial situation has changed. For example, you reported income from 2018, so if NOW IN 2020 your family is struggling financially, please make contact with them and let them know.
A COUPLE MORE THINGS:
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Video from the Federal Student Aid Commission explaining steps after completing the FAFSA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c1gNefSw78
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An article from Sallie Mae describing how to compare your financial aid Award Letters: https://www.salliemae.com/college-planning/financial-aid/financial-aid-offers/
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A Reference Guide for Financial Aid Award Letters from FastWeb is attached below.
The sooner you evaluate all these steps, the sooner you can make a decision as to what college to attend. Once you do that, then you can start doing all the steps for matriculation, counseling meetings, etc. And remember, financial aid eligibility is usually ONLY FOUR YEARS, so use your time and money wisely and meet with academic counselors and financial aid counselors regularly.