FAFSA: a critical piece of the puzzle -- Page 2By
Bankrate.com
Much depends on a student's academic credentials,
a family's financial need and how much aid is available from a school.
Private schools tend to have deeper pockets than state schools.
Many middle-class families may find themselves in a tough spot.
They have too much money to qualify for need-based aid, but too
little money to cover college costs on their own. So parents or
students -- or both -- take out loans.
Next
steps
A bit of a waiting game goes on during this whole process. First
you wait a few weeks for that SAR to arrive. Then you wait a few more weeks for
those acceptance letters and the financial aid awards to trickle in. All
candidates should receive an admissions notification by around April 1 and financial
aid packages by mid-April. Most schools give applicants until May 1 to select
a school. Students should make use of this down time to seek out and apply for
scholarships.
Experts point out that while SAR reports may make
parents sweat a bit, it's the financial-aid notices that throw some
families into an all-out panic.
The good news is that you do have a
little bit of leverage if your teen has been accepted at a number of schools.
You may be able to negotiate a better aid package by mentioning to School A all
that School B is willing to do for you.
A calculator for comparing award letters can be found
on the Nellie Mae site. While cost is certainly not the only factor
that families look at when deciding on colleges, it plays a key
role. It may make the difference when a student is choosing between
two schools.
PROFILE alternative
Another financial aid application is called PROFILE. It's a service
of the College Board, not-for-profit membership association whose
stated mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity.
The College Board comprises more than 4,700 schools, colleges, universities
and other educational organizations and each year serves more than
three and a half million students and their parents.
More than 600 colleges, universities, professional schools
and scholarship programs use the PROFILE form as an application for nonfederal
student aid. If you're applying to one of the schools
or scholarship programs that use the PROFILE application, you should register
online. There's a $5 registration fee, plus an $18 fee
for every college or program you want to send it to. | 
