Published: Tuesday, December 01st, 2009
American College Planners
December 2009 Newsletter Some activities to do over winter break. Generally most students have a couple of weeks off for the winter break and that makes it a great time to do some college planning. Here's a checklist of tasks to get you started. Students: - Create or update your student resume and sports resume, if applicable
- Take a strong interest survey like the Myers-Briggs
- Research careers of interest and find out how to get to your dream job
- Research college majors and what it takes to be successful
- Create college files with information and communications to each school
- Arrange a job shadow over winter break
- Study for the SAT and ACT and set up a study schedule for second semester.
- Read a book
Parents: As you go through these activities, plan for family discussion around these topics so college planning becomes a family activity. The FAFSA is coming! The FAFSA is going to be ready on January 1, 2010 so begin preparation in December so you are ready to go. American College Planners strongly urges every family to fill out the FAFSA every year regardless of income level. Before you begin, go out to the www.pin.ed.gov and get your Personal Identification Number or PIN. You will utilize the PIN to electronically sign the FAFSA when it's complete. Both students and a parent need to have a PIN. If you are a family with more than one student attending college, each student must have a PIN but the parent only needs one PIN for all students. Next, gather all of the following documents for both parents and students.
- Driver's license numbers
- Social security numbers
- W-2 forms
- Parent's and student's Federal and State Income Tax forms
- Untaxed income records such as veteran's benefits, child support received and workers compensation
- Current bank statements
- Current stock, bond, and other investment records
- Current business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records.
Now carve some time out to get through the FAFSA. It will take you some time and accuracy is extremely important for two reasons. First, inaccurate responses could mean colleges will not get a true picture of your family's financial situation which could result in overall less financial aid. Second, 35% of FAFSAs are audited, so it pays to be as accurate as possible. What if there are circumstances like job loss or an illness which will mean a considerable loss in income in the coming year? There is no place on the FAFSA to record these events, however, you should contact the college or colleges you plan on attending and let the Financial Aid Office know there are special circumstances. A list of common special circumstances is available at http://www.cune.edu/14496/ Adjustments can be made to the financial aid award by the Financial Aid Officers in what they call using professional judgment in special circumstances. It is important to note that is such an event happens after this point even into the school year, it is best to discuss them with the Financial Aid Office to help your student get through the school year. Upcoming Seminars: Tell your friends! Thank you UW-Madison
Last week, we held a seminar at the UW-Madison Saturday Enrichment Program. It is great seeing such young and passionate students and to encourage them to push the limits of their education. A special thanks to the UW-Madison Department of Precollege Programs. If you have seen a presentation, and would like us to come to your high school, please let your principal, guidance counselor, or PTSO know about us. You can see our upcoming seminars at www.americancollegeplanners.org/seminars.php.
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