Things I Wish You Knew About Financial Aid

When I see students in my office there are often conflicts in a lot of areas. I think a lot of this is due to lack of communication. So here it is - a list of things I wish you knew BEFORE you applied for financial aid...

1. I am your friend. When I was in college there were times when I actually wanted to blow up the financial aid office. I couldn't understand why these people were trying to ruin my life! Guess what? They weren't. Financial aid adminstrators want to help you. There are just a lot of regulations and sometimes they are very complicated, which tends to make things difficult for everyone. It's not easy being in charge of people's money. Remember, if you don't qualify it's not because I don't like you.

2. Friends don't lie to each other. You'd be shocked at how many people tell me things they would never tell the police, IRS, immigration, you name it. I'm actually required to report you if you share any of this information with me (whether or not I actually do is a different story).

3. If you lie to me, don't tell me about it. See #2 above. If you're going to commit a federal offense please get your story straight before you come to my office. I've heard it all before and I know a fishy story when I hear one. Classic example: student has no income but drives a car that costs more than my house. Bottom line? I'm not going to prison so you can get an extra $200.

4. Beware of tax preparers. Not all, but some tax preparers are dishonest and will tell you to put things on your tax returns that shouldn't be there. The feds are cracking down on these people and making financial aid offices crack down too. If I see something on your taxes that is not correct I'm not allowed to process your application and I will probably advise you to amend your taxes. You may end up giving back that fat refund you got.

5. While we're on the subject of taxes... Same rule applies to "tax protesters". If you refuse to pay your taxes because you don't believe in (insert government policy here), you're out of luck with financial aid. If Uncle Sam doesn't get his, you're not getting yours.

6. Beware of financial aid consultants. There are people out there who will offer to do your financial aid paperwork for you and charge you thousands of dollars. My advice? If they're doing other work for you as well, like helping you with the admissions process, it may be ok. But if they're just filling out your application? Tell you what...send me an e-mail and I'll do it for free. So will the FAO's at your school. And if they say they can get you more aid than your school will? RUN!

7. Financial aid does not (necessarily) mean free money. Yes, there are grants and scholarships. But loans are financial aid too. Don't be shocked if you have to borrow money to finance your education.

8. Loans are not (necessarily) a bad thing. The terms for federal student loans tend to be a lot better than regular private loans. The interest rates are usually lower (especially if your credit is not so great), they're easy to get, and the repayment terms are extremely flexible. Just try telling your credit card company that you lost your job and can't make payments for six months!

9. You can get financial aid if you're not a minority. A very annoying myth is that money only goes to minority students. While it's true that there are scholarships that are targeted towards certain groups, federal aid is not based on race, gender, age, etc. if you don't believe me, look at the FAFSA. It doesn't ask for your race. Please don't play the race card. It makes me angry. And you wouldn't like your financial aid advisor when she's angry.

10. If you're a male you must register for selective srevice when you turn 18. Sorry, I know there's a war going on, but at the moment there is no draft, so don't worry. And if you don't register by the time you turn 26 you'll have to explain why. And please make it good - "I don't believe in war" doesn't fly.

Hope this helps. As always, let me know if you need help.