Daily Aid 88: Massachusetts College Goal Sunday aftermath

26 February 2009 2 views No Comment

Daily Aid 88: Massachusetts College Goal Sunday aftermath

I had the opportunity yesterday to meet with the Massachusetts College Goal Sunday team and review how our efforts in January went. By all numbers, Massachusetts was up 40% for families attending the event, which is a huge win for the program as it heads into its fifth year. A few interesting takeaways:

- college financial aid administrators are noting increases in applications from every part of the income spectrum, from families with nothing to families who were previously exceptionally well-off but have taken massive losses due to the economy

- some schools are not able to adjust financial aid due to their own economic difficulties, particularly schools without large endowments or are reliant on state funding

- most of the new categories and statuses on the 2009-2010 FAFSA are being judged, evaluated, and verified on a case by case or school by school basis, as the Department of Education has provided insufficient overall guidance for how situations should be interpreted

What does all of this mean for you? If you’re finding yourself in drastically different financial circumstances this year versus previous years, the single best thing you can do is to establish a good relationship with your financial aid office in advance of needing their help, and then work WITH them in your situation when you do need help. If you’ve got a parent whose inclination is to be super-aggressive or demanding, find a way to rein them in or keep them away from the financial aid office entirely. They won’t help your situation and will probably make things worse.

It’s also important to point out that the general consensus among the group was that things were already bad and likely to get even more difficult. As state budgets get cut, financial aid and general higher education budgets are on the table as well – that’s why it’s so vital that you be hunting for scholarships and doing everything you can to get your financial aid paperwork like the FAFSA done as soon as possible. Much of the aid available is first-come, first-served, so if you’re not in line, you may not get any – even if you’re eligible for it.

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