PEA RIDGE — Financial aid planning can be intimidating, and you may not know where to turn for answers. The financial aid officers at colleges and universities are there to help. Below is a list of questions that the Associated Colleges of the Midwest suggests families ask:
1. What kind of financial assistance does the college offer: need-based, meritbased or both?
2. Can the college provide an early estimate of what our financial aid award might be?
3. What forms are needed in order to apply?
4. When are financial aid applications due?
5. What student costs are taken into account by the financial aid office? Tuition, room, board, transportation?
What about additional expenses such as books, fees, computers and personal expenses?
6. What’s included in the comprehensive fee? For example, do students have to pay extra for computer time or to attend campus events (concerts, plays, films, lectures, athletic events, etc.)?
7. When will we be notified about the amount of assistance we can expect?
8. Does the institution have an appeal process to review special circumstances?
9. Is there a commitment for financial assistance beyond the first year?
10. How and when do we apply for financial assistance after the first year?
11. What if we do not qualify for need-based aid? Are there alternative financing options available?
12. What grants, loans and work-study opportunities does the college offer? Are there any we might be eligible for?
13. What’s the average student loan indebtedness amount for the college’s graduates?
14. Is there a restriction to the length of time that financial assistance will continue?
15. How long does it typically take a student to graduate from this college? Four years? Longer?
16. What impact do scholarships from outside sources have on other financial aid?
17. Can we apply financial aid toward an off-campus study program, either in the U.S. or another country?
18. What happens if our family’s financial situation changes substantially during the school year?
19. Are there payment options available, such as monthly or quarterly?
Three steps for planning your career
Setting short- and longterm career goals comes down to three simple steps.
Following these steps can help you make decisions that best match your career goals, helping you identify alternative career paths.
1. Take a realistic look at your strengths, weaknesses and interests.
What can help you achieve your goals and what obstacles could get in your way?
What types of work, school courses and activities appeal to you?
What interests you?
What do you do well now, and what skills have you gained through experience?
What values do you have regarding work?
2. Explore your options.
It’s hard to know what to do for a career when you don’t even know all the possibilities. Here are just a few waysto find career information:
Explore your career options using ACT’s World-of-Work Map.
Use ACT’s DISCOVER® program to explore possible careers.
Spend time with people whose activities interest you.
Volunteer or work in a job that you might like.
Discuss your career and educational plans with your school counselor, parents, or other interested people.
3. Consider issues that can affect your plans and take actions to accomplish your goals.
What do you need to study to be ready for the career you’re interested in?
What schools offer the training you need?
How will you pay for school?
Do you need to search for a job?
How will you balance your work and going to school?
How will you manage family or relationship commitments?
An associate’s degree may be your path to success
Before following yourfriends to the four-year State U, check out all of your options first. For some, going directly to a four-year college is the best option. For others, an associate’s degree from a community college may be a better alternative.
Four-year colleges are not the only path to success. A community college can help you start a career after just two years, with training for some of the fastest growing jobs in the U.S. Or, an associate’s degree can offer a start to your four-year degree, providing you with about half the credits you need to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Benefits of attending a community college include:
◊Courses that cover the basics, but also apply principles to the workplace.
◊More hands-on classes than those at a four-year college.
◊Saving money in tuitionand other expenses, such as room and board. Tuition can be less than half of that at a four-year public college.
And often students save money by living at home.
◊Receiving more personal attention from the professors than at a large university.
◊The focus on occupations and career discovery programs at a community college can help you make an easier decision on a major when you transfer to a fouryear college.
◊Another chance at fouryear college scholarships.
Many four-year colleges offer numerous scholarships that are reserved for students who transfer from community college.
Sports, Pages 8 on 02/24/2010