College Financial Aid for Dummies Book

Introduction

Why This Book? We're Here to Help
Icons Used in This Book
Peering into the Crystal Ball

Chapter 1: College Money: Who Gets It
Sometimes (Groan), It's Loan-ly Out There
Scouting Out Gift Money
Pricey Schools May Not Be Out of Reach
Qualifying for Finaid (Financial Aid)

Perceived versus demonstrated need
Expect aid packages to be a mixed bag

A Plan for the Long Haul! Way to Go!
Playing the Aid Game: Asset Control

Play or pay?
Time line for moving student assets
Timely financial fix-ups
Caveats when shifting assets

The Aid Chase: It's Not Over Until It's Over

Chapter 2: What if You're Adult, Part-Time, International, or Other?
Adult Students: Paying the Back-to-College Tab
Part-Time Students: Bummer! You're Tossed a Bone
Uncovering the Money for Distance Learning
Can Your Boss Send You to College?
International Students: Destination USA

Starting on the homefront
Targeting stateside student aid
Graduates pull in more aid than undergraduates
Working your way through college
Loans for international students
Information resources for international students

U.S. Students Going Abroad Can Get Traveling Money
Work Hard at Looking Hard for Money

Chapter 3: Decoding the Financial Aid System
Demonstrated Need: The Key to Aid
Under the Financial Aid Umbrella

Self-help money
Loans: Money you pay back
Work: Earn as you learn
Gift money

Meet the Forms that Drive Financial Aid

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
College Scholarship Services (CSS) Financial Aid Profile
College Financial Aid Application
Financial Aid Transcript (FAT)

Timing Finaid: Go with the Flow
When to Apply for Aid

Chapter 4: Dr. Davis's Comprehensive Finaid Calendar

Chapter 5: College Costs: Upward and Onward
Aid Is Fastest Growing College Expense
Getting a General Handle on Costs
Good News! Cost Cutting Coming On
Once You're Hooked, You're History

Chapter 6: Tapping the School's Own Aid
Find Vaults of Money All Over Campus
Calling All Allies: Find Me Funds
Try for Departmental Scholarships
Discover Colleges with Deep Pockets
Early Decisions May Shrink Aid

Chapter 7: What Uncle Sam and Aunt Feddie Are Willing to Fork Over
Federal Grant Programs

Federal Pell Grant Program
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program

Federal Loan Programs

Federal Direct Student Loan Program and Federal Stafford Loan Program
Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)

Federal Work-Study Programs
More Federal Educational Support

Chapter 8: The Shape of State Aid
When Feds Say No, States May Say Yes
Applying for State Aid
A Directory of State Requirements and Finaid Agencies

Chapter 9: Negotiating: Get Ready to Bargain
A Backgrounder on Bargaining

Why threats and ultimatums won't work
Hold back one fact for the appeal

The Dynamics of Issue-Based Appeals

Negotiating tips for college-based issues
Negotiating points for family-based issues

Writing a Winning Aid Appeal
Fine-Tuning Your Bargaining Skills

Chapter 10: Merit Scholarships for the Talented
Good Prospects Even if You're Not a Budding Einstein
Nine Rules of the Scholarship Hunt

Shed the lead, think ahead
Become an awards detective
Stockpile marketing ammo
Personal Financial Aid Inventory
Save every scrap of accomplishment
Follow, follow the finaid road
Get thee to finaid on time
Tailor your application to win the prize
Set your hounds on finaid
Mother is right: Say thanks

Fighting over Scholars
Alternatives to Scholarships

Chapter 11: Keep Up the Good Work
Job Experience Is Essential for New Grads
Won't I Lose Finaid by Working?
How Your Paycheck Shapes Your Share of Tuition

Chapter 12: Use This Hotlist and Get Wired for Finaid
Internet Resources
Finaid Telephone Numbers

Financial aid applications
Information hotlines
Direct loans
Loan programs
Loan processing centers
Loan consolidation
Loan forgiveness program
Tuition payment plans
College saving programs
State prepaid tuition plans
Miscellaneous

Free Software
Keeping Ahead of the Information Age

Chapter 13: Just the FAQs: Dr. Davis Answers Your Questions
Nitty-Gritty FAQs
Panic-Button FAQs
Independent Student FAQs
Transfer Student FAQs

Chapter 14: Choosing a College Financial Aid Planner
Choosing Experts, Not Hustlers
A Guide to Finding Experts

Get recommendations
Seek emphasis on four-year planning
Expect a place of business
Anticipate issues to be discussed
Avoid influence peddling
Pay only for services rendered

Expert Planners Put Money in Your Bank

Chapter 15: Please Save for My College Education
For Parents: Saving Intelligently for the Distant Future

Tuition Prepayment Programs
Bonds
Student Savings and Investment Accounts

For Everyone: Saving for College in the Next Two Years

Money-market mutual funds
Tuition-freeze programs
Home equity loans
Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (FPLUS)

Chapter 16: Becoming an Educated Borrower
Choosing the Best Loan
Primary Wellsprings of Loan Money

Home-equity line of credit or loan
401(k) and other retirement accounts
Tuition-freeze programs

Loans from and for Specific Groups

Seven good commercial loan providers

Chapter 17: Can You Smile and Salute?
College Student on Active Duty

Federal

College Student Who Is a Veteran

Federal
State
Colleges

Student Who Is a Veteran's Dependent

Federal
State
Private Organizations and Agencies

Student Who Will Be a Veteran

Federal
State

Be Glad You Wear Army Boots

Chapter 18: Planning for Graduate and Professional Study
Climbing a Mountain of Debt
Graduate Loans for Fields with High Earnings Potential
Graduate/Professional Private Loans Directory
Other Resources for Graduate School
Fellowships and Assistantships: Finaid for Advanced Study

Fellowships
Assistantships
Conditional trades

Employer-Aided Study in Selected Fields

Business Administration
Engineering

Chapter 19: Blooper-Proof These Lines

Lines 8 and 9: What's Your Number?
Line 17: Are you married?
Line 19: A diploma is not a degree
Line 29: Staying on course
Line 37: Dependents
Line 48: Apart is separate
Line 52: Anybody else in school?
Line 65: Use the short form
Line 77: No student assets

Nominees for Best Blooper Award

The case of too many zeros
They jumped to the wrong conclusion
When forms collide
Wiser but poorer by $3,500
Two cannot pay as cheaply as one
Dollars short and days late
Twins who made the same mistake twice

Lined Up and Ready to Go

Chapter 20: The Lines That Cross Up Your Finaid Chances
Calculating Your Need
Instructions for Completing the FAFSA

Preparation
More preparation

Start Form-Filling!
Student Aid Report (SAR)

Chapter 21: Figuring Out Your Best Deal
Comparing Your Awards
The College Business Office and Your Account
Affordability as a Value

Chapter 22: Can Your Loans Be Forgiven?
Wipe Out Debt: Volunteering and Working

AmeriCorps
The Perkins Loan
Military service
Peace Corps
VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America)

Uncommon Ways to End Debt
Law Students' Loan Forgiveness
Healthcare Students' Loan Forgiveness

Medical school students
Occupational and physical therapy students
Other healthcare programs

Chapter 23: Drowning in a Sea of Debt
Two Debtors Up a Creek

Find out who's making waves
Test repayment plans before you jump in

Consolidation: A Life Preserver

Loans you can consolidate
Caveats for consolidation loans

Come Up for Air, Defer, or Forbear
In the Eye of the Storm: Surviving Default

When you're delinquent on payments
Promises come true
Failure to pay costs money

How To Talk To Your Lender

When you can get a compromise

Chapter 24: Ten Ways to Grow Your Own Opportunities

Raise your class rank
Cultivate good grades
Test your test-taking skills
Plant career seeds in high school
Rake in contest cash
Dig in your backyard
Till the vineyards of volunteerism
Sprout a job in the school finaid office
Land a job in the alumni office
Spread the word you need a sponsor

Chapter 25: Ten Strategies for Cutting College Costs

Study in bulk
Double up high school and college
Swap AP courses for college classes
Get a bargain at two-year colleges
Choose a lower-cost school
Work at co-op education
Old Faithful: Get a job
Test out or get credit for life experience
Consider low-cost distance learning
Quell spending urges

Chapter 26: Ten Facts That Finaid Counselors Don't Tell You

Zero aid now, zero aid later
Fine print: Oops, money is missing
State colleges keep gift aid at home
You can't win without losing
ROTC meets IRS: The pleasure's not yours
Psst! Top secret: Make deadlines or else
Student loans beat folks' bad credit
More info requested? Watch what you say
Finaid folks push the override button
Three weeks to live aidless

Chapter 27: Ten Common Goofs That Can Cost You Money

Waiting until you're enrolled to ask for aid
Refusing to spend cash on the Profile
Applying too late for mid-year aid
Misunderstanding your SAR
Not bringing your SAR up to par
Skipping verification paperwork
Mixing up transcripts
Not saying yes to all colleges
Taking automatic renewal for granted
Not reapplying after a turn-down

Chapter 28: Ten Tips on Hiring a Computer to Help Find Aid

A top-quality operation run by pros
Scholarships without application fees
Basic search fees under $50
Short-term service
Coordination with college calendars
Pledge of confidentiality
Savvy research methods
Portable and targeted finaid
Realistic database growth
Printed publications

Chapter 29: Ten Ways to Avoid Finaid Fakes and Frauds

Recognize low-life lingo
Rate returns in computer search
Pay an application fee? For what?
Say phooey to phony processing fees
Duck dubious guarantees
Don't ring costly 900 numbers
Avoid quirky contests
Don't pay for free information
Spot phony finaid consultants
Heed these Red Flags
Don't think you're too smart to get fooled

Scholarships by the Score

ACADEMIC, MERIT, LEADERSHIP
AGRICULTURE
APPLIED SCIENCES/AUTOMOTIVE
ARTS
ATHLETICS/GOLF
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATIONS
ENGINEERING
FOOD SERVICE
GRADES/CLASS RANK
HEALTH
LEADERSHIP/COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
LOCAL RESOURCES
MINORITIES/HERITAGE/DISABILITIES
ORGANIZATIONS/MEMBERSHIPS
SCIENCES
TEACHING/EDUCATION
WOMEN

Glossary of Financial Aid Terms

Acronyms
Definitions