Paperwork and Deadlines:
College is a sea of paperwork and deadlines. The key to solving this piece is to start early. In fact, while the paperwork is not simple, it is the easiest part of the college process. And it should be one of the last steps in the process. Unfortunately, most families think college is about filling out forms, so they use the Senior Year of High School as their starting point and then quickly realize they are way behind in the process and do not get the financial help they were counting on to make college affordable. Hopefully after reading through this web-site, you have quickly realized the paperwork is one of the last steps.
There are deadlines for College admissions, Merit-Based scholarships, Private scholarships, and financial aid forms. There is paperwork that you need to fill out for Federal Money, State Money, University Money and Private Money all with their own deadlines. In addition to forms for college admissions, private scholarships and Merit Scholarships, there are student forms, FAFSA forms, Profile forms, Parent forms, Non-Custodial Parent forms, Asset forms, special circumstances forms, Verification forms, student loan forms and tax forms to fill out. A lot of schools are now asking for signed copies of the Parent’s Taxes and W-2’s and the student’s taxes and W-2’s as well. Each of these wonderful items all have their own deadlines and in most cases your filling some of these forms out twice a year. This happens because you do not want to wait to get your taxes done to fill out financial aid forms because most schools have February 1st to March 1st Priority Deadlines to get these items accomplished.