College Planning Guide: Financial Aid Search

HS Senior Calendar
starting list	february
rising seniors	march
september	april
october	may
november	june
december	getting ready
january	moving list

Guide: Find a College

Guide: Pay for College

Guide: Move to College

Guide: Build College Skills

Find the Money
You Need for College

Student Loan Rates

Disbursement Period: 07/01/06 to present
Stafford Student (fixed rate)	6.80%
PLUS Loans (fixed rate)	8.50%
Private Student (variable rate)	see rates
Other Disbursement Periods: see rate chart

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You Can Pay for Any
College You Want
Get up to $40K annually to pay tuition, housing and more. Don't pay one cent until after graduation. www.SayStudent.com

HS Senior Calendar: February

FOR MONTH OF FEBRUARY
February is the month to get ready for college. Acceptance and financial aid notices will be arriving over the next several weeks. Watch for deadlines.

Page Directory:
	• task1: monthly checklist
	• task2: get ready for college
	• task3: advanced placement
	• task4: credit manage 101
	• review: important note

Support Tools:
	• task tracking worksheets
	• quick financial aid checkup
	• college money map

Task1:
Monthly Checklist for February

checklist of prior tasks that should be completed
	If you submitted your FAFSA form early, you should receive your Student Aid Report (SAR) indicating your eligibility for financial aid. Make any corrections to the report and return it to the FAFSA processor. Need to check your SAR status: FAFSA web site Make corrections to FAFSA Form: www.fafsa.ed.gov More information about the SAR report: view Financial Aid Note 3 Need to send your SAR to more than six schools: view Financial Aid Note 2
	If you haven't submitted your FAFSA, you need to do so quickly to meet important college financial aid deadlines: see the January Plan
	Make sure your High School sends all necessary transcripts and grades to your colleges of choice. Check with your guidance counselor for assistance.
	Check to see if all of your application materials have been sent. Contact the admissions office of the college(s) to which you have applied to make sure they have everything. admission application: see the October Plan essays: see the October Plan letters or recommendations: see the October Plan high school transcripts other: use our application submission checklist
	If you are taking any college entrance exams, check your dates: see the September Plan
	Continue searching for scholarships. Every bit helps: over $24.3 billion worth of scholarships and grants in one location
	This is a good time to re-estimate your college costs: see the November Plan
	Men 18 years or older must be registered for Selective Service to receive federal financial aid. You can register online: www.sss.gov
	Have you started your going-to-college search? It's a little too late to meet the Fall semester deadline. You might consider getting ready for the Winter Semester: see our late starter file for planning after high school

Task 2:
Getting Ready for College

Imagine moving into your own home (which is what you will do when you go to college). Think about what you might need for the:

bedroom
kitchen
study area

parking lot
closet
etc.

download this FREE moving-to-college checklist
also reference our college moving center: click here

Attention Students:

start saving with this cost advantage program:
Cardholders save up to 50% OFF at more than 20,000 discount locations across the country.
www.studentadvantage.com
review how to best to manage your student funds:
using pre-paid credit to manage spend and avoid debt
using pre-paid credit cards to manage student funds

Task 3:
Advanced Placement Exam

Have you considered taking Advanced Placement Exams or the CLEP to test out of preliminary college courses such as pre-algebra, history and others? The tests are coming up. Why spend the time and cost to attend college courses you don't need. So get yourself ready:

The exams are administered each year in the Spring with some preparation required prior to the exam. Check with your high school for exam administration, enrollment and information.

Information about the advanced placement program:
the collegeboard administers the AP exams. This site has all the information you need including test programs and dates:
www.collegeboard.com
View our advanced placement prep/study guides:
includes prep planning books and other reading materials that can help you with these exams:
click here for advanced placement materials

Task 4:
Credit Management 101

Before making a decision about credit cards, student loans, and other credit financing, take a brief moment to view our affiliated member site on credit card and debt management:

(links go to our affiliated site at SayGoodCredit.com)

Credit Management
summary review of credit management and how to start and develop your own credit skills. Topics include:
introduction: about credit
types of credit
what is credit management
Applying for Credit

establishing credit
maintaining good credit
repairing your credit

Debt Management
learn tactics to manage and avoid debt.
Topics include:
about debt management
how much debt
solving your debt problems

managing credit card debt

Budget Management
develop important budgeting skills while in school.
Topics include:
why budget
what's in the budget
developing a spending plan

tips: Lowing Your Bills

What to Do About Credit Cards:

Banks and other student loan companies will be marketing you with credit card offers. Their objective is to get you onto their credit card system so that they have you as a customer for life.

You will need a cash card for school. Many college-town merchants will not accept checks and you don't want to carry around cash. But beware! Many students get into big debts with easy use of credit cards.

What Type of Credit Card for School:

Pre-paid credit:
see how to use pre-paid cards to manage and budget your student funds. They work just like credit cards. But they limit your spending by the amount of money you load to the card:

view how to use pre-paid cards to manage student loans
Get smart:
preview student credit cards to get an idea on what type of cards are available. Equip yourself with knowledge on what is out there to avoid getting hooked on a credit card marketing offers:


Card Category:
Intro APR:
Time Period:
APR (Purch.):
Annual Fee:

Important Note

Schools will be sending out acceptance notices within the month.

If you applied to more than one school, you need to decide in order which school you would like to attend.