Happy New Year! I know, I'm a little behind on that--especially given that New Year's Eve was a good ten days ago. Regardless, the new year is still in its first month, so I think it's okay to be wishing happy things for all of us.
Last year on New Year's Eve I was in Casablanca, on the final day of a wonderful trip across the northern parts of Morocco. Worn out from all the adventurel, I had decided to go to an authentic Moroccan hammam, where I was scrubbed and washed from head to toe and then massaged; the attendants there treated me like a prince. When I called out, "Happy New Year!" to them in English as I was leaving, they replied in Arabic, "Sana Saeeda." I gave it my best shot and called out "Sana Saeeda" back to them, which resulted in huge smiles and laughter all around.
But enough of Morocco and New Year's and all that. Let's talk about what the month of January means for parents of kids who are applying to college.
First, for the most part, your kid's applications should be finished by now. DONE. Submitted already. Of course, there are a handful of schools who have a January 15 deadline, so technically, it's possible that some folks are finishing up, and many state schools accept applications until spring, but if your son or daughter wants to have the best chances of being admitted, this is the time to finish everything. So, January should mean a temporary end to some of the craziness you've been living through the last few months.
January is also a time for your child to write back to any ED or EA schools where she or he was deferred. In the very short letter your he will send, he should thank the admissions team for giving him another opportunity to demonstrate his strengths and included any updates or additional info that wasn't sent in with the original application in early November. This is a good time to submit first semester grades, to talk about how an athletic season ended, or to include any recognition that your son or daughter has since garnered. (By the way, your high school will submit official grades for you, but this is a chance for your son or daughter to volunteer that information first.)
But probably the most important thing to keep in mind about January is that it is financial aid month. If you're hoping for any kind of aid, now is when things need to get moving. Parents must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA after January 1 of the child's senior year, or in other words, now. Some people prefer to wait until they've figured out their taxes, but my suggestion is to estimate your tax return and get the FAFSA in as soon as possible. You can always makes adjustments later.
Colleges only have access to a certain amount of money to give away, and they start giving it away in financial aid packages as admissions decisions are made. Those who have submitted financial details earlier have a better opportunity of receiving the money before it is all gone. You can still submit a FAFSA, for example, in March or April, but by the time it is processed, the pool of aid available will have dwindled considerably.
There are dozens of helpful websites to guide you through all this, too. Start with www.fafsa.gov.ed
and then progress on to http://www.usnews.com/sections/education/paying-for-college/. And the best advice anyone can give you will be from the financial officers at the specific schools where your son or daughter is applying. Become their friends.
I've also written a little more about financial aid, but in the very broadest of strokes, on my website. You can read that entry here: http://bit.ly/f4J3R1
Happy January!
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