The Ins and Outs of Figuring Out How to Pay for College
The Guidance Office at the Tewksbury Memorial High School offers advice on the process.
Pamplets that are currently being handed out at the Guidance Office at the Tewksbury Memorial High School
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Alright, you’re a concerned parent. Your son or daughter is a junior and will be heading off to college in a little less than two years, but the funds needed to make that happen are lacking and you need to acquire the necessary funds to smooth out some well laid plans.
The Guidance Department at the Tewksbury Memorial High School has a wealth of information that you can utilize.
According to pamphlets provided by the staff at the Guidance Department at the Tewksbury Memorial High School, one of the most important things that parents can do is to fill out the FAFSA form (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid). You’ve heard about this application from time to time. It’s the form that colleges must see if any financial aid is to be issued. One of the problems with this form, according to the staff there, is its complexity.
FAFSA forms are mailed out in the fall of a given student’s junior year. This gives parents the time they need to absorb all the information on the form and to respond to it. The time when the application is filled out does matter, according to the staff. Tax information is crucial, and contrary to what people may think, if a mistake is made on the FAFSA form, it may take hours to reverse, even though now, according to the staff, all of the applications are processed online.
When you fill out the FAFSA application, the key information and documents you will need are your most recent tax return, your Social Security Number, your driver’s license, your 2010 Income Tax records, your 2010 bank statements, your 2010 business and investment records and if you are not a US citizen, your Alien Registration Card.
It should be noted that many colleges will also ask you to fill out a supplemental financial aid form in addition to the FAFSA application.
In addition to these helpful pamphlets, which include not only ways to pay for college but to prepare for it, there is also a Scholarship Table in the Guidance Office. According to staff, any scholarship opportunities that come in are filed alphabetically and left on the table for anyone to view, including parents and students from other schools. Students are urged to stop in regularly and examine them.
For more information please visit the Guidance Office at the Tewksbury Memorial High School at 320 Pleasant Street in Tewksbury or call them directly at 978-640-7838.
