As much as possible, you should try to avoid making mistakes on your FAFSA, for they can delay the application process by up to 2-3 weeks. The following is a partial list of ways in which you can prevent that from happening to you:
1. Do not use your nickname instead of your legal name.
2. Do not leave any field blank. Use a zero if the question does not apply to you.
3. Report all required sources of untaxed income.
4. Include yourself in household size, even if you did not live there the previous year.
5. Do not forget to sign the application. If you are filing as a dependent, make sure your parents sign too.
Visit the following websites for more detailed information regarding FAFSA mistakes:
http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/errors.phtml
http://www.fastweb.com/fastweb/resources/articles/index/102183
Friday, January 18, 2008
Tips to Avoid Making Common FAFSA Mistakes
The FAFSA: An Introduction
Now that the college application process is mostly over, this is the time to start securing scholarships and financial aid. The FAFSA is a major component of that process.
What is the FAFSA?
The purpose of the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Financial Aid) is to determine how much your family can pay to support your college education.
Why should I fill out the FAFSA?
Most schools require it in order to determine your demonstrated financial need -that is, how much money you need in order to attend. Thus, if you want any sort of financial aid, you most likely need to fill out the FAFSA.
When should I fill out the FAFSA?
In order to receive the best financial aid award possible, you should fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1, 2008. This is because most colleges and universities award aid on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you apply too late, there may be less aid money available.
If you want to actually fill out the FAFSA, or just want more information, visit http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
More College Photos!
As promised, we are continuing to update our database of college photos. Recently we have added photos of Lafayette College and Bucknell College. You can see this new photos (and the old ones as well) at our photobuket.com album:
http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/dvsageclub/
In addition, we have found another photobuket.com album (unaffiliated with SAGE) that has a lot of college photos, including some of American University and George Washington University:
http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa12/oregonhummingbird/
Remember, the more photos we have, the better this database will be. Thus, if you have any photos that you want to contribute to this database, email us at dvsageclub.com@gmail.com, or contact one of the officers.
Friday, January 11, 2008
The College Confidential Forums
The College Confidential Forums (http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/) are a great resource for the high school student. On it, you will find information from students, parents and college official about SAT preparation, college essays, financial aid, summer programs, and more.
However, there is are a few caveats:
1. To find the information, you will have to do some fishing in the sea of posts. It will take time.
2. Take the comments with a grain of salt. A few people's opinion of a testing strategy or college is not authoritative.
3. Many of these posters are egregious overachievers; don't feel intimidated by them or pressured to emulate them.
Notice that the link to the forums is on the right, under "Useful Links". Be sure to browse the other links as well; it's in your best interest, for they really are useful.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Informational Videos about your Favorite Universities
Youtube "theU" (all one word) to get a list of a bunch of informational videos that cover all aspects of a college, from "The Food" to "The Shelter" to "The Scene". You can also find these videos at http://www.theu.com/; however, you must create a free profile first.
This is the Princeton Review's explanation of what these videos are about:
The Princeton Review has partnered with theU to bring you MTV-style college video tours. theU’s videos were created by students, for students to give an uncensored behind the scenes look at some of the most popular colleges in the U.S.The following are a sample of some of the "Intro" videos; you can view a complete list of all the colleges represented in the series at http://princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/find/theu/schoolvideos.asp.
Yale
Washington University in St. Louis
UCLA
University of Arizona
Monday, January 7, 2008
Videos of Harvard Lectures
Harvard has published a series of videos of classroom lectures, which are a great way to get a glimpse of the Harvard educational experience. Disregard the promotional propaganda that these videos have (they interview students who talk about how much they like the class, etc.) and judge for yourself whether they are good or not.
The purpose of this post is not to further advertise Harvard; instead, it is meant to show what types of resources are available online that prospective students can use as they try to figure out which school is right for them.
Click on the following links to watch the videos:
Justice: A Journey in Moral Reasoning
A basic ethics course; highly recommended -very entertaining
String Theory, Black Holes, and the Fundamental Laws of Nature
An introductory quantum mechanics course
W.B. Yeats: "Among School Children"
This is a sample of a college-level literature course; the topic is W.B. Yeats' poem "Among School Children"
Interpreting the Past
This is a history course; topics include "Who gets remembered and why?" and the Agrarian Revolution, which happened just after the American Revolution.
The full catalog of videos can be found at http://athome.harvard.edu/archive
Sunday, January 6, 2008
http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/dvsageclub/University%20of%20Chicago/?albumview=grid
http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/dvsageclub/Northwestern%20University/?albumview=grid
Brought to you by your friends at SAGE