Workin' for your Education

March is nearly upon us and I hope you all have completed your FAFSA applications at this point. 

If not, get to it!

On to other news, let’s talk a little about Federal Work Study programs. Federal Work Study (FWS) can be part of your FAFSA package and can be highly beneficial in numerous ways. While filling out your FAFSA you probably noticed an option for choosing “Work Study” in the drop down box containing options for "Loans" and "Grants." FWS is a means in which to pay for your schooling by working (thus the “work” part of Federal Work Study) while taking classes. FWS is awarded based on financial need. It requires good time management skills and knowledge of how well you handle multi-tasking. Working and attending class can be difficult. However, it has numerous benefits that can make it well worth your while, besides the obvious benefit of having part of your schooling paid. Working on or off campus helps you to establish good rapport with the people with which you work. Obviously, having a job boosts your resume, showing future employers that you’re hard working and reliable. The relationships you establish with your current employers and coworkers might mean quality letters of recommendation and good references after graduation. FWS is beneficial to many students and also helps out universities by filling part time positions with willing workers. 

FWS encourages community service work and work related to the recipient’s course of study. This usually means that you can work either on or off campus. You will be working for the school if you are placed on campus or for a private nonprofit organization or public agency with a focus on public interest if you work off campus. As an undergraduate you will be paid hourly although the amount you earn cannot exceed your FWS award. Factors like award amount, class schedule, and academic progress will be taken into consideration when creating your work schedule.  Check out http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/campusaid.jsp or talk to your financial aid specialist for more information. Seeing if you qualify for Federal Work Study is just another reason to fill out your FAFSA; you never know what you’re eligible for unless you apply!

Happy Wednesday!

Angela

Intro to Loans 101

With all this talk of $$$ isn’t it important we help our students borrow successfully when it comes to student loans? Some students may not have a second thought about their student loans until after they’ve graduated from college! But understanding the obligations they’ve committed themselves to is of huge importance throughout the life of the loan.

A few things for students to keep in mind as they venture through their college career:

1.       Know your lender. Students may hold multiple loans, and throughout the course of their life, they often get sold to another lender. Contact the school financial aid office in order to get this information.

2.       Make early payments if possible. Making the interest payments during school can help lower the total they pay overall.

3.       Repayment Requirements. Repayment is 100% necessary and required! By signing the promissory note, the student has agreed to repay the loan, regardless of employment, satisfaction of education, or whether they actually received a degree or not.

4.       Mail from the lender. Along with knowing the lender of the student loan, it’s also crucial to open and read all mail from the lender and make sure the lender has the correct mailing address.

5.       Keep all paperwork regarding a student loan(s). This is part of being organized! Keep all copies of all paperwork related to the student loan information in one, safe spot where it can easily be found.

Having this information available and on hand (knowing the lender, reading, and keeping the mail from the lenders) will make life so much easier when questions come up or when it comes that time to start thinking about repayment.

One last suggestion I make as I am advising students in their financial aid process is to only take what you need, never take more than what is necessary. With that said, never over-borrow, or students will find themselves unable to meet their obligation of repayment. Student loans are an investment to a successful and prosperous future!

For more information on federal student loans and loan obligations, visit www.fafsa.gov

Faith Helton

Rock Springs College Advisor

fhelton@uwyo.edu

For the LOVE of $$$

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love is in the air today! Students these days love many things…Ipods, movies, their friends, sleeping…but one thing I have noticed students absolutely LOVE is $Money$. Money can get us places and give us the freedom to buy what we want and enjoy ourselves from time to time. High School students access funds from a variety of places. Parents and sometimes siblings are good for a few dollars while it seems that odd jobs like mowing lawns, baby sitting, or even regular part time jobs are more common because students hate asking for cash from the rents. The fact is also with recent family budget cuts, parents are becoming more and more likely to not be able to fork over any dough.

Students who have any amount of money, no matter where it is accessed from, have the tendency once they have any amount of it to SPEND it. I get it. I know the feeling of the green burning a hole in my pocket. Its so tempting to buy that new video game everyone has been raving about, or download a few extra songs for my MP3 player (gotta stay in the loop). Its hard to say no to friends who want to hit up fast food at lunch or go see a new movie every weekend. And with the way clothes move in and out of style, buying a new pair of jeans to look “in” is at the top of some student’s list of needs. What students do not realize however is that the amount of money they spend in High School on little stuff weekly to keep in the loop and feel good adds up fast and leads to forming bad financial habits later in life.  If a student spends $5 dollars a day at lunch with friends, $15 dollars a week on activities, and $100 dollars a month on clothes or shoes or electronic goodies they will spend in a years time over $3,000. AMAZING what just lunch with peeps everyday can add up to.

STUDENTS…What if all that play money was SAVED instead of SPENT?

If over the four years of high school a student brought lunch to school, did fun and FREE activities with friends on the weekends, and got by with the clothes, video games, and other fun stuff they already have, students could save as much as $12,000!!! They could save it and use it for something more important than the newest DVD or pair of kicks, like, oh I don’t know…college?

 Learning to save and make due with what one has is an incredibly useful life skill to master. It makes students financially savvy and prepares them to make smarter financial decisions. Credit cards and other debt issues tend not to arise with students who know the value of spending only the money they have. Self-control and saving for a priority like college gives students a sense of pride and accomplishment and the ability to move towards independence. If a student can add funds saved from the petty spending they have avoided to the financial aid (scholarships, grants, loans etc.) they have for college, a student will have more money overall in college and dodge the health risks associated with college students and stress due to financial strain…and the more money and scholarships a student has the less likely they are to have loans when they graduate.

...In the end we all know, MONEY can’t buy you LOVE….but it will help pay for college.

For more info on financial wellness and tips for success visit: http://www.360financialliteracy.org/Life-Stages/College-Students

http://www.360financialliteracy.org/Topics/Paying-for-Education/Saving-for-College

Love and Cheers,

~Liz Rader

WyCAC Advisor

Evanston High School

erader@uwyo.edu

“Don’t agonize, organize.”

Happy Friday, Wyoming! My name is Dara and I am a current college student… so, as you can tell, I am not one of the advisers. However, I am working with them as support in many areas and happily blogging with the team as well!

So, we’re talking financial aid this week! This process was definitely the most overwhelming to me when I was in high school and getting ready to head off to college. How did I manage to sort through all of the deadlines, essays and applications??? Simple-organization! Organization in every sense of the word is the key! Develop a rhythm for filling out scholarship applications, whether it is filling out one a week, every other week, or whatever works for your schedule. Also, it’s a great idea to keep an e-copy of all of your essays from various applications because many times, themes and topics of scholarships may overlap and can be modified to apply to a different scholarship. (Great time saver!) Also, if you find yourself trying to keep up with a large amount of application deadlines, you may consider purchasing a small calendar to keep them all in one place. It becomes a much better reference tool than having to search through your post-its to find the right date, (which I learned the hard way).

Filling out scholarships does take a great investment of time. However, it is time well spent! To reiterate what Angela said: “look often, look early and don’t forget to apply!” It pays off…literally!

The above title is a quote from activist, Florynce Kennedy.

Dara Anderson
College Advisor Assistant

The Scholarship Search

Now that Liz and Ray have discussed FAFSA and Hathaway opportunities, I'd like to give a few tips for finding scholarship money elsewhere.

Here a few general places to look:
1. Private Organizations
2. Corporations
3. Religious Organizations
4. Unions
5. Military (if your parents are veterans, you're a veteran or if you plan to participate in ROTC)
6. Clubs & Organizations

However, the most obvious place to look for scholarships is at the school to which you are applying. Start broad, looking at school wide scholarships and talking to the Financial Aid department to see which ones for which you qualify. Narrow your search as you become more familiar with the institution. If you have decided what you're going to major in, find out what college within the university that major falls under and look for scholarships there. Next, look to your department. Don't be afraid to e-mail the director or head of the department, as they may not be able to help you personally but will know who to contact concerning scholarships. Once you have exhausted (yes, the scholarship application process can be tiring, but so worth it!) all of those options, look for scholarships from other campus organizations. If you are part of a club, find out if their local or national headquarters offer scholarships. Other organizations on campus, such as student government, political groups, honors associations, etc., often offer scholarships to members so just ask around and you'll be surprised with what you come up with.

If you are still in high school, become a frequent visitor to your counselor's office. He or she, as well as your resident College Advisor, will know of scholarships available from your community and your school . Be persistent and check back early and often, as scholarship deadlines can sneak up fast! If you are in community college, make sure you have found out about aid available to transfer students. Make sure to also check on the status of your Hathaway, if you are receiving one, to make sure everything is ready to transfer smoothly upon changing schools.

Finally, the best piece of advice I can give anyone looking for extra help paying for college is: apply, even if you don't think you fully qualify. Sometimes things come up and you can get a pleasant surprise in the form of cash for college. Also, apply for any scholarships you can, even if the amount seems small. $200 might not look like much but it can end up paying for a portion of your books, cover tuition for six credits, or pay for a few weeks worth of food at the cafeteria. Little scholarships add up fast to equal big financial help!

Three things to remember when searching for scholarships: 

look often, look early and don't forget to apply!

For more scholarship opportunities, check out the following websites:
http://schoolsoup.com/
http://www.scholarships.com/
http://www.studentscholarships.org/
http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/

Happy Wednesday!
Angela

Why Wyoming is Wonderful: The Hathaway Scholarship

Hi everyone, my name is Ray and I am the WyCAC advisor at Rawlins High School. I am originally from the beautiful town of Powell, WY and I have always taken great pride in being from Wyoming. During my time at RHS one of the most common questions that I have encountered is very Wyoming specific and that is the Hathaway scholarship. For those who may not know, the Hathaway scholarship is a scholarship program available to all WY students who graduate from a WY high school, AND have taken the correct course load, maintained the proper GPA and scored a high enough score on the ACT. I will not get into the specifics but if you have more questions visit this website http://www.hathawayscholarships.com/ The most important part of the Hathaway is planning while you are still in school. The three most important lessons I tell students who visit me are:
1. This is your responsibility, it is up to you to make sure that you will include the courses you need to get the scholarship you want.
2. Planning your own curriculum now will help you in college. In college, some advisors are not able to keep up with all of their students needs pertaining to their degree progress, if you keep track of your own classes it will help you get your degree faster!
3. Do not aim for the bottom tier of the scholarship, aim for the highest scholarship and you may just surprise yourself and get it!
The Hathaway scholarship program is an incredible opportunity to WY students that students from other states are very jealous of. So take advantage of this opportunity, use it to its full extent and make your college dreams come true!

FAFSA...Friend or Foe?

Hello all! It’s Liz at Evanston High School. It is a busy, chilly Monday morning! I have already had a bunch of students in my office asking questions and getting help on scholarships for the week. It seems however there is a big elephant in the room everyone wants to know about...

The HOT TOPIC of this month seems to be the FAFSA...dun dun dun.....(Free Application for Federal Student Aid for those of you not sure what FAFSA is.) The FAFSA for some reason has become a mysterious application students have heard about but are not sure how to act on. (Thank you to the high schools for doing all they can to get the information out there about the FAFSA!) The FAFSA should be something that EVERY college going person is aware of and has information about. It should not be a big hairy under the bed beast. It should be seen as an ally to financing college.

The FAFSA is used to determine the amount of money a family is expected to contribute to the price of attending a postsecondary institution. The results of the FAFSA are also used in determining student grants, work study, and loan amounts. FAFSA application is critical because it is used for Federal Pell Grants as well as other financial aid offered by colleges and universities. Many scholarships also require that students have an active FAFSA application before they can be considered. The FAFSA is free and only takes about 30mins to an hour to do online if you have your tax information in front of you and ready to go.

This is what the FAFSA asks you to provide:

  Information about the student

  Information about the student’s dependency status

  Information about the student’s parents and finances

  Information about the student’s finances

  A list of the schools that should receive the results of the FAFSA

NOTE: All financial information is kept confidential and NOT released to other government agencies. The information provided is solely used by the Office of Federal Student Aid, part of the Department of Higher Education.

Still unsure of the beast?

Here is my advice if a student is still suffering from FAFSA woes:

1. Ask questions. There is nothing wrong with not knowing what to do. Contact your local Educational Opportunity Center, the financial aid office at the schools you are applying to or the Guidance Office at your local High School for information on how to get help. There are FAFSA Frenzy events happening all over Wyoming this month where students can get help filling out the application. Find out where your local Frenzy is TODAY to get help.
2. Apply for a PIN on the FAFSA website as soon as you can so you are able to electronically sign your app.

3. Fill out the application completely and accurately, and be sure to get it in on time. Most schools have priority deadlines. Even a minor problem with the form could result in delays or the loss of financial assistance.

4. Fill out the form even if you think you will not qualify for aid. You never know what you can be eligible for until you just do it!
5. Once you fill out the form you will find out what types of aid you qualify for in a few short weeks. Getting aid for the next year of college is worth taking an hour to fill out the app.

6. FILL IT OUT! Don't wait, just get online and start! It is easier than you might think!

FINAL WARNING: The key word in FAFSA is the ‘FREE’ part. DO NOT PAY for anything FAFSA related. There are help service companies that will charge you $$$ to assist you with the form, PLEASE find free help, it is out there for you! I promise the FAFSA does not require professional assistance. Additionally make sure you are filling out the correct application from the .gov website.

For other information and to fill out YOUR FAFSA just visit:

www.FAFSA.gov

FAFSA is not scary, confront the beast with confidence!

Cheers,

Liz Rader

WyCAC Advisor

Evaston High School

erader@uwyo.edu