I will be planning and organizing a Financial Aid 101 Night for seniors and their parents.  It will most likely be held in December or January. You will not apply for FAFSA until after you have completed your 2008 income taxes.

FAFSA is Free Application for Federal Student Aid developed by the U.S. Department of Education to help determine if you’re college bound senior is eligible to receive money from federal grants, loans and work-study programs.  Colleges and Vocational Schools require that a student have a completed and accurate FAFSA form on file in order to be eligible for any type of financial assistance.  Many times, this even includes eligibility for scholarships that are not even based on financial need.  In addition, if your child qualifies for the A-plus scholarship they must fill out a FAFSA by March 1, 2009 and show proof that they have done so in order to receive funding.  Therefore, even if you believe your income is too high to receive any type of government assistance, you still need to fill out a FAFSA form.  You will want to plan on having your income taxes completed as soon as you can after the first of the year.  You will then be able to accurately complete the application for FAFSA. 

You can complete the FAFSA form online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Any juniors who are interested in learning more about FAFSA and the Financial Aid process can go to the following website for more information.  http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/