15 Key Steps For Parents Of Seniors!

Families entering the college planning process for the first time during their student's senior year of high school are often filled with a great deal of anxiety. Many families find themselves wishing they had started earlier. The sooner a family starts, the more options are available to increase their eligibility for financial assistance.

However, all is not lost. If you've just begun and your student is a high school senior, there are several things you'll want to urgently consider:

1) Your student needs to get the highest score possible on the ACT or SAT. This will determine eligibility for a college and for scholarships or grants. I would recommend that your student apply for and take the test at least 3 times.

2) Your student needs to clarify the right kind of college they want to attend. At this point, they don't necessarily need to know what field of major to enter, they simply need to feel comfortable with the college they attend.

3) Students need to apply early to the colleges. You need to know the admission deadlines and scholarship deadlines. Also, some college scholarship deadlines come early during the fall of the student's senior year.

4) Students need to increase their student positioning. Class rank, GPA, and ACT and/or SAT test scores combine to either help or hurt the student's chances for scholarships and grants, and even admission.

5) Parents need to do some financial and tax planning before they fill out the CSS Profile, FAFSA, and all other financial aid applications. These are point-in-time contracts, therefore you have a small amount of time (if you have the knowledge) to make some last minute changes to double, or even triple, your student's eligibility for financial assistance.

6) Parents and students need to determine what forms are required to be filled out and to meet every deadline. You need to determine if your student is required to fill out a CSS Profile form. If required, the CSS must be submitted in the fall of your student's senior year and it must accurately reflect the tax information that will be submitted on the FAFSA after January 1st. Therefore, tax planning must be done early.

7) Financial aid forms need to be filled out and submitted regardless of income and assets. Don't let anyone tell you that you make too much money to fill out a FAFSA. This will eliminate any chances you have of utilizing or leveraging low interest government loans.

8) Determine what merit-based and need-based scholarships are available.

9) Determine which schools offer the most "free" money.

10) Assets are very important to the entire college funding process. There are "includable" assets and "non-includable" assets. It's important to know which are which. Use the guidance of a college funding advisor when attempting this. CPA's are good at accounting and financial planners are good and financial planning, but neither of them may know anything or much about the college funding process. A good tax strategy from a CPA who doesn't understand the college funding asset rules could cost you thousands of dollars in lost funding.

11) Develop cash flow strategies that maximize tax deductions, exemptions, tax credits, and lower your overall out-of-pocket expenses.

12) Consider powerful tax strategies for reducing college costs that are over and above the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit, The Lifetime Learning Credit, Tuition and Fees deduction, and the student loan interest deduction.

13) Compare college award letters and attempt to negotiate a better award package.

14) Consider a "special circumstance" appeal if you've lost your job, going through bankruptcy, or have high medical bills.

15) Carefully analyze your college bills. Unfortunately, this is a problem with many schools. It seems that the financial aid office and the billing department often disagree with each other.