FAFSA Info Night - December 6

Our annual FAFSA information night is coming on on Tuesday, December 6th at 6:00 pm in the Auditorium. The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid that is required in order to get financial aid for college. Seniors and their parent/guardians are strongly encouraged to attend if they plan to file for financial aid. Juniors and their parent/guardian are also strongly encouraged to attend because it is often too late to move assets around if you wait to learn about how the FAFSA works during the fall of senior year. Knowledge is power so come learn about this important form so you won't be scared of it!

FAFSA basics:

- The FAFSA is free. Never, ever, ever pay a website or company to submit this form on your behalf.
- The FAFSA is not a scholarship granter. All the FAFSA does is allow college Financial Aid offices to see your family's financial profile and what the government thinks your family can afford to pay toward college (aka the Estimated Family Contribution, EFC). Each school can interpret and award scholarships at their discretion using that same EFC from the FAFSA.
- The FAFSA should be filled out in January of a student's senior year. It is not yet available and won't be until January 1. Most schools need it submitted no later than February.
- The FAFSA must be filled out each year a student is requesting aid. Otherwise how would a school know that your family won the lottery or that a parent lost a job?
-Everyone should file a FAFSA, even if you think you won't get lots of aid. At most private schools a family income needs to be over $250,000 per year in order to be ineligible for need based aid. And even for families in that scenario, the FAFSA can at the very least help you to qualify for an interest free loan from the government which can be a nice way to spread out the cost. Plus, many schools require a FAFSA be filed even for merit aid.

See you December 6!

(ps the link above is a little 90s throwback that makes the cut for this post because of the iconic 'money dive' at 19 seconds, woo ooh!)

MP1 Grades

MP1 Grades came out on Friday. I hope that any cases of Senioritis have been fought off with lots of Vitamin C and rest, because high school lasts for four years and dramatic changes in the last year can mean not such good things when it comes to college admissions.

MP grades do not appear on ElRo transcripts. Only final grades will be added to transcripts in June. Therefore, if your college needs to see your senior grades, you need to check the 'mid year grades' box on the transcript request form. If checked, I will add you to my list to send your MP1 and MP2 grades in January (because January is mid-year). Be aware that attendance, lateness, and teacher comments can be seen on the report card. Be sure you are proud of all elements, not just your grades.

If you need MP1 grades sent to an EA or ED school, please confirm with me via email that I have that noted on my list. I plan to work on mailing out the EA/ED grades today for those that requested it. We can't guarantee that the school will get them in time, but we can certainly try. Not every college will consider senior grades (ie University of Maryland) and others still require mid year grades (ie Syracuse University) so just be sure to check the college's website to review their individual policy.

Keep working hard as we enter MP2 - the finish line is getting closer every day!

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November halfway over?!

Source: Uploaded by user via Arlene on Pinterest

Crazy as it is - we have reached the halfway point for November so application completion should really be going full force for all seniors. Below are the reminders and tips I would give to all seniors during this time:

1) The time to apply for CUNY, if you have not already, is now. Don't dilly dally, just do it. Flat fee of $65 for six campuses. Be sure that your list includes some options where you are in range profile wise (translation: don't only put Baruch and Hunter if your grades or SAT are lower than their averages). There is no essay and all you have to do for your transcript to be sent over is enter in your OSIS number (school ID number). No excuses for this not to be done already. If you are applying via Macaulay Honors you have until December 1, so get going if you haven't already!

2) The time to apply to public schools (SUNY and out of state) is now. I recommend getting public school applications submitted by Thanksgiving.

3) Clean up your Common App and only have colleges listed in your Common App account where you actually plan to apply. A new feature on Naviance this year syncs your Naviance list and your Common App list. Sounds great, until you realize that the Naviance list all of sudden has 17 schools because the student has 8 'maybes' in their Common App account. Fine for the interim, just be positive that you delete the schools from the Common App once you rule them out and also remove them from your Naviance list if they are lingering there.

4) I recommend a maximum of 10 schools, but many students ignore the first part and just hear the 10 part. Don't feel pressure to apply to 10 just for the heck of it. Be thoughtful about your list. As long as you have balance: some reach, some target, some likely that you LIKE your list is fine as it is. I only applied to four schools and I survived.

5) Don't forget to order official score reports from the testing company.

6) Even if you applied EA or ED to your top choice schools, you should still be working on your other applications right now. We hope, of course, that you'll be admitted EA/ED, but in case you are deferred or denied you want the other apps to be totally ready to go so you don't have to work on them when you are still mourning the disappointment of the EA/ED decision. Trust me, you won't regret it.

7) Breathe. Repeat. And in the words of my fourth grade teacher: when in doubt, read the directions.

(Image is of Kenyon College - how gorgeous!)

Thank you University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Amy Gutmann!

What an exciting day for ElRo! Our 11th and 12th grade students were lucky enough to have an assembly with Dr. Amy Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania. It was so thrilling to have a higher education professional of such prestige visit our school and it was a great opportunity for our students to hear from such a fabulous speaker. Dr. Gutmann highlighted her hope that students can use college as a time to pursue their passions. She also discussed how important it is to seek out schools that are both high quality and affordable - a message I certainly support! (University of Pennsylvania, under her tenure, has been at the forefront of being generous with Financial Aid so that any admitted student can attend without needing to take out loans).

After the assembly, Dr. Gutmann was interviewed by Audrey C. (stay tuned to hear all about the interview). Many thanks to everyone from University of Pennsylvania for making today happen! I am so proud of our students and school!

Update - Check out the coverage of this event on the NY Times The Choice Blog

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You're Invited

42-20042094, a photo by mylifemix on Flickr.

Attention all 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students and Families:

You are invited to a 'What to Expect From the College Process' Q&A on Wednesday, November 9th at 6:00 pm in the Auditorium. This event is designed to help give you some information now, since the first formal introduction to the College Process won't happen until the spring of a student's Junior year. Students are welcome to come without parents/guardians and parents/guardians are welcome to come without students.

Please come ready to ask questions!

NSC/FAFSA Opt Out

It is time once again for the FAFSA/NSC opt out form - available here and blogged about last year here.

What does it mean? The short version is: the government wants to track more accurate data about two things- how many students successfully apply for financial aid (by filing a FAFSA) and how many students enroll in college and what their outcomes are (data compiled by a service called National Student Clearinghouse).

According to the Federal government, all student data is fair game for inclusion UNLESS the family fills out one of these opt out forms. So, if you don't want your data included, you need to submit a form. If you are ok with your data being included, you don't have to print and fill out anything. There is no penalty for opting out and also no incentive for opting out - it is 100% your decision.

If you don't have a printer, Ms. Feldman has hard copies in her office. This opt out form is due back to Ms. Feldman by November 23 so she can enter the data into the computer system.

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