Latest FAFSA Launched to Help Determine Financial Aid

Families of college-bound students can immediately find out how much the federal government thinks they can afford to contribute to their child’s college education.  The latest Free Application for Federal Student Aid, referred to as the FAFSA, is now live at www.FAFSA.gov This is the one form that all parents must file if they hope to get any federal money for college in the 2021-22 academic year. 

The newest FAFSA uses financial information from a family’s 2019 taxes.  Most people are able to make use of a “shortcut” offered on the FAFSA, which is the I.R.S. Data Retrieval Tool.  As long as you have already filed your 2019 taxes, you can check off that you want the FAFSA to link into your previously filed taxes and automatically fill in the numbers on all of the financial questions.

Applying Early Decision May Be Especially Helpful

Students who are anxiously filling out college applications may do well to consider applying Early Decision to their top college of choice.  Students who check off “early decision” on their college application and submit it by the application deadline (usually November 1st or November 15th) will typically hear back from the college prior to the December holiday break. Students are only allowed to apply early decision to one college, and they (and their parents) sign that they will definitely attend if accepted, unless they are not awarded their required financial aid.

According to Jeffrey Selingo, author of, “Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions,” colleges this coming year will likely fill more slots than ever before with early decision applicants.  In a series of interviews with the New York Times, Selingo, whose book was just released this month, compared our current economic climate with that of the Great Recession. He said that college admission officers, both then and now, are motivated to figure out as early as possible which students will be arriving on campus and how much financial aid they’ll need.

Latest Rankings Revealed in 2021 “Best Colleges”

The 2021 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” – often viewed as the bible to the college industry – is about to hit the newsstands.  New Jersey’s Princeton University is still in first place (for the 10th consecutive year) as the “Best National University.”  It’s followed by Harvard in second place, Columbia in third place, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and Yale tied for fourth place.  Other universities in the top 10 include Stanford and University of Chicago which tied for 6th place, University of Pennsylvania in 8th place, and a three-way tie for 9th place among California Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins and Northwestern.

This issue marks the 36th annual edition of the guidebook which calculates its ranking based on six categories which are each weighed differently: student outcomes (40%), faculty resources (20%), expert opinion (20%), financial resources (10%), student excellence (7%), and alumni giving (3%).

Students Who Find Their Niche Will Be In Demand

Unprecedented times offer unprecedented opportunities.  College-bound students, in the past, had their work clearly delineated: score high on the SAT, have an impressive G.P.A., get involved in extracurricular activities, and be sure to devote time to volunteer work.  Now, however, the rules have changed.

 

SAT scores, while extremely important to many colleges, are no longer required by all universities.  Grade point averages are not what they used to be, as a number of high schools are grading on a pass/fail basis. Extracurricular activities have been greatly curtailed, as have volunteer opportunities.

 

All of this unprecedented turmoil has truly left students in the driver’s seat to determine what their particular niche will be. While the specific college admission requirements have gotten hazy, the fact will always remain that colleges will choose the most competitive and appealing students from their applicant pool.