Every student who wants to minimize the amount of money they borrow to attend college or graduate school should consider obtaining financial aid. As mentioned in a few prior articles, I received generous need-based financial aid while attending college and law school. This assistance helped me lessen the amount of money I had to borrow to earn my degrees. Through my experiences applying for financial assistance, I learned first-hand how parents can help their kids receive financial aid.
Need-based financial aid determinations are largely based on the estimated contribution a family is expected to make towards their children’s educational expenses. Most applicants for need-based financial aid need to submit forms such as the FAFSA, institution-specific documents, and other materials. These documents usually require that families list their financial assets so a determination can be made as to how much financial aid an applicant needs to cover the difference between what their parents can pay and the cost of attendance.
There are, of course, a number of flaws in this system, including the fact that numerous parents do not help their children with educational expenses, and many more are not able to pay for their kids’ educational expenses to the extent predicted by the FAFSA and other forms. In addition, everyone’s situation is different, and it might be unfair to compare different parents who earn similar amounts of money, since individuals have different lifestyles depending on where they live and other factors. Nevertheless, the financial background of parents is very important during the financial aid process.
Parents can help their kids receive financial aid by assisting their children in the process of completing necessary financial aid forms. Oftentimes, these forms ask for private information and these documents can be extremely tedious to complete. However, it is important that parents take the time to submit any necessary paperwork so that their kids have the best chance possible of receiving financial aid.
In addition, parents usually have to provide materials to support their kids’ applications for financial aid. Oftentimes, parents need to submit their tax returns, and sometimes, need to furnish bank statements to prove their financial situation. Other times, parents need to write narratives explaining certain aspects of their financial background.
Parents can help their kids receive financial aid by providing their children with whatever documents they need to support their financial aid applications. From my own personal experiences, I can understand how this is easier said than done. My dad (my only living parent during my student debt repayment saga) had an unusual financial background, and some years, he did not file tax returns. It was a pain for him to provide me letters from accountants, written narratives, tax documents, bank statements, and other materials I needed to apply for financial aid.
This created a lot of stress between the two of us, and I reminded him more than once that I was paying for college and law school all on my own, and the least he could do was to provide me with these materials. However, each year, my father came through for me in providing these documents, and this minimized the amount of stress I experienced over financial aid. All told, it is important to keep in mind that the financial aid process can create stress and pry into private areas of one’s life, but the reward of educational assistance is worth any inconvenience.
It is also worth mentioning that sometimes, siblings need to provide documents in order to support the financial aid application of another sibling. During my second year of college, I was asked to have my brothers complete forms about how much financial assistance they were receiving to earn their degrees. At the time, I had three brothers attending college and law school, and it was a huge burden to have each of them complete this form.
My brothers knew that I was relying on financial aid to lessen the amount of money I borrowed to attend college, and they were quick in getting these forms completed and sent to my college’s financial aid department. Of course, if there is an issue with having siblings complete financial aid paperwork for another sibling, parents can help ensure that the documents are completed. That extra bit of encouragement can make a stressful process go a little more smoothly.
It is also important to emphasize that parents can help their kids receive financial aid by being an advocate for their children. When I first got a letter in the mail informing me how much financial aid I was awarded to attend college, I was discouraged to discover that I would still have to borrow a sizable amount of student debt. My dad and I thought that I should be entitled to more financial aid based on our family’s situation, and during an accepted students’ day at my college, we made sure to meet with the financial aid office.
At the meeting with my college’s financial aid office, my father explained our family’s financial situation, and discussed in emotional terms how much I needed more financial aid. I could tell that the financial aid officer was truly moved by our story, and I eventually received more financial aid from my college. It was not enough to account for all of my expenses, but this financial aid covered most of the cost of attending college, and I appreciated the efforts of my father to increase my financial aid.
All told, parents can help their kids receive financial aid by making the process of applying for financial aid as easy as possible. In addition, parents should also be advocates for their children, since they can convince financial aid officers to increase the amount of assistance their kids receive to attend school.