Spark College Consulting

650-274-9924 | EMAIL Email
  • Home
  • Our Services
  • About Us
  • Resources
    • New Clients
    • Returning Clients
    • Resource Links
    • Student Lounge
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

January 31, 2014 by Elizabeth Katz

Earliest Financial Aid Deadlines Approaching

financial_aid_for_college_application_processMany colleges have a Feb. 1 or Feb. 2 deadline for the submission of financial aid forms, either the FAFSA, the CSS PROFILE, or both.  Make sure that you know the deadlines for the schools to which you applied — while turning the form in late to your school may not be fatal to your chances for financial aid, it certainly will lessen them greatly.  Colleges give aid first to those who meet the deadline, so if your form is late, you will receive aid only if there is any money left for the school to give.

This also means that you and your parents need to complete the forms even if your parents’ tax return is not completed.  It is certainly more difficult to do the FAFSA and PROFILE without a return to reference, but it can be done.  Once your parents’ tax return is in, they can import the information from the return to the FAFSA as an update.  If you have any questions about financial aid, the federal government has a Financial Aid Toolkit website which will help you decipher the ins and outs of the process.

Two more things to remember.  First, some colleges are using the list of colleges on your FAFSA form to infer your preferences.  If you want to prevent them from doing this, list the colleges alphabetically!  Second, the financial aid process is not over when you file the FAFSA and PROFILE.  Most colleges have a list of additional forms and information that they request, which may include your actual tax return from 2013 and/or 2012 or an IRS Tax Transcript, which you can request from the IRS after you have filed your return.  Stay on top of all the forms required and the deadlines for them, as both will differ from college to college.

Good luck!

Filed Under: Financial Aid, For Parents, For Students

COME SEE WHAT WE’RE UP TO!

Recent Posts

  • College Application Essays – 7 Tips
  • Summer To-Do List for Rising Seniors
  • Review – The Perfect Score Project – Pt 1
  • Spotlight on Pomona College
  • Tips for College Visits – The Top 7

CLIENT REVIEWS

Elizabeth has helped me conquer the college application process with relative ease; showing me how to organize my application “to do” list and assisting me in creating application profiles that make a strong case for myself while letting my perso… Read more
Student
Elizabeth’s help and coaching was invaluable to our son’s college application process. First she took the time to really get to know his capabilities, interests and goals, did extensive research to find universities that are a great fit for him then … Read more
Parent of Student
My son is a freshman in college and absolutely loves his school.  The college application process is quite daunting, so I appreciate that Elizabeth was able to support him to make the process as smooth and painless as possible.  It was hard for our… Read more
Mother of Student
When I heard about how stressful it was for some of my friends to help their kids get through the college application process, I started to worry that the whole process was going to put our entire family into a really unhappy place. So, I hired Eliza… Read more
Mother of Student
Read all Client Reviews

SCHEDULE SESSION

A client can choose to work with Elizabeth during only certain parts of the college application, or enjoy a complete package discount. For more information about our services or schedule a session please be in touch at your convenience.
Schedule an Appointment

CONTACT

Spark College Consulting with Elizabeth Katz
Call 650-274-9924
Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on LinkedinFollow Us on RSS
spark_college_consulting_application_admission_essays_

Copyright © 2025 · Spark College Consulting ·

Sitemap