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Parents: Do your research to end up with the best financial aid options

posted in: Parent Corner | 0

How you’ll pay for your child’s college education is as important as where they are admitted. Start planning early to shoot for the best financial aid & scholarship packages. As we like to say, financial aid is not sexy, but it’s worth your time anyway!

Start planning early to get the most from college financial aid. Getting admitted to a choice university takes careful planning and it’s important to start early. The same is true of financial aid – understanding the process and making the necessary preparations a year or two early can help make your child’s education significantly more affordable. When your student is in early high school, take time to investigate financial aid…you’ll be glad you did!

Position your student to maximize scholarships and grants, and to minimize loans. It’s crucial to get organized early to make the most of scholarship opportunities at different colleges, universities, and other outside organizations. The more you know about how students qualify for scholarships and grants, the better positioned your student will likely be to qualify.

Actively seek out financial aid opportunities. Financial aid opportunities happen when parents and students do their homework and prepare. Many colleges offer their own scholarships, grants, and work-study programs; at Navigatio we provide information on different financial aid & scholarship options currently available in the world of higher education. We understand how financial aid works and can educate you & lead you to a financial advisor to address your particular situation if needed.

We guide you through the preparation phase of filing FAFSA, CSS Profile & institutional applications. Financial aid applications need to be filed in a very careful and timely manner, so we keep you on schedule. At Navigatio, we’ll educate you on what to expect from those applications and how to proceed in an efficient way when it comes to meeting financial aid requirements. Key tip: get your taxes done early (in January or February) of your student’s senior year. At many schools, financial aid gets doled out on a first come, first served basis.

We provide organizational support to help you execute your plan. The checklists include paperwork requirements and deadlines for FAFSA, CSS PROFILE, scholarships and other documents related to financial aid. We educate families on how to glean the “real cost” of what each college or university might be.

Visit our website to learn about the financial aid options that are out there. Our advisors will be more than happy to discuss all the financial aid possibilities that can be pursued. This will give you a clearer understanding of the whole process and help you make the right choices for your student.

To further discuss your financial aid options, give us a call at (818) 207-0263.