LMU Financial Aid Presentation
The following is a presentation from a Financial Aid officer from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) that was given to a group of our 8th grade students a few years ago. It has some excellent resources about college admissions and financial aid options.
These are just a few links with information to help plan for college. There is so much information available online, and both students and parents can educate themselves about planning for the future. Planning for college does include financial strategies, but it also includes choosing universities to apply to, determining which tests to take and when to take them, and even high school course selections. Starting to plan early can be very advantageous!
South High vs. UC and CSU Requirements
This is a page on our RMS website with a great table comparing the requirements for graduation from South High with the minimum requirements for admission to a UC or CSU school.
This site may be the most important college planning resource. Aside from all of the useful information about various colleges and universities, this is the site where students register to take the SAT!
http://www.actstudent.org/college/
A wonderful, simple resource to help you throughout the college preparation and application process.
FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is the most important form for applying for financial aid. All families who wish to seek financial aid must fill out this application, even if they don't believe they will qualify.
Practice Applications
https://www1.cfnc.org/Apply/_default.aspx
This website has a practice college application. Sign up for a free student account in order to try the application! This application looks nearly identical to the CSU application.
http://www.calstate.edu/sas/publications/documents/applicationbooklet-undergrad.pdf
This is a copy of the 2014-2015 California State University (CSU) paper application. You can print it out and practice!
FAFSA4Caster
http://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/estimate
This site explains and links to the FAFSA4Caster. When you apply to college, you will fill out a FAFSA form to determine your financial aid package. The FAFSA4Caster is more for parents to use in order to predict what kind of financial aid package you will be offered. Your family can use this to start planning for college!
College Essays
This is a site with some basic information about writing college essays. It has sample questions as well as tips for writing the essays.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/personal-statement/
This site has the 2013 UC essay prompts. There are two prompts: one general personal statement, as well as different prompts for freshmen or transfer students. If you are applying directly from high school, you would respond to the freshmen prompt.
College Prep for Middle School
http://studentaid.ed.gov/prepare-for-college/checklists/middle-school
http://knowhow2go.acenet.edu/index.html
These sites have some basic tips for middle schoolers who are beginning to think about college. They can help you plan ahead with an emphasis on success in high school.
These are two great websites with overviews of the different types of financial aid available, as well as a breakdown of who qualifies and how to apply for financial aid.
http://www.careerinfonet.org/scholarshipsearch/ScholarshipCategory.asp?searchtype=category&nodeid=22
http://www.scholarships.com/scholarship-search.aspx
http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/
These are scholarship search engines. One of the biggest concerns of both parents and students is that college is not affordable. There are many scholarships available to students ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Students who are diligent in applying for such scholarships are sometimes awarded several thousand dollars per year in different scholarships. These are just a few of MANY scholarship search engines. There are many scholarships available, including several local scholarships, and even one scholarship awarded by the Richardson Middle School PTSA!