The above title, a quote from the movie, Field of Dreams, best describes the importance of preparing your child for college. If you “build” your child to be prepared with good grades, community service, a solid foundation in some activity – music, sports, clubs, leadership, volunteer work – the colleges will come. And with the colleges, opportunities for financial aid will also be possible.
Of course, my first advice to parents is to start budgeting early. But as the fees for college continue to escalate, it becomes more and more difficult to put away enough for your child’s education. For this reason, parents need to know about websites that can help financially in this area. The most important website to sign up for is: http://www.fafsa.gov/.
This is a government website to provide grants and other possible financial aid packages to help pay for a student’s education. There is no charge for this website. There are many websites that look like this website but they will ask for a credit card, often at the end of the application and after you have spent hours filling out the form. Should this occur – RUN!! You are on the wrong site. Also, it is critical that it is filled out whether or not financial aid is needed right now. Should a parent lose a job, a parent dies, or some other unforeseen crisis occurs, and it is not filled out for the upcoming school year, you will have to wait until the following year to apply.
Besides applying on the federal website for financial aid, private colleges in particular, are especially willing to work with you if they want your child. On the web there are a multitude of scholarships that have specific criteria. The scholarship may be providing money for students who major in a field, who are a specific race or nationality or that are left handed. The list goes on. Our local cities also have programs and scholarships for the students. Check with the high school career center and they can guide you. And remember: “If you build it, they will come.”
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