Use holiday break to research financial aid

While your focus may be scattered this time of year, it's important to add one more thing to the to-do list. Make sure you're up-to-date on your financial aid terminology and filing deadlines. Following are some helpful resources:

• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the tool for unlocking all kinds of financial aid, becomes available January 1 for the 2009–2010 school year. Fill it out and submit it as soon as possible because aid is handed out on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit the FAFSA website for the form and a list of what you need to complete it.
• Research the different kinds of aid that are available. Know the differences between gift aid (scholarships and grants), private and federal loans, and need- and merit-based aid. You can get detailed information at the financial aid portion of ACT's website.
• Deadlines for state financial aid vary. Check FAFSA's list of application deadlines for your state's deadline.
• Don't be fooled by services offering "guaranteed" scholarships for a fee. Sadly, student aid is subject to scammers. Check out FinAid's information about scholarship scams so you know what to watch for.
• And if your student isn't ready for college just yet, use the FAFSA4caster to get a jump on financial planning for college.

Be sure to get educated about financial aid. Take time to work with your teen to complete the FAFSA and to double-check the work. Making the extra effort now could be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars down the road.

Free, low-cost test prep tools

Spring is the ideal time for high school juniors to take the ACT. And while many students and their parents think the key is earning a solid score on the college admissions test, that's not the case. The ACT is curriculum-based, testing students over what they should be learning in school. The best preparation is to take challenging classes, learn the material and do the work. However, if you and your student still think test prep will help produce a better score, check out the resources below for more information:

• The Real ACT Prep Guide
• ACT Online Prep™
• Practice Questions

Don't let seniors slump

Now that college applications are wrapping up, the holidays are approaching, the school year is nearing the half-way point and the financial aid deadline is near, you may find you have a somewhat apathetic senior. Seniors have worked hard to make it to this point of the year and the temptation will be to take it easy. Don't let your teen give in to senior slump. His or her college of choice may be watching.

Colleges, especially select universities, have been known to withdraw offers of admission to students who drop college prep classes or begin earning uncharacteristically low grades. If your child starts to slump, colleges may send a warning letter and add certain stipulations to the admissions offer, such as requiring a certain grade point average during the first year of college.

Further, taking an extended breather during senior year can make for a difficult freshman year in college. So let your son or daughter have fun during senior year, but don't let college preparation fall by the wayside.

Jump-start your junior

It's time for juniors to spring into action. Ideally, juniors have already been thinking about college and investigating their choices. But now is the time to ramp up the effort. As a parent, you know time goes by very quickly. This year's seniors would agree.

Juniors should:

• Continue taking challenging courses. When registering for senior year, they shouldn't just sign up for easy courses because that will hurt chances for college admission. Also, students who go the easy route may pay when they arrive at college and can't handle the coursework.
• Begin making a preliminary list of colleges to investigate further. Surf the Internet and use college resources in the counseling office or library.
• Fill out a college comparison worksheet. ACT offers a printer-friendly college comparison worksheet online. (PDF; 1 page, 64KB)
• Make plans to visit colleges this spring when classes are in session. Don't forget to check on the high school's policy for absences to visit colleges.
• Start or update an academic resume.
• Have a Social Security number—or get one as soon as possible. It will be needed for college applications.
• Register for the ACT. Juniors should be academically ready to take the test by spring of this year. If not, they should plan to take it in the summer or fall, work hard in school and check out ACT's free practice test questions.
• Check into applying to college online.
• Investigate scholarship opportunities.

ACT test date reminder

The next 2008–2009 ACT national test date is February 7, 2009. Regular registration for the February test date runs through January 6, 2009. There are no New York state sites for the February test date.

An optional Writing Test is available in addition to the multiple-choice achievement test. Find out about the Writing Test on the ACT student website, including the colleges that require it.

On the ACT student website, check out the test prep aids. Free sample questions are available along with test-day tips, a list of what to bring, and approved calculators for use on the Math Test.

Preparing for the ACT, a booklet with a complete practice test, scoring key, writing prompt, and sample essays, is available to download on the Test Prep section of actstudent.org. The ACT registration packet, available from the counseling office, also contains the booklet. Sign up for ACT Online Prep™, the only test prep program developed exclusively by ACT test development professionals. It is a very inexpensive tool your student can use for a full year.

For all your questions about the ACT test, visit ACT's student website.

See also:

ACT's Information for Parents

The ACT

PLAN

EXPLORE

Financial Aid

College Search

Careers