Happy February!

In February, our senior Fellows and Program Resource Fellow led us in a discussion of financial aid. It was amazing!

Financial aid is stressful and complicated. Here, two of our senior High School Fellows teach our high school juniors how to begin to think about costs and scholarship sources.

Here are Some Comments from our High School Fellows about the February Full Group Meeting:

"In this meeting, I learned the many factors that play in when it comes to getting financial aid, how complicated it is, and how we won't know exactly how much money will be received until the last stage of the application process."

"I am thinking positive, instead of thinking of paying for college as a bad thing but as an investment."

"I learned more about how the finance side of applying to colleges works. It all seems extremely complicated, but it makes me feel better that I won't be alone and that I have the help I need here."

"I was able to learn a lot about the types of aid that exist and the student can get based on their academics* or other types of activities and necessity**. The game that we played, the explanations, and the presentation really helped me to understand the basic concepts of financial aid."



*merit-based aid - based on grades, test scores, or even leadership; **need-based aid - based on financial need

"Grants are financial aid that doesn't have to be repaid. Loans are money for college that must be repaid with interest."

FAFSA Update!

The Federal Government will begin processing FAFSA applications in March. So, now is the time to get that application done (if you haven't already).

For graduating seniors and current college students, we expect financial aid award letters will be delayed until mid-April. Many colleges are pushing back decision day deadlines from May 1 to May 15 or June 1.

We will hold a FAFSA completion event on Sunday, March 10, 7-8:30 on Zoom. Register - bit.ly/MTBFAFSA - and join us with any and all questions. Spanish translation and support will be available!

The Department of Education has a workaround to help those facing FAFSA deadlines. If a parent doesn't have an SSN, you can FINALLY submit your FAFSA with these instructions: bit.ly/FAFSAFIX

The nine-step process requires students to return in March and make corrections in order to receive an estimated Student Aid Index (SAI).

ED also promised improvements to the process for contributors without a SSN to create their studentaid.gov login/FSA ID needed to contribute to the online application.

Known Issues from the Field

ISSUE: Students with permanent resident numbers ending in zero will be stuck in the system and unable to complete the form after they try to enter the number.

NO RESOLUTION (YET)

ISSUE: The FSA ID call center is completely overwhelmed resulting in long waits and the system dropping calls.

RESOLUTION: Ask for a Tier 2 FSA ID Specialist. You can use live chat or info email on studentaid.gov to request FSA ID case numbers.

ISSUE: Error messages randomly appearing throughout the form.

RESOLUTION: (Sometimes) it works to change browsers and/or clear the cache on the computer. If you're early in the form, you may choose to delete it and start again

ISSUE: Some parents are not receiving the contributor invite.

RESOLUTION: FSA suggests the student click the Update Contributor button and perhaps try an alternative email address. Parents can just log in to their account/dashboard and go to the form that way.

ISSUE: There are people who may have “borrowed” a social security number and are now having issues setting up an FSA ID.

NO RESOLUTION (YET)

Ask a Question

There's no such thing as a stupid question. Ask anything and everything by going to this form. Don't be shy! bit.ly/AskMTB

Question: What are juniors working on?

Answer:

Juniors are being introduced to the college essay. To build confidence, they are completing short, free writes with their Leaders.

Some will use this work for the QuestBridge College Prep Scholars application, which is extremely challenging. One of our Fellows, Jailene, won this award last year!

Question: What are seniors working on?

Answer:

While seniors are waiting for more acceptances, they are comparing major maps for majors they are interested in at their potential schools.

They are also learning about how they might apply AP and Dual Enrollment credits to reduce the number of classes they have to in college (and save time and money). Every institution has different policies for applying outside credit.

Coming Soon - Mark Your Planner!

Our next Full Group Meeting is on Saturday, March 2, at 10 AM (Zoom).

Makeup Meeting 1, Mar 3, 1-1:30

Makeup Meeting 2, Mar 4, 5-5:30 (note time change!)

Follow MTB on Social Media!