FINAL REMINDER: Parents interested in our annual College Financial Aid Presentation should note that we will host our speaker virtually on Thursday, December 4 at 8:45 a.m. CST via Google Meet. The information will be presented by Mr. Chris George, VP for Enrollment at St. Olaf College. Mr. George will lead parents through the financial aid application process, which formally begins in the winter of senior year. He will review the two major financial aid applications, the FAFSA, required by nearly all colleges, and the CSS Profile, a second application required at approximately 300 colleges nationwide (typically well-endowed private colleges that distribute significant institutional funds in the form of need-based grants). This will be a live session that will not be recorded, though slides will be available after the presentation. For further reading, we recommend The Financial Aid Handbook, Revised Edition: Getting the Education You Want for the Price You Can Afford by Carol Stack and Ruth Vedvik; at a minimum, read Chapter 4 (students) or Chapter 5 (parents).
We also encourage interested families to attend either of the next two installments in the College Aid Pro Webinar Series, “Financial Aid 101” (for underclassmen/parents) or FAFSA/CSS Profile (for seniors/parents) on Wednesday, December 10 at 6:00 p.m. CST via Zoom. These are great opportunities for parents (and interested students) to learn actionable strategies for securing financial aid and reducing college costs, including the key strategies for securing scholarships, even without financial aid, and other pro tips in the college financing process. If you cannot join live, register anyway (using the link above), and you will receive the recording to watch on your own time! Questions? Please contact Mrs. Hogan.