Last-Minute College Application Checklist
Got a student applying to colleges this year? Here are a few final items to look out for.
Did you apply to at least one college that offers merit scholarships to students like you? Merit scholarships aren't just for 4.0+ GPAs or elite basketball players. And they're usually renewable for all four years regardless of changes to your family's financial situation. Not sure about whether they're offered? Look up the college on Collegedata. Go to the Financials tab then scroll down to Profile of 2022-23 Financial Aid. There you'll see what percent of students received a merit award, and what the average award was. If the college offers merit scholarships, go to the Admissions tab and scroll down to Grade Point Average of Enrolled Freshmen and see where your student is relative to the population at that school-- aka, how likely they are to get a merit scholarship.
Have you done the Net Price Calculator for all the schools you've applied to? Colleges are required to have these; they're usually on the Financial Aid page of the school website. If you can't find a school's net price calculator, just google [school name] net price calculator. While net price calculator results are not binding, they tend to be reasonably indicative of an aid package. Make sure that you've applied to some colleges that are likely to offer scholarships that make them affordable. If none of the schools you've applied to so far meet that threshold, now is a great time to add some other options.
Check whether the schools you applied to offer any scholarships that require an additional application, and make sure you get that application in on time.
Check the portal for each college you've applied to to verify that you've submitted all required documents and essays.
Check whether any of the schools you're applying to require the CSS Profile.
Check the FAFSA and CSS Profile deadlines for the schools you've applied to and make sure you submit the required forms by the first due date. Generally as long as you submit the forms by the earliest due date, you'll receive a financial aid award with your acceptance. Delaying past that date means you might not have all of your aid awards in hand when you need to choose a college.
If you've already filed the FAFSA or CSS Profile, make sure you submitted it to all the schools you're applying to. You can go back and add more schools if not.
If you can wait until after the New Year to file the FAFSA, make 2025 Roth IRA contributions and allocate money to each of your children's 529s before filing to reduce your assets.
And then sit back, relax and enjoy the holidays!
I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season and a wonderful New Year!
