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The Deadlines
One last note before going into more detail about how
to pay for college. By far, the single greatest reason most students
miss out on financial aid is that they wait to file the forms or
fail to submit corrections in a timely manner. Getting financial
aid, as we’ve said before, is a competition, and speed counts. In
the eyes of the computer that processes your paperwork, the number
that sometimes matters most is the date you submit a complete application.
Each school will have unique deadlines for both federal
and institutional aid, including unique deadlines for individual
scholarships. It’s in your best interest to complete each form at
the absolute earliest date possible, even if you must estimate financial
figures.
The FAFSA form becomes available after January 1 every
year, and you can’t complete or submit it prior to this date. This
means that if you’re planning to enroll in August 2005, the FAFSA
itself will not become available until January 2005. This is quite
different from many scholarship applications, which are often due
up to 10 months before classes begin.
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