It’s already January again, so I wanted to do my annual post reminding you to fill out your FAFSA form as soon as you can. While over 65% of students attending a 4 year college finance their education with student loans (almost $20,000), there are plenty of grants and scholarships out there for those willing to put some time and effort.
FAFSA State Deadlines to Increase Your Financial Aid
- Fill out your FAFSA early. While you have a few months to send your FAFSA in, doing it early can help increase your grant size. Many states have their own deadlines and you could literally pass up a chance to get thousands of dollars more in college in grants by delaying.
| State | Deadlines |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Alaska | April 15, 2009 @ |
| American Samoa | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Arizona | March 1, 2009 @ |
| Arkansas | For Academic Challenge – June 1, 2009 @ For Workforce Grant – check with your financial aid administrator For Higher Education Opportunity Grant – June 1, 2009 (fall term); November 1, 2009 (spring term) @ |
| California | For initial awards – March 2, 2009 For additional community college awards – September 2, 2009 – date postmarked*^ |
| Colorado | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Connecticut | February 15, 2009 *# |
| Delaware | April 15, 2009 @ |
| District of Columbia | June 30, 2009 * |
| Federated States of Micronesia | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Florida | May 15, 2009 – date processed |
| Georgia | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Guam | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Hawaii | Check with you financial aid administrator* |
| Idaho | Opportunity Grant – March 1, 2009 *# |
| Illinois | First-time applicants – September 30, 2009 Continuing applicants – August 15, 2009 #@ |
| Indiana | March 10, 2009 & |
| Iowa | July 1, 2009 ^@ |
| Kansas | April 1, 2009 #*@ |
| Kentucky | March 15, 2009 #& |
| Louisiana | July 1, 2009 ^ |
| Maine | May 1, 2009 @ |
| Marshall Islands | Check with your financial aid administrator * |
| Maryland | March 1, 2009 & |
| Massachusetts | May 1, 2009 #^@ |
| Michigan | March 1, 2009 & |
| Minnesota | 30 days after term starts |
| Mississippi | MTAG and MESG Grants – September 15, 2009 HELP Scholarship – March 31, 2009 |
| Missouri | April 1, 2009 @ |
| Montana | March 1, 2009 #& |
| Nebraska | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Nevada | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| New Hampshire | May 1, 2009 @ |
| New Jersey | June 1, 2009 if you received a Tuition Aid Grant in 2008-2009 All other applications – October 1, 2009, for fall and spring terms; March 1, 2010, for spring term only ^& |
| New Mexico | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| New York | May 1, 2010 *^@ |
| North Carolina | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| North Dakota | March 15, 2009 & |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Ohio | October 1, 2009 @ |
| Oklahoma | April 15, 2009 # for best consideration |
| Oregon | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Palau | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Pennsylvania | All 2008-2009 State Grant recipients and all non-2008-2009 State Grant recipients in degree programs – May 1, 2009 All other applicants – August 1, 2009 *@ |
| Puerto Rico | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Rhode Island | March 1, 2009 #& |
| South Carolina | Tuition Grants – June 30, 2009 @ |
| South Dakota | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Tennessee | For State Grant – March 1, 2009# For State Lottery – September 1, 2009 @ |
| Texas | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Utah | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Vermont | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Virginia | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Washington | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| West Virginia | March 1, 2009 #*^ |
| Wisconsin | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Wyoming | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
Source: FAFSA Site
Tips to Reduce Student Loans
Attend an in-state college. If all else is equal, staying in-state can save you 2/3 of tuition over going out of state for college.
Attend a community college and transfer to a 4 year University. Community colleges offer similar quality of education; sometimes even sharing the same professors as the near by universities.
Consider work study as an option to gain experience and/or pay bills. You can gain some income with a job on campus and not spend much on transportation.
If you want to keep expenses low while in school, don’t get credit cards. They may appear to be a quick fix, but the interest rates are much higher than student loans from the government. Be wise with your college education.
What did you do when you attended college? How do you plan on saving money?
Photo Credit: laffy4k
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Thanks for the great advice. This is one of those things that it’s best NOT to procrastinate on. Especially since some states award money on first-come, first-serve. In this financial climate, more people will want grants, but when the money is gone — it’s gone.
Check out Mirandas last blog post..Donation Dashboard: Matching You Up With Charitable Giving
@Miranda: I unfortunately found out the hard way my first year in college. I left money on the table for grants. I also was dumb enough to get a credit card in college.