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You can pick up FAFSA now and get started with your financial aid for next year. It’s always good to plan ahead so you can qualify to receive more grants and rely on less on student loans.
Many students finance their education with mainly student loans, believing that’s the only way to make it through college, but there are grants and scholarships out there. The main key is start early. While there are opportunities throughout the year, focusing on applying and submitting your FAFSA application in January and February can really pay off.
Check Your State’s Deadline to Get the Most Financial Aid
Don’t just wait to turn in your FAFSA application. Each state has a different deadline on getting grants and college funds from them. As you can see below, spring is a common deadline, so please try to send in your FAFSA early and you’ll see that you can get more grants there.
For me personally, it was hundreds to an extra thousand or so a semester.
| State | Deadlines |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Alaska | April 15, 2010 @ |
| American Samoa | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Arizona | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Arkansas | For Academic Challenge – June 1, 2010 @ For Workforce Grant – check with your financial aid administrator For Higher Education Opportunity Grant – June 1, 2010 (fall term) @; November 1, 2010 (spring term) @ |
| California | For initial awards – March 2, 2010 +* For additional community college awards – September 2, 2010 – date postmarked +* |
| Colorado | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Connecticut | February 15, 2010 #* |
| Delaware | April 15, 2010 @ |
| District of Columbia | June 30, 2010 @#* |
| Federated States of Micronesia | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Florida | May 15, 2010 – 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, 2010 @#* |
| Illinois | As soon as possible after January 1, 2010. Awards made until funds are depleted. |
| Indiana | March 10, 2010 & |
| Iowa | July 1, 2010 @ |
| Kansas | April 1, 2010 @#* |
| Kentucky | March 15, 2010 &# |
| Louisiana | July 1, 2010 @ |
| Maine | May 1, 2010 @ |
| Marshall Islands | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Maryland | March 1, 2010 & |
| Massachusetts | May 1, 2010 @# |
| Michigan | March 1, 2010 & |
| Minnesota | 30 days after term starts @ |
| Mississippi | MTAG and MESG Grants – September 15, 2010 @# HELP Scholarship – March 31, 2010 @# |
| Missouri | April 1, 2010 @# |
| Montana | March 1, 2010 #& |
| Nebraska | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Nevada | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| New Hampshire | May 1, 2010 @ |
| New Jersey | 2009-2010 Tuition Aid Grant recipients – June 1, 2010 @ All other applications – October 1, 2010, for fall and spring terms @; March 1, 2011, for spring term only @ |
| New Mexico | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| New York | May 1, 2011 @+* |
| North Carolina | Check with your finanacial aid administrator |
| North Dakota | March 15, 2010 & |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Ohio | October 1, 2010 @ |
| Oklahoma | April 15, 2010 @# |
| Oregon | OSAC scholarship – March 1, 2010 Oregon Opportunity Grant – check with your financial aid adminstrator |
| Palau | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Pennsylvania | All 2009-2010 State Grant recipients and all non-2009-2010 State Grant recipients in degree programs – May 1, 2010 @* All other applicants – August 1, 2010 @* |
| Puerto Rico | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Rhode Island | March 1, 2010 &# |
| South Carolina | Tuition Grants – June 30, 2010 @ SC Commission on Higher Education – no deadline |
| South Dakota | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Tennessee | For State Grant – February 15, 2010 @# For State Lottery – September 1, 2010 @# |
| 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 | April 15, 2010 @#* |
| Wisconsin | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Wyoming | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
Source: FAFSA
Tips to Reduce Student Loans
If you can get your college education without student loans, you’re relieving yourself of a burden that has stressed many. If you do have to take some student loans, please avoid private loans which tend to be much more expensive. Instead look for subsidized or unsubsidized
- 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.
Share your Tips for Maximizing Financial Aid
What did you do when you attended college? How do you plan on saving money?
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one way to cut down loans, is to teach innercity kids after college, you can file and pay off yoru 30 year loan in 10.
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Thanks Pennystocks, there are ways to reduce student loans. Some programs will pay off your loans for you if you teach at certain high needs schools.
In addition to the state deadlines students need to definitely check with their intended school(s) financial aid offices about institutional deadlines for priority FAFSA consideration. Being in financial aid counseling for over 10 years I’ve seen countless students who filed before the state deadline but filed after our institution’s priority deadline so missed out on a good deal of additional aid. And, if you’re planning to (or possibly considering) transferring to another school mid-year, be sure to list both schools on the FAFSA initially to make sure you meet each school’s deadline.