5 Things Counselors Can Do Now to Put Financial Aid Awareness into Practice

February 20, 2023

Students spend years dreaming about where they will go to college. They regularly talk with friends and adults about what it will be like–what they might study, where they will live, and how this will impact their future career choice. They make academic and extracurricular decisions in an effort to make this future their reality. They study and prepare for tests and write essays to help make their application stand out among the pile of other hopeful students. These steps are all taken with the hopes of “getting in” to their preferred school or training program. 

How they will finance these dreams or even if they will be able to realistically afford them is often absent from these years of dreaming and planning. However, without making sure they have the critical financial planning and assistance in place, they will not be able to actually pursue the postsecondary paths they have worked so hard to make possible. 

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month. Counselors can use the spotlight on this important topic to take steps this month to help students and families understand financial aid processes, opportunities to secure additional financial assistance, and how their decisions now will impact their lives beyond college. 

Follow up with families of seniors who have not yet completed FAFSA.

At this point in the school year, many families have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a requisite step for getting federal financial aid during the next year. For those families who have not yet completed it, there is likely a barrier they are struggling to overcome whether it is language, knowing how to access it and the necessary documents, or a lack of understanding of the overall consequence this has on their child’s future. Counselors can monitor which students have completed the FAFSA and directly reach out to those who have not. They might consider meeting with families one-on-one to talk through questions and issues and help walk them through the steps for completion. 

Help students and families review and interpret financial aid letters.

This time of year, after students have received their college acceptance letters, families are reviewing the accompanying financial aid offers and packages from each school. These letters include dense and technical information that uses verbiage that many students and families might not understand. And, different school packages may include different types of financial aid–from grants, to loans, to work study–which can be challenging for families to interpret and compare. Counselors can host information sessions and meet with students and families to help explain and discuss the different packages. They can work with students to compare different offers and assess which is actually the best overall cost over the course of four years. Including information about loans and payment schedules, and prompting students to compare those figures with starting salaries from likely career fields, can go a long way to helping students see the full picture of each college choice.  

Connect students with resources to fund community college, technical college, and training programs.

Many students assume that if they are not going onto a four year college, they are ineligible for financial aid support. Counselors can communicate to students and their families that if they are attending an accredited training program or community college, they are eligible to apply for federal financial aid. Include them in informational sessions and outreach about FAFSA. There are also a number of career-specific scholarship programs available for students going into a relevant field. Counselors can help connect students with these opportunities–including support from local unions or industry partners.  

Encourage students to search and apply for remaining scholarships.

Even after students decide where they want to attend and accept a financial aid package, they may still need to secure more financial support. Applying for scholarships can be a way to fund room and board costs or to replace loans offered by their school of choice. Counselors can help students find scholarship opportunities that are still available and that match their specific interests, skills, intended areas of study, or even school of choice. Encouraging students to expend the time and effort now can help ease burdens during their transition to college life. 

Start conversations with juniors.

As counselors are helping seniors to navigate their financial aid decisions in the final months of the school year, they might consider extending these conversations to include younger students. It can be helpful to start talking with juniors and their families about what they can expect during senior year and how financial aid processes and decisions map onto that. Counselors might invite seniors and their families to share their experiences with scholarship applications, financial aid packages, college considerations, and other lessons learned. Previewing the information at this point and hearing the first-hand accounts of other students can offer invaluable insights and perspectives to inform their decision-making and approach senior year. 

Students spend years dreaming about where they will go to college. They regularly talk with friends and adults about what it will be like–what they might study, where they will live, and how this will impact their future career choice. They make academic and extracurricular decisions in an effort to make this future their reality. They study and prepare for tests and write essays to help make their application stand out among the pile of other hopeful students. These steps are all taken with the hopes of “getting in” to their preferred school or training program. 

How they will finance these dreams or even if they will be able to realistically afford them is often absent from these years of dreaming and planning. However, without making sure they have the critical financial planning and assistance in place, they will not be able to actually pursue the postsecondary paths they have worked so hard to make possible. 

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month. Counselors can use the spotlight on this important topic to take steps this month to help students and families understand financial aid processes, opportunities to secure additional financial assistance, and how their decisions now will impact their lives beyond college. 

Follow up with families of seniors who have not yet completed FAFSA.

At this point in the school year, many families have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a requisite step for getting federal financial aid during the next year. For those families who have not yet completed it, there is likely a barrier they are struggling to overcome whether it is language, knowing how to access it and the necessary documents, or a lack of understanding of the overall consequence this has on their child’s future. Counselors can monitor which students have completed the FAFSA and directly reach out to those who have not. They might consider meeting with families one-on-one to talk through questions and issues and help walk them through the steps for completion. 

Help students and families review and interpret financial aid letters.

This time of year, after students have received their college acceptance letters, families are reviewing the accompanying financial aid offers and packages from each school. These letters include dense and technical information that uses verbiage that many students and families might not understand. And, different school packages may include different types of financial aid–from grants, to loans, to work study–which can be challenging for families to interpret and compare. Counselors can host information sessions and meet with students and families to help explain and discuss the different packages. They can work with students to compare different offers and assess which is actually the best overall cost over the course of four years. Including information about loans and payment schedules, and prompting students to compare those figures with starting salaries from likely career fields, can go a long way to helping students see the full picture of each college choice.  

Connect students with resources to fund community college, technical college, and training programs.

Many students assume that if they are not going onto a four year college, they are ineligible for financial aid support. Counselors can communicate to students and their families that if they are attending an accredited training program or community college, they are eligible to apply for federal financial aid. Include them in informational sessions and outreach about FAFSA. There are also a number of career-specific scholarship programs available for students going into a relevant field. Counselors can help connect students with these opportunities–including support from local unions or industry partners.  

Encourage students to search and apply for remaining scholarships.

Even after students decide where they want to attend and accept a financial aid package, they may still need to secure more financial support. Applying for scholarships can be a way to fund room and board costs or to replace loans offered by their school of choice. Counselors can help students find scholarship opportunities that are still available and that match their specific interests, skills, intended areas of study, or even school of choice. Encouraging students to expend the time and effort now can help ease burdens during their transition to college life. 

Start conversations with juniors.

As counselors are helping seniors to navigate their financial aid decisions in the final months of the school year, they might consider extending these conversations to include younger students. It can be helpful to start talking with juniors and their families about what they can expect during senior year and how financial aid processes and decisions map onto that. Counselors might invite seniors and their families to share their experiences with scholarship applications, financial aid packages, college considerations, and other lessons learned. Previewing the information at this point and hearing the first-hand accounts of other students can offer invaluable insights and perspectives to inform their decision-making and approach senior year. 

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Students spend years dreaming about where they will go to college. They regularly talk with friends and adults about what it will be like–what they might study, where they will live, and how this will impact their future career choice. They make academic and extracurricular decisions in an effort to make this future their reality. They study and prepare for tests and write essays to help make their application stand out among the pile of other hopeful students. These steps are all taken with the hopes of “getting in” to their preferred school or training program. 

How they will finance these dreams or even if they will be able to realistically afford them is often absent from these years of dreaming and planning. However, without making sure they have the critical financial planning and assistance in place, they will not be able to actually pursue the postsecondary paths they have worked so hard to make possible. 

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month. Counselors can use the spotlight on this important topic to take steps this month to help students and families understand financial aid processes, opportunities to secure additional financial assistance, and how their decisions now will impact their lives beyond college. 

Follow up with families of seniors who have not yet completed FAFSA.

At this point in the school year, many families have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a requisite step for getting federal financial aid during the next year. For those families who have not yet completed it, there is likely a barrier they are struggling to overcome whether it is language, knowing how to access it and the necessary documents, or a lack of understanding of the overall consequence this has on their child’s future. Counselors can monitor which students have completed the FAFSA and directly reach out to those who have not. They might consider meeting with families one-on-one to talk through questions and issues and help walk them through the steps for completion. 

Help students and families review and interpret financial aid letters.

This time of year, after students have received their college acceptance letters, families are reviewing the accompanying financial aid offers and packages from each school. These letters include dense and technical information that uses verbiage that many students and families might not understand. And, different school packages may include different types of financial aid–from grants, to loans, to work study–which can be challenging for families to interpret and compare. Counselors can host information sessions and meet with students and families to help explain and discuss the different packages. They can work with students to compare different offers and assess which is actually the best overall cost over the course of four years. Including information about loans and payment schedules, and prompting students to compare those figures with starting salaries from likely career fields, can go a long way to helping students see the full picture of each college choice.  

Connect students with resources to fund community college, technical college, and training programs.

Many students assume that if they are not going onto a four year college, they are ineligible for financial aid support. Counselors can communicate to students and their families that if they are attending an accredited training program or community college, they are eligible to apply for federal financial aid. Include them in informational sessions and outreach about FAFSA. There are also a number of career-specific scholarship programs available for students going into a relevant field. Counselors can help connect students with these opportunities–including support from local unions or industry partners.  

Encourage students to search and apply for remaining scholarships.

Even after students decide where they want to attend and accept a financial aid package, they may still need to secure more financial support. Applying for scholarships can be a way to fund room and board costs or to replace loans offered by their school of choice. Counselors can help students find scholarship opportunities that are still available and that match their specific interests, skills, intended areas of study, or even school of choice. Encouraging students to expend the time and effort now can help ease burdens during their transition to college life. 

Start conversations with juniors.

As counselors are helping seniors to navigate their financial aid decisions in the final months of the school year, they might consider extending these conversations to include younger students. It can be helpful to start talking with juniors and their families about what they can expect during senior year and how financial aid processes and decisions map onto that. Counselors might invite seniors and their families to share their experiences with scholarship applications, financial aid packages, college considerations, and other lessons learned. Previewing the information at this point and hearing the first-hand accounts of other students can offer invaluable insights and perspectives to inform their decision-making and approach senior year. 

Students spend years dreaming about where they will go to college. They regularly talk with friends and adults about what it will be like–what they might study, where they will live, and how this will impact their future career choice. They make academic and extracurricular decisions in an effort to make this future their reality. They study and prepare for tests and write essays to help make their application stand out among the pile of other hopeful students. These steps are all taken with the hopes of “getting in” to their preferred school or training program. 

How they will finance these dreams or even if they will be able to realistically afford them is often absent from these years of dreaming and planning. However, without making sure they have the critical financial planning and assistance in place, they will not be able to actually pursue the postsecondary paths they have worked so hard to make possible. 

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month. Counselors can use the spotlight on this important topic to take steps this month to help students and families understand financial aid processes, opportunities to secure additional financial assistance, and how their decisions now will impact their lives beyond college. 

Follow up with families of seniors who have not yet completed FAFSA.

At this point in the school year, many families have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a requisite step for getting federal financial aid during the next year. For those families who have not yet completed it, there is likely a barrier they are struggling to overcome whether it is language, knowing how to access it and the necessary documents, or a lack of understanding of the overall consequence this has on their child’s future. Counselors can monitor which students have completed the FAFSA and directly reach out to those who have not. They might consider meeting with families one-on-one to talk through questions and issues and help walk them through the steps for completion. 

Help students and families review and interpret financial aid letters.

This time of year, after students have received their college acceptance letters, families are reviewing the accompanying financial aid offers and packages from each school. These letters include dense and technical information that uses verbiage that many students and families might not understand. And, different school packages may include different types of financial aid–from grants, to loans, to work study–which can be challenging for families to interpret and compare. Counselors can host information sessions and meet with students and families to help explain and discuss the different packages. They can work with students to compare different offers and assess which is actually the best overall cost over the course of four years. Including information about loans and payment schedules, and prompting students to compare those figures with starting salaries from likely career fields, can go a long way to helping students see the full picture of each college choice.  

Connect students with resources to fund community college, technical college, and training programs.

Many students assume that if they are not going onto a four year college, they are ineligible for financial aid support. Counselors can communicate to students and their families that if they are attending an accredited training program or community college, they are eligible to apply for federal financial aid. Include them in informational sessions and outreach about FAFSA. There are also a number of career-specific scholarship programs available for students going into a relevant field. Counselors can help connect students with these opportunities–including support from local unions or industry partners.  

Encourage students to search and apply for remaining scholarships.

Even after students decide where they want to attend and accept a financial aid package, they may still need to secure more financial support. Applying for scholarships can be a way to fund room and board costs or to replace loans offered by their school of choice. Counselors can help students find scholarship opportunities that are still available and that match their specific interests, skills, intended areas of study, or even school of choice. Encouraging students to expend the time and effort now can help ease burdens during their transition to college life. 

Start conversations with juniors.

As counselors are helping seniors to navigate their financial aid decisions in the final months of the school year, they might consider extending these conversations to include younger students. It can be helpful to start talking with juniors and their families about what they can expect during senior year and how financial aid processes and decisions map onto that. Counselors might invite seniors and their families to share their experiences with scholarship applications, financial aid packages, college considerations, and other lessons learned. Previewing the information at this point and hearing the first-hand accounts of other students can offer invaluable insights and perspectives to inform their decision-making and approach senior year. 

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Students spend years dreaming about where they will go to college. They regularly talk with friends and adults about what it will be like–what they might study, where they will live, and how this will impact their future career choice. They make academic and extracurricular decisions in an effort to make this future their reality. They study and prepare for tests and write essays to help make their application stand out among the pile of other hopeful students. These steps are all taken with the hopes of “getting in” to their preferred school or training program. 

How they will finance these dreams or even if they will be able to realistically afford them is often absent from these years of dreaming and planning. However, without making sure they have the critical financial planning and assistance in place, they will not be able to actually pursue the postsecondary paths they have worked so hard to make possible. 

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month. Counselors can use the spotlight on this important topic to take steps this month to help students and families understand financial aid processes, opportunities to secure additional financial assistance, and how their decisions now will impact their lives beyond college. 

Follow up with families of seniors who have not yet completed FAFSA.

At this point in the school year, many families have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a requisite step for getting federal financial aid during the next year. For those families who have not yet completed it, there is likely a barrier they are struggling to overcome whether it is language, knowing how to access it and the necessary documents, or a lack of understanding of the overall consequence this has on their child’s future. Counselors can monitor which students have completed the FAFSA and directly reach out to those who have not. They might consider meeting with families one-on-one to talk through questions and issues and help walk them through the steps for completion. 

Help students and families review and interpret financial aid letters.

This time of year, after students have received their college acceptance letters, families are reviewing the accompanying financial aid offers and packages from each school. These letters include dense and technical information that uses verbiage that many students and families might not understand. And, different school packages may include different types of financial aid–from grants, to loans, to work study–which can be challenging for families to interpret and compare. Counselors can host information sessions and meet with students and families to help explain and discuss the different packages. They can work with students to compare different offers and assess which is actually the best overall cost over the course of four years. Including information about loans and payment schedules, and prompting students to compare those figures with starting salaries from likely career fields, can go a long way to helping students see the full picture of each college choice.  

Connect students with resources to fund community college, technical college, and training programs.

Many students assume that if they are not going onto a four year college, they are ineligible for financial aid support. Counselors can communicate to students and their families that if they are attending an accredited training program or community college, they are eligible to apply for federal financial aid. Include them in informational sessions and outreach about FAFSA. There are also a number of career-specific scholarship programs available for students going into a relevant field. Counselors can help connect students with these opportunities–including support from local unions or industry partners.  

Encourage students to search and apply for remaining scholarships.

Even after students decide where they want to attend and accept a financial aid package, they may still need to secure more financial support. Applying for scholarships can be a way to fund room and board costs or to replace loans offered by their school of choice. Counselors can help students find scholarship opportunities that are still available and that match their specific interests, skills, intended areas of study, or even school of choice. Encouraging students to expend the time and effort now can help ease burdens during their transition to college life. 

Start conversations with juniors.

As counselors are helping seniors to navigate their financial aid decisions in the final months of the school year, they might consider extending these conversations to include younger students. It can be helpful to start talking with juniors and their families about what they can expect during senior year and how financial aid processes and decisions map onto that. Counselors might invite seniors and their families to share their experiences with scholarship applications, financial aid packages, college considerations, and other lessons learned. Previewing the information at this point and hearing the first-hand accounts of other students can offer invaluable insights and perspectives to inform their decision-making and approach senior year. 

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Students spend years dreaming about where they will go to college. They regularly talk with friends and adults about what it will be like–what they might study, where they will live, and how this will impact their future career choice. They make academic and extracurricular decisions in an effort to make this future their reality. They study and prepare for tests and write essays to help make their application stand out among the pile of other hopeful students. These steps are all taken with the hopes of “getting in” to their preferred school or training program. 

How they will finance these dreams or even if they will be able to realistically afford them is often absent from these years of dreaming and planning. However, without making sure they have the critical financial planning and assistance in place, they will not be able to actually pursue the postsecondary paths they have worked so hard to make possible. 

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month. Counselors can use the spotlight on this important topic to take steps this month to help students and families understand financial aid processes, opportunities to secure additional financial assistance, and how their decisions now will impact their lives beyond college. 

Follow up with families of seniors who have not yet completed FAFSA.

At this point in the school year, many families have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a requisite step for getting federal financial aid during the next year. For those families who have not yet completed it, there is likely a barrier they are struggling to overcome whether it is language, knowing how to access it and the necessary documents, or a lack of understanding of the overall consequence this has on their child’s future. Counselors can monitor which students have completed the FAFSA and directly reach out to those who have not. They might consider meeting with families one-on-one to talk through questions and issues and help walk them through the steps for completion. 

Help students and families review and interpret financial aid letters.

This time of year, after students have received their college acceptance letters, families are reviewing the accompanying financial aid offers and packages from each school. These letters include dense and technical information that uses verbiage that many students and families might not understand. And, different school packages may include different types of financial aid–from grants, to loans, to work study–which can be challenging for families to interpret and compare. Counselors can host information sessions and meet with students and families to help explain and discuss the different packages. They can work with students to compare different offers and assess which is actually the best overall cost over the course of four years. Including information about loans and payment schedules, and prompting students to compare those figures with starting salaries from likely career fields, can go a long way to helping students see the full picture of each college choice.  

Connect students with resources to fund community college, technical college, and training programs.

Many students assume that if they are not going onto a four year college, they are ineligible for financial aid support. Counselors can communicate to students and their families that if they are attending an accredited training program or community college, they are eligible to apply for federal financial aid. Include them in informational sessions and outreach about FAFSA. There are also a number of career-specific scholarship programs available for students going into a relevant field. Counselors can help connect students with these opportunities–including support from local unions or industry partners.  

Encourage students to search and apply for remaining scholarships.

Even after students decide where they want to attend and accept a financial aid package, they may still need to secure more financial support. Applying for scholarships can be a way to fund room and board costs or to replace loans offered by their school of choice. Counselors can help students find scholarship opportunities that are still available and that match their specific interests, skills, intended areas of study, or even school of choice. Encouraging students to expend the time and effort now can help ease burdens during their transition to college life. 

Start conversations with juniors.

As counselors are helping seniors to navigate their financial aid decisions in the final months of the school year, they might consider extending these conversations to include younger students. It can be helpful to start talking with juniors and their families about what they can expect during senior year and how financial aid processes and decisions map onto that. Counselors might invite seniors and their families to share their experiences with scholarship applications, financial aid packages, college considerations, and other lessons learned. Previewing the information at this point and hearing the first-hand accounts of other students can offer invaluable insights and perspectives to inform their decision-making and approach senior year. 

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Students spend years dreaming about where they will go to college. They regularly talk with friends and adults about what it will be like–what they might study, where they will live, and how this will impact their future career choice. They make academic and extracurricular decisions in an effort to make this future their reality. They study and prepare for tests and write essays to help make their application stand out among the pile of other hopeful students. These steps are all taken with the hopes of “getting in” to their preferred school or training program. 

How they will finance these dreams or even if they will be able to realistically afford them is often absent from these years of dreaming and planning. However, without making sure they have the critical financial planning and assistance in place, they will not be able to actually pursue the postsecondary paths they have worked so hard to make possible. 

February is Financial Aid Awareness Month. Counselors can use the spotlight on this important topic to take steps this month to help students and families understand financial aid processes, opportunities to secure additional financial assistance, and how their decisions now will impact their lives beyond college. 

Follow up with families of seniors who have not yet completed FAFSA.

At this point in the school year, many families have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a requisite step for getting federal financial aid during the next year. For those families who have not yet completed it, there is likely a barrier they are struggling to overcome whether it is language, knowing how to access it and the necessary documents, or a lack of understanding of the overall consequence this has on their child’s future. Counselors can monitor which students have completed the FAFSA and directly reach out to those who have not. They might consider meeting with families one-on-one to talk through questions and issues and help walk them through the steps for completion. 

Help students and families review and interpret financial aid letters.

This time of year, after students have received their college acceptance letters, families are reviewing the accompanying financial aid offers and packages from each school. These letters include dense and technical information that uses verbiage that many students and families might not understand. And, different school packages may include different types of financial aid–from grants, to loans, to work study–which can be challenging for families to interpret and compare. Counselors can host information sessions and meet with students and families to help explain and discuss the different packages. They can work with students to compare different offers and assess which is actually the best overall cost over the course of four years. Including information about loans and payment schedules, and prompting students to compare those figures with starting salaries from likely career fields, can go a long way to helping students see the full picture of each college choice.  

Connect students with resources to fund community college, technical college, and training programs.

Many students assume that if they are not going onto a four year college, they are ineligible for financial aid support. Counselors can communicate to students and their families that if they are attending an accredited training program or community college, they are eligible to apply for federal financial aid. Include them in informational sessions and outreach about FAFSA. There are also a number of career-specific scholarship programs available for students going into a relevant field. Counselors can help connect students with these opportunities–including support from local unions or industry partners.  

Encourage students to search and apply for remaining scholarships.

Even after students decide where they want to attend and accept a financial aid package, they may still need to secure more financial support. Applying for scholarships can be a way to fund room and board costs or to replace loans offered by their school of choice. Counselors can help students find scholarship opportunities that are still available and that match their specific interests, skills, intended areas of study, or even school of choice. Encouraging students to expend the time and effort now can help ease burdens during their transition to college life. 

Start conversations with juniors.

As counselors are helping seniors to navigate their financial aid decisions in the final months of the school year, they might consider extending these conversations to include younger students. It can be helpful to start talking with juniors and their families about what they can expect during senior year and how financial aid processes and decisions map onto that. Counselors might invite seniors and their families to share their experiences with scholarship applications, financial aid packages, college considerations, and other lessons learned. Previewing the information at this point and hearing the first-hand accounts of other students can offer invaluable insights and perspectives to inform their decision-making and approach senior year.