5 Ways to Boost a Financial Aid Package

Sure, most students would much rather party, shop or veg out this holiday break, but if they want to land enough financial aid for the upcoming school year they’ve got some work to do.

Parents and students face a double whammy. Not only have economic conditions strapped a growing number of families' budgets, but many colleges can't afford to extend more financial aid than they could in the past. The end result: More competition for less aid, says Rod Bugarin, a former financial aid officer at Brown University and Columbia University and a counselor at Manhattan-based IvyWise, a financial aid-counseling company.

The number of students seeking financial aid jumped by some 16% for the 2008-2009 academic year from the prior school year, according to Kalman Chany, president of Manhattan-based Campus Consultants, which provides financial aid assistance to college students and their families. Chany predicts that those numbers will only continue to grow in 2009.

For students seeking aid, success hinges on two main factors: filling out applications early and thoroughly. “One wrong answer can mean the difference of thousands of dollars of aid,” says Chany. And with the clock ticking on most financial aid forms, this is one assignment you really shouldn't procrastinate on.

Below are five moves you need to make to insure you get as much financial aid as possible.

You snooze, you lose. While the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form typically is accepted until the end of June (for the 2009-2010 academic year, it's accepted until June 30, 2010), to get a sizeable financial aid package, students will need to file their FAFSA within the next few weeks. Individual colleges and universities set their own priority deadlines, which tend to fall somewhere between mid-January and the beginning of March 2009 for incoming college students. (College students sometimes have later deadlines, which vary by college.) 

Wait too long and the financial aid pot starts to shrink. The 2009-2010 FAFSA will be available on the Department of Education's web site on January 1. 

A family’s financial situation is a key determinant in the amount of aid a student receives. After all, college financial aid offices won't dole out aid unless they think you really need it. It's up to you to convince them that you do.

Often, a financial aid package is based on an estimate of what the family’s tax return will look like for the year. But given this year’s rocky economic climate – which saw a spike in unemployment and many salaries chopped – this method may not be the best way for a school to assess the family’s level of need, says Bugarin. To help improve the chances of receiving more financial aid, students or their parents should send a letter to the college’s financial aid office that explains any recent changes in the family's financial situation, says Chany. Should a father recently lose his six-figure salary or a mother start paying for her elderly parent’s care, that information needs to be included in the letter. Otherwise, their child can lose out on thousands of dollars of aid.