FAFSA– High School Teacher Makes it Easy
In today’s paper you described filling out the FAFSA as a “difficult task.” Really? As opposed to what? As a Personal Finance teacher I try hard to get students to fill out this all-important form as soon as possible following its release. Describing it as difficult is both false (it’s easily completed with a parent) and counter productive. A better use of your column space might be to cover the decreasing number of high school seniors completing the form, and what the consequences are when failing to complete it.
Warm regards,
L. Parker
Terry Says
First, we need more teachers like you! Thanks for responding to my column –and for inspiring your high school students to get started on this important form. I said “difficult” because it is even more complex than income taxes, which can now be imported directly from the IRS. But it also involves revealing a lot of personal information about family assets, other kids in school, etc. Getting students (and parents separately) to fill out this form is a real challenge.
Please, please continue encouraging teachers to get the process started. There is so much money that could be used for college expenses–especially the many scholarships that also depend on FAFSA — as well as state aid.
And I hope you encourage them to go to www.FastWeb.com and Scholarships.com — starting in their junior year, to find the qualifications and applications needed for free money available through scholarships.
Again, sincere thanks for all your good work!
