When it comes to college, there’s one obstacle that always gets in the way—usually. That obstacle is finances. College doesn’t come cheap these days, and the best way to save money is to either take your time through the college process, or apply for financial aid. Applying for financial aid has received A LOT of negative connotations through the years. The negativity usually includes tax information, dependent and independent status, and the students have no idea what they are really signing up for. When students don’t have an idea, they don’t read about it, they pass the responsibility on to their parents. I understand whole-heartedly that financial aid, and the process that goes with it, isn’t an easy one, but there are many ways to gain the correct information about it.
For example, the terms and conditions are a great starting place. They clearly outline the regulations and rules that students are supposed to follow once they accept the responsibilities of financial aid. Some of those rules and regulations require maintaining a certain amount of credits to receive a full financial aid package, maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), and handing in required documents when necessary. While it may seem like a lot, the process has a path to follow. Students have to be aware of the path they’re taking. Of course parents should be involved in the student’s financial requirements, but they have to take a step back and let their child figure it out for once.
Once a student accepts financial aid, they are responsible for that money. It is under the name of the student, and six months after the student graduates they’re responsible for paying that money back. Sure parents can help out, but they aren’t letting their kid properly grow up. Financial aid is the first stepping stone a student will have into financial responsibility, and they have to know what it’s like to keep up with it. Bills are a part of adult life, and students will need to learn how to deal with that.
Of course it’s frustrating, nothing worth having comes cheap. It really is a shame that having a college education comes with so many headaches, but it’s a task that must be handled. If young adults can’t get themselves through applying for an education, how can they get through applying for other important areas of life (health insurance, car insurance, rent/paying for apartments, etc.) if they can’t get through financial aid. The answer is simple; they can’t.
Instead of giving students all the steps, make them work for it. When they agree to the terms and conditions they are reliable, when they take loan entrance counseling they should be serious about it and make themselves aware of different loans. Students should know the difference between a subsidized and unsubsidized loan, they should know what interest is, and it shouldn’t be the parents that constantly call the financial aid office. Students attend college, so they should attend to what gets them through college.
