Admissions Navigating Financial Aid: Tips for Applying in Fall 2007

[apples]

OK, I'll be applying for a couple of universities in the fall of 2007. Now what's more confusing then anything else and is driving me nuts is all the financial aid stuff. The websites say my deadline is February 1.
February 1 of what, 2007 or 2008?
If it's Feb 2007, then that's crazy. Since I have no counselor, I don't have a clue about financial aid.
Are loans, grants, scholarships all a part of financial aid?
Who do I apply for financial aid?
What if I want to apply for scholarship, but want to apply for loans just in case?
What if, when I'm repaying the loans, I do not want to give interest? Is there anything interest free?
If not, what do I do?

HEEELPP!

 

[phun]

If you plan on starting college in the fall of 2007, it means Feb 1st of 2007. If you will be submitting applications in the fall of 2007, and starting college in the fall of 2008, it means Feb 1st of 2008.
If you have a convenient way of excessing internet (I assume you do), then you will have to take some time and look carefully through the admissions websites of the schools you are interested in applying. Websites have ALL of the instructions that you need to apply for financial aid. You will just need some help from your parents for the tax report stuff. And I think you can always call the ppl at the financial office of the schools you are applying. Usually applying for financial aid comes down to submitting fafsa (google it if you don't know what it is) applications, and in some cases, university specific applications.

 

[apples]

Thanks,
Thank God it's 2008 then, I don't have to worry all about it yet. I have a year :), but I'll start preparing by Nov 2007...And will try submitting it in early Jan.
If i'll have questions then, I'll post them, but now I'm relieved that I still have a year.

 

[apples]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
This is so crazy.
I wrote e-mails to a few university's financial aid dept.. I mentioned that I'll be applyin gin the fall of 2007, and they say the deadline for FinAid applications are Feb. 2007

 

[Mororvia]

I assume you're in the US... you can probably find all the info you need here: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ I don't remember when I filled it out for the first time. I know that while you're continuing, you have to fill it out yearly.

 

[d_leet]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
This is so crazy.
I wrote e-mails to a few university's financial aid dept.. I mentioned that I'll be applyin gin the fall of 2007, and they say the deadline for FinAid applications are Feb. 2007

No it's not, if you're applying next year the deadlines for financial aid should be either late next year or very early 2008. I know all of my financial aid stuff is due early next year and I just applied to places this past fall.

 

[apples]

Yeah, thanks a lot.
I received a reply again. Apparently, the financial aid assistant misread what I wrote.
Relief!
Thank God!