In just a few weeks, high school seniors will celebrate their graduation, bringing not only excitement but also significant financial responsibilities.
“I mean, it’s a new start. Leaving home. I’m ready to start college,” said Raymond Green a high school senior.
On May 1, families send in their deposit to colleges or universities, confirming their enrollment.
Steve Booker has been in financial aid for more than 30 years – 16 of them as the director of financial aid at Rollins College.
“It’s financial, right, so there are some challenges there. And college costs significant dollars, so it’s a big investment for families. We want to make sure they have the information upfront,” said Booker.
When it comes to crunching the numbers, Steve says an early start is key.
“We always encourage students starting in their junior year, make sure they start to, investigate schools, find out what the financial aid process is, what’s needed, their scholarship deadlines.”
Green and his twin Leneah opened up about the ups and downs they’ve experienced during their journey to cover school expenses and secure scholarships to ease the financial burden. WESH 2 caught up with them at their mom’s hair salon in Ocoee
“I would say it’s been a little stressful, given the fact that I don’t know exactly where I’m going yet, and it’s a little bit late in the whole graduating season,” Leneah Green said.
Leneah is hoping to run track and is waiting to see what her financial aid package will look like.
In addition to Raymond’s financial aid, he also received a Presidential Scholarship for his grades and test scores. Altogether, the $27,000 will nearly cover the total cost of attendance to Livingstone College in North Carolina. A bonus: Raymond will also be playing football.
His mom is so proud but says landing a scholarship has been a full-time job.
“The biggest trial was more so scholarships and securing additional funding. Micromanaging, making sure we meet certain guidelines. trying to get communication from different people as far as the admissions, the guidance counselor, and what is the actual time to actually do different steps” Jo Raymond-Green, mom to the twins, said.
Here are some strategies to simplify the school application process and maximize financial aid opportunities.
He said first, reach out and CALL your top schools.
“So find out, check with their financial aid office, check with their admissions office. Are there other applications that they need for scholarship consideration? What are the deadlines, and then the school can also help them with outside scholarships. We’ll talk about things like Kiwanis Club or even Walmart and Kohl’s and Target. They offer scholarships. So there’s different sites you can go to that are free to use,” said Booker.
Those sites are fastweb.com and scholarships.com.
Fall of senior year is when students can start applying for financial aid, and then in the spring, students should get their financial aid offers.
Your scholarship resources are really broken down into three categories: state scholarships, which would be Florida Bright Futures, institutional, and private.
Hatcher Nordquist knew his costs would be higher since he wouldn’t be staying in state. He’s headed to Suffolk University in Boston, where he will also play basketball.
“Everyone is getting the Bright Futures scholarship and that is their path – it was def interesting to navigate my own path,” he said. “As far as where to find scholarships, it was all on us to figure that out. It was primarily merit-based and then I had a couple thousand-dollar scholarships here and there that hopefully I will get,” Nordquist said.
Students and families emphasized the importance of starting the process early and actively seeking answers for the next graduating class.
“I would def tell them to look at scholarships early because I def missed some money on the table” Nordquist said. “Start doing your FAFSA as soon as possible. Like when they start sending stuff out, do it right then in there,” Leneah said.
“My advice would be to just stay patient. You know, your time is your time,” Raymond added.
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