The Numbers Game & College  

Goal Sunday

By Dave Goldberg, IRHS Counselor

            Just to get it out there, the most mundane but necessary aspect of undergraduate admissions would be their close sibling, financial aid. We have right-brained people; we have left-brained people. Some enjoy working with numbers and files; some enjoy working with people and potential. It's a cutthroat but symbiotic world out there. 

            Creativity doesn't really flourish in the financial aid world. The people who work there are indeed bright and engaging, however, quantifying your earnings and assets, number of children already enrolled in college and securing all your 1040 forms is indeed dry. At the end of the day, the reason your child attends college is to learn all they can about their chosen profession, how to think critically and actively and how to employ technology to solve problems. All of the ancillary rules and policies of a college are secondary to the seeker of knowledge. After all, your child is not minoring in University Administration. That isn't even an undergrad major. Rather, grad school is where budding university administrators perfect how to make things complex...

            Make no mistake, many people will tell you that navigating the administrative morass-financial aid, residential life, orientation, the bursar's office, NCAA compliance, mandatory advisement, residency classification, campus health, parking, dining-is all part of the college-going experience. Administrators posit that students must master the associated tasks, just in case they end up working for the federal government. The downside of university protocol is that universities have overly punitive responses when students miss a deadline. Spank you very much. The upside of the system is that the university continues to function. A word to the wise, don't trust anyone over 30. Weinberg, J., (c. 1965) San Francisco Chronicle

Mom, look what I bought with my tuition!

Essentially, financial aid processing is a necessary evil and it makes the wheel turn. Financial Aid-www.fafsa.ed.gov- is a bit similar to purchasing a car with financing. One may roll sweet in the new car but the bank really owns it. Same with our unsexy friend, F.A. The tuition bill comes due early in the process. After you've registered, usually you pay the college and then you go to school. Blow through your tuition payment deadline and searing pain ensues.

Should you quit school early, the prorated refund policy is a bit more liberal than a failed auto loan-no one will actually tow you from the dorm parking structure in the dead of night--but the school already got their pound of flesh and so will the bank. When college students graduate or leave school, they usually don't owe the college, they owe the banker. After all, the buildings aren't air cooled by magic and the quad's grass isn't green by the work of elves. That big ol' 17^th ranked Campus Recreation Center didn't get built with gratuitous student labor. Your money has done been spent!

The helpful financial aid point: College Goal Sunday & Saturday Too! The dates are Saturday, February 22, and Sunday, February 23, 2014. Arizona universities have a priority filing deadline of March 1, 2014. Here is the link so you can get the skinny: http://www.collegegoalsunday.com/cgs/ 

You need not go up to Tempe to get this done but if you are ASU-bound, it couldn't hurt. Here is ASU's link https://students.asu.edu/cgs . At this time, The University of Arizona, Pima and ITT Tech don't have dedicated webpages for CGS but they do offer services locally that weekend. Check the site for details, locations and times.

Is attending CGS helpful might be your question. The answer is, yes. You need information from financial aid professionals, not admissions counselors or advisors. These F.A. people are pro's. They work through the tough questions in much the same way your tax prep person does. Their empiricism is invaluable and most of all you need a go-to contact at your school of choice just in case Junior gets in a pinch.

College Goal Sunday is not required. Senior parents may file a FAFSA now if they wish at www.fafsa.ed.gov . Good luck, Nighthawk Parents. This is not the fun part but it is the necessary part.