Issue Date: 2/27/06
In search of college financial aid
By Reid Kanaley
KRT News Service
KRT News Service
- Page 1 of 1
Most people consider April to be crunch time on taxes. But families with college students know January is the month to get cracking, since much college aid is based on early tax-return data.
IRS Central
Colleges say they do not know how much aid to offer until a student files the federal form called FAFSA (see below). But first you have to do your tax return - or at least estimate the figures that will go on it. For forms and instructions, the Internal Revenue Service home page is here:
n http://www.irs.gov
Dubious Assistant
Do not expect smooth sailing. Current IRS rules are so Byzantine that the agency can note only that its calculator on this page is for help "to determine whether you may be subject to" the Alternative Minimum Tax. If the calculator says you may be subject to the tax, you are directed to fill out another form - which, when we checked last week, was not yet available. Thanks, IRS.
n http://apps.irs.gov/app/amt/
Final Form
For a lot of families, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is pretty much the last free thing associated with college in America. On the form, which can be completed online, families basically are asked to reveal the location and copper content of every cent they own - before hauling it all to the bursar's office.
n http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Follow The Money
The U.S. Department of Education has a Web page explaining its programs that provide grants, loans and so forth. New legislation could raise interest rates on college loans, so some advisers urge families to lock in rates soon.
n http://studentaid.ed.gov/
Scholarship Search
A loose, changing network of private groups offers scholarships in addition to aid doled out by colleges using the FAFSA data. CollegeBoard.com, where students go to register for the SAT, has a service that matches personal profiles with a database of $3 billion in grants, loans and internships.
n http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch-ss/welcome.jsp
IRS Central
Colleges say they do not know how much aid to offer until a student files the federal form called FAFSA (see below). But first you have to do your tax return - or at least estimate the figures that will go on it. For forms and instructions, the Internal Revenue Service home page is here:
n http://www.irs.gov
Dubious Assistant
Do not expect smooth sailing. Current IRS rules are so Byzantine that the agency can note only that its calculator on this page is for help "to determine whether you may be subject to" the Alternative Minimum Tax. If the calculator says you may be subject to the tax, you are directed to fill out another form - which, when we checked last week, was not yet available. Thanks, IRS.
n http://apps.irs.gov/app/amt/
Final Form
For a lot of families, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is pretty much the last free thing associated with college in America. On the form, which can be completed online, families basically are asked to reveal the location and copper content of every cent they own - before hauling it all to the bursar's office.
n http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Follow The Money
The U.S. Department of Education has a Web page explaining its programs that provide grants, loans and so forth. New legislation could raise interest rates on college loans, so some advisers urge families to lock in rates soon.
n http://studentaid.ed.gov/
Scholarship Search
A loose, changing network of private groups offers scholarships in addition to aid doled out by colleges using the FAFSA data. CollegeBoard.com, where students go to register for the SAT, has a service that matches personal profiles with a database of $3 billion in grants, loans and internships.
n http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch-ss/welcome.jsp