A senior vice president for Panhandle-Plains Management and Servicing Corporation tried to lead seniors and their parents through the jumble of financing higher education during a seminar on Nov. 7.
Senior Vice President Earl Hudgins discussed grants, scholarships and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
“The biggest mistake people make is that they think all scholarships awarded are from the financial aid office,” Hudgins said. “The college itself, local companies or other places can also give scholarships.”
Hudgins said there are some colleges that don’t give freshmen scholarships. A student might need to wait until their sophomore year to get scholarships from that college.
Hudgins also said if there was a choice between filling out an electronic application or filling out a paper one, seniors should always choose the electronic application. He said the school to which the student applies could run out of money to give before the application arrives. The same goes for the FAFSA.
“Don’t file a paper FAFSA,” Hudgins said. “It takes about 4-6 weeks when the system is working well.”
Hudgins said there are a variety of places to go for free financial aid.
“Don’t pay people for financial aid, period,” Hudgins said. “If you get to any place that looks like they’re going to charge you, get out.”
Career Counselor Kim Dierschke was at the meeting and also spoke to the seniors about the need to get college applications before Thanksgiving.
“We will begin applying for financial aid after Christmas,” Dierschke said. “The order in which it normally goes is to apply for college, then scholarships, then housing. Then seniors need to get a transcript from us to the college to which they’re applying. If they’re doing any college classes, they need to get a transcript from Odessa College. They need to apply for scholarships that are at the college to which they are applying at that website in addition to the ones on our website.”
Dierschke said log-in information for any of the websites that can be found at seminoleisd.net is available in any of the counselors’ offices.
Financial Websites:
• applytexas.org
• ppslc.com
• collegefortexans.com
• studentaid.ed.gov
• aie.org
FAFSA requirements:
• Your social security number
• Your parents’ social security numbers if
you are providing parent information
• Your driver’s license number if
you have one
• Your federal tax returns if you are
employed
• Your spouse’s tax returns if you
are married
• Your parents’ federal tax returns if they
are helping you qualify
• Employment information if you
are employed
• Your parents’ business information
if they are self-employed
• Your parents’ savings and investments
information
• Your parents’ and/or stepparents’
birthdates
• If you or your parents are collecting
Social Security benefits, welfare
benefits, or veteran’s benefits, records
need to be shown
• If you are not a citizen, you need to
provide your alien registration number.
• List of schools that you have attended
from middle school through high school
and any college that you have
completed
• Net worth of property you or your
parents’ own including homes, farms,
businesses, etc.
• If you served in the military and are
receiving veteran’s education benefits,
how long will you receive them?
• If you are receiving child support, list
the amount for all children
• Show tax exempt income
• Show all other untaxed income
• Show any grant or scholarship aid
reported to the IRS
Upcoming SAT dates:
• Dec. 3
• Jan. 28
• March 10
• May 5
• June 2
Upcoming ACT dates:
• Dec. 10
• Feb. 11
• April 14
• June 9
Senior Kelby Anderson won the $200 scholarship at the Nov. 7 financial aid seminar.
