Financial Aid Checklist

Financial Aid Checklist

Use this sheet as a personal guide for the financial aid process. Check off each step as you complete it. Make copies of all correspondence and forms and keep them in a financial aid file.

  • Learn about financial aid.  Find out what the options are for your family. Order information from ICPAC. Visit your local library. Borrow books from your high school counselor.
    Apply to college before Thanksgiving. (Some college scholarship opportunities are offered in the fall.)
  • Visit the financial aid office of each college to which you apply. Learn the college’s due dates for aid, and ask if the college has its own financial aid form. Attend financial aid sessions at Ben Davis High School in December and February.
  • File parent and student federal income tax forms as soon as possible (preferably in January) so there is accurate data to use for financial aid forms.
  • Attend College Goal Sunday in early February if you need assistance filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Call the ICPAC hotline (800-992-2076) for an updated listing of sites. The ICPAC hotline can also answer calls about the FAFSA.
  • Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) anytime after January 1 but no later than March 1. Ask for a certificate of mailing (not certified  mail) when you mail. MAIL PRIOR TO MARCH 1.
  • Read all financial aid notification and bursar notification letters carefully. Respond to any requests for additional information quickly, completely, and accurately.
  • Check sources for scholarships for which you are eligible:
  1. Each college/post-secondary institution
  2. Those announced in the Ben Davis Daily Bulletin
  3. Corporations where parents are employed
  4. Military – ROTC, MROTC
  5. Churches
  6. Professional Associations
  • Check with your bank regarding the possibility of obtaining a student or parent loan.

Ask your high school counselor for assistance if you have general questions. Specific questions should be directed to the college financial aid offices.  If you filed the FAFSA, prior to March 1, you will:

  • receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) in six to eight weeks. (Correct and return, if necessary.)
  • receive a financial aid package from the college of your choice around May 1.