As students are gearing up for the end of the fall semester, they are thinking about projects, exams, and how excited they are for the upcoming winter break. While it seems like August 2024 is forever away, now is actually the best time to start preparing for the 2024-25 financial aid award year.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) needs to be completed each year that a student will be attending college. The FAFSA normally opens October 1st each year and completing the FAFSA by February 1st can help students to apply for the maximum amount of aid. This year there are some big changes coming to the FAFSA and because of this, the opening of the 2024-25 FAFSA has been moved to December. You can visit missouriwestern.edu/finaid/fafsa-changes/ to see some of the changes happening.
Missouri Western has a general scholarship application that is open from October 1 to February 1 each year. Students complete one application for all Missouri Western competitive scholarships. Winter break can be a great time to work on the scholarship application for the 2024-25 award year.
When scholarships and grants aren’t enough to cover all of the costs to attend school, students might borrow student loans to help. It’s important for students to think about how much they have borrowed and what payments will look like once repayment begins. Students can use the Loan Simulator on studentaid.gov to see what their payments might look like with their current loan debt or simulate what borrowing more loans may look like.
While there are income-based repayment options for borrowers that cannot afford their monthly loan payment, it is always a good idea to think of ways to reduce debt. Options that could help include completing the FAFSA and scholarship applications as early as possible to meet any priority deadlines, looking for private scholarships, or even working over the summer and using the earnings to help pay for school. There is no one size fits all way to reduce debt; students should think about their individual situation and what could work for them.
Knowledge is power when it comes to financial wellness. Students can help set themselves up for financial success by learning as much as possible about how to get financially fit. To learn more about financial wellness, students can go to financialliteracy101.org and log in using access code GRIFFON360.
