Make the Most of Your Summer - Think Scholarships

Many students look forward to a relaxing summer term: no more reading, homework, tests or projects. However, the slower pace of summer can lead to boredom for some students. Don't let this happen to you! One way you can make the most of summer is to learn more about scholarships for the upcoming year. Below are a few places you can look for scholarships.

LWIT's Financial Aid
LWIT's Financial Aid webpage has a wealth of information on scholarships. Scholarships from the local, state and national level are presented in a list A-Z. In addition, the LWIT Foundation Scholarships can be found here. 

Opportunity Grant Scholarship
This is a grant program from the state of Washington. It is designed to help low income students in high demand pathways reach their educational and employment goals. Check to see if you are eligible.

theWashBoard.org
This site connects Washington students of all types with Washington scholarship providers….for FREE. Enter some information to complete your profile and let them find the scholarship opportunities that fit.

EducationGrant
This site has scholarship opportunities presented in various categories like private companies, for unusual situations, for those in the military, for non-traditional students, and for minorities.

If the deadline for a scholarship you found has already past, don't worry. Most scholarships are available annually. So, save the scholarship name and be prepared to apply for it during the next cycle.

Financial Aid: Grants

Very important information regarding grant aid (Pell, FSEOG, and State Need Grant):

Most grant aid can only be awarded a maximum of 3 quarters in an academic year (Summer-Spring). This means students who begin school in Summer quarter and attend Fall and Winter quarter will not receive grant aid in Spring quarter. If you rely on aid from Pell, FSEOG, or the State Need Grant and plan to attend a fourth quarter in an academic year, you will need to plan ahead and figure out other forms of aid, like student loans or scholarships. Or, you will need to save money on your own from your grants each quarter to put towards the fourth quarter.

Special thanks to Katie V. of AmeriCorps for providing the information for this post.

FAFSA: Linking to the IRS

Federal financial aid programs have changed their method of verifying student income information. In the past, you may have brought in a copy of your tax return. Now, if you have not already done so, you need to go back to www.fafsa.ed.gov and link your FAFSA Financial Information to the IRS information about your taxes. Follow these steps to do so. If you have any questions, visit the Financial Aid Office on campus.

1) Go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ 

2) Click the orange "Start Here" button.

3) Enter your personal information.

4) Click on the 2012-2013 tab at the top of the page (you may already be on the right page).

5) Click on "Make FAFSA Corrections," a blue link about mid-page.

6) Enter you four-digit PIN and password.
7) Click on the Financial Information tab at the top of the page between Parent Demographics and Sign & Submit.
8) Your Financial Information page should look something like this. Click on the link at the bottom of the checklist, "View option to link to the IRS." This student already linked his/her information, so your form will have a different statement before the link, but the link will be in the same location.

9) Complete the IRS form with the exact information you used on your tax forms. If an error occurs and you very recently filed taxes, your taxes may not yet be processed. You will have to link your information at a later date. Check back in a few days and try again. If the link occurs correctly, you will be taken back to the FAFSA.
10) Click "Save" at the bottom of the page after you see that all of the blanks are filled in and say Transferred from the IRS above them.
11) Click on the Save & Submit tab at the top of the page. Follow the steps to submit your correction/link to the IRS information.

Financial Aid: FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to calculate the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC), what you and/or your family could contribute to your education. The school uses this number to determine the amount of federal aid you qualify for. Federal aid includes grants and loans, as well as work study. 

***You will need a PIN to complete the FAFSA. Before filing, go to http://www.pin.ed.gov/ to create your PIN. It will take a few days for the PIN to be linked with your social security information, so be sure to sign up for one early.***

The FAFSA becomes available January 1st of every year. For example, the 2012-13 FAFSA, which covers Summer Quarter 2012 through Spring Quarter 2013, was posted January 1, 2012.

Use http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ to complete the FAFSA. The first F in FAFSA stands for free. There are a lot of sites out there that will charge you to complete the form; do not use those sites. The FAFSA site guides you through each step. If you would like someone to help you complete the form, there are FAFSA workshops available every other Thursday from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. in W403. The next dates are March 8th and March 22nd. If you are a TRiO student, you can schedule an appointment to complete the FAFSA with a TRiO advisor. Call 425.739.8249 or email tien.do@lwtech.edu.

Complete the FAFSA as close to January 1st as possible. In order to qualify for as much federal financial aid as possible for you, complete the FAFSA asap. Also, work study offers are first-come, first-served and based on the date you filed the FAFSA. In order to file early, you will use estimates of your income based on your taxes from the prior year. For example, to file early for the 2012-13 FAFSA, use your taxes from 2010. Please note: Once your current taxes are filed, you will need to go back to the FAFSA and update it with the new tax information (so for the 2012-13 FAFSA, you will update when you 2011 taxes are filed).

The FAFSA is based on your/your parents' previous year's taxes. For example, the 2012-13 FAFSA uses your 2011 tax information. When your taxes have been filed and processed by the IRS, you can link your FAFSA to the information and it will be automatically loaded. Students 24-years-old or younger must file using their parents' tax information.


If you have any questions about the FAFSA, post them here as Comments or attend one of the FAFSA workshops (information above).