Deadlines

The time you spend in school might be the most deadline-heavy time of your life. Your homework and exams have a due date but your financial aid deadlines should be a top priority in your busy schedule.

The responsibility of financial aid deadlines might seem daunting but here are a few easy things you can do to keep track of them.

Do the Research
Sometimes, deadlines for grants, loans, and scholarships sneak up without a reminder email or letter. When it comes to payments, failing to send money on time can affect your credit just like a car or home loan. A lower credit score makes it harder to obtain credit on large purchases in the future. Do the extra work to research deadlines and stay in touch with the financial aid office to keep your information current.

Supersize Your Calendar
It's difficult to keep track of important information when it's not all in one place. Simplify your life by keeping a large desktop calendar in a place where you'll see it every day. Mounting a calendar to the kitchen wall or next to the front door are both good ideas. The deadlines for your financial aid can be the most important and yet the easiest to forget. Keeping everything on a calendar, however, makes it more likely you'll keep on top of any obligation.

Call for Assistance
Your school's financial aid office is just a phone call or email away. They have your personalized financial aid information on record, and are experts on deadlines and other financial aid information. Be sure to keep your financial aid professionals at the top of your contact list.

Make the Dates
You should always contact your financial aid office for specific deadline information. Although there are very broad deadlines for some types of Federal aid (for example, Pell Grant and Stafford and PLUS Loans), you need to file the FAFSA by your school's deadlines to be eligible for the maximum amounts of other aid your school offers. The following are general aid deadlines for the 2006-2007 academic year:

• FAFSA on the Web - the filing period for this form is mid-November (2005) through the end of June (2007). To be eligible for the maximum aid that your school offers, however, you generally should have filed this form between January and March 2006. Again, contact your school for specific deadlines.
• FAFSA Corrections - corrections to 2006-2007 FAFSA information can be filed up until mid-September of 2007. Contact your financial aid office for specific instructions.
• State financial aid - varies from state to state, check with your financial aid office.
• Income tax return - file by IRS deadlines in mid-April - you may have to submit a copy to the financial aid office to verify information you or your parents submitted on the FAFSA.

Get organized, and you can go the rest of the year without worrying about your financial aid deadlines.