While the fact that FAFSA does not have a deadline is true, there is a date beyond which you are not guaranteed to have your funds in your hands before tuition is due. In the meantime, the university will only delay payment of tuition for at most two weeks into the semester. And that is with proof of your submitted FAFSA form from the financial aid office. If you don’t have the money, you don’t go to class. This works out differently if you do have the money to pay the tuition and simply deposit the financial aid money to pay yourself back.

In my state (Louisiana) we have the TOPS scholarship program for those who meet certain scholastic requirements. This must be used to pay for tuition and books. The reason I bring this up is that the TOPS money (along with certain other types of state/federal aid monies) are only for those students who complete the semester. If you drop out, then you will be required to pay back the money you received prorated to the date of dropout. I’m sure this is not the same everywhere, but it doesn’t hurt to ask if the financial aid you are applying for comes with the same strings attached.

The FAFSA “deadline” is NOT April 1. Nor is it May 1st or any other date. Technically, a student can file a FAFSA up until the last day of the school year, and still be eligible for federal grants.

Having said that, each college might have a “priority” FAFSA date. These are usually much early than April 1st. One of the most important things that high school students and their parents can do is understand the myriad of dates and deadlines for each of the colleges the student is applying to.

If you need help with a FAFSA, there is a nation-wide volunteer project called College Goal Sunday. Financial aid people volunteer their time to help guide students and families through the form. Although a few states have already held their events (including Oregon), check to see if there is an event in your area at http://www.collegegoalsundayusa.org.

One last important FAFSA note: the FAFSA is FREE. FAFSA stands for FREE Application for Federal Student Aid. Never pay anyone to help you complete a FAFSA.

Confidential to Oregonians: we have a common scholarship application in our state. Over 400 scholarship providers agree to accept this common application to award their scholarship dollars. The process is run by our state financial aid agency. Check out the website at http://www.getcollegefunds.org

Besides the AP tests, credit is also awarded for CLEP tests by many colleges and universities. I went to my local library and bought a bag of used textbooks for $1.00 so the I could study psychology, sociology, economics, and sciences on my own (and didn’t really need to study for the English, math or humanities tests). I ended up being awarded 48 credits, and the exams were way cheaper than the classes would have been.

The result of all this was that the average student with a part-time job, upon finishing an undergraduate degree, had no meaningful debt. Also, there was less trouble with drinking binges, the “party” scene, and romantic drama.

At the graduate level, it was reasonable to travel and live in another city.

I’m told that a couple generations ago this was the norm in the USA too, except for extremely wealthy families who sent their children to prestigious universities for undergraduate degrees as a show of conspicuous consumption. But, like big weddings and large houses, the “tradition” of sending a teenager away to school on Mommy and Daddy’s dime caught on with the middle class, to the point where people actually thought it was normal and necessary, and to the point where people are willing to go into debt to finance that kind of consumption.

Summer school at community college or your own college can be a fast and cheap way to knock out some credits too.