It's January, and you probably know what that means — time to fill out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) . The FAFSA is the best place to begin if you need financial aid (including student loans) to help pay for college.

Even if you think your parents make too much money to qualify for aid, you should still look into the FAFSA. Not all aid is based on financial need, and many factors go into the formulas for determining eligibility.

We always recommend that you fill out your FAFSA as soon after January 1 as possible. Some state aid is awarded based on your FAFSA application, and those deadlines vary , so it's in your best interest to get your FAFSA submitted as soon as possible. This is a great article  that makes a good case for filling out the FAFSA and lists all the documents you'll need on hand before you get started.

You can get a paper FAFSA from your high school guidance counselor, or you can fill it out online . This article  covers some of the common mistakes people make when filling out the FAFSA that can jeopardize your chances for maximum aid. Check it out to avoid making any costly blunders.

I'm curious — especially for you first-timers — how you feel about filling out the FAFSA. Did you fill it out online, or use the paper form? Was the application too long and complicated, or was completing it no big deal?

Posted by Caroline at 10:20 AM |  Contact Caroline |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Found in Back to school, College, Federal loans, Financial aid, Financial education, High school, Paying, Tuition, Wells Fargo Bank

Do you think the ACT test  should be mandatory for all high school students?

Currently a few states do require that students take the ACT. Why? It serves as another way to assess students, and some probably see a side benefit that perhaps more kids will consider going on to college if they already have the ACT under their belt.

A recent editorial  in the Des Moines Register advocates for school districts in Des Moines to pay the ACT test fees for all students, but to further examine whether it should be made mandatory.

Personally, I'm not in favor of either. I don't understand why a school district should pay for the test, considering there's already an option to get the fee waived  for those with an economic need. For those who can afford to pay the fee, in my opinion, paying for the test and taking it on a Saturday outside the school setting, lends a certain weight and seriousness to the test that might be lost if it was free.

As far as making it mandatory — I think that approach could have the same effect. It takes the seriousness away if it becomes yet another standardized test, taken by everyone in the middle of a school day, whether they want to or not.

And really, the ACT measures college readiness. Not all kids take the college-prep route through high school. It doesn't seem fair to test them as though they have.

So what do you think? Should the ACT test be mandatory and/or free?

Posted by Caroline at 10:11 AM |  Contact Caroline |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Found in College, High school, Paying, Preparing, Wells Fargo Bank

Last weekend I decided to extend my personal Friday cubical dance party into the weekend by volunteering at a local high school dance. It was so great to see students releasing their pent up energy into the rhythm of the night. Hands in the air, shouting the lyrics to every verse, laughing and showing off their moves — they were in their element.

People (rightfully) laugh at my "Ellen-esque"  dance parties at work. For me it takes the edge off the corporate work environment and releases a bit of my anxiety. As a student, I think these casual high school dances offer the same type of thing — a pressure release where you can go out with friends and dance off the stress of being in school.

In high school (and life in general) we spend a lot of time working on (and worrying about) our image and making sure we look good on paper. For high school students, it's SAT scores, grade point averages and the right combination of club memberships, student government experience and being on a varsity sports team. In "the real world," it's your job title, degrees of education, performance reviews, community involvement, hobbies and some type of luxury fluff like season tickets or country club memberships.

But we are so much more than just our MySpace profiles. As they say in Transformers , we are all "more than meets the eye." This is because our personalities can't be bottled and branded. We are individuals. We are human. We are interesting. We all have our own story to tell.

When you are writing your college entrance essays and interviewing for scholarships, remember to show who you really are, on and off paper. I once won a college scholarship over several of my classmates who were way more qualified (on paper) than I was. No joke, there was the valedictorian, the student body president, the volunteer wiz-kid, and me — the girl who scored a lousy 970 on her SATs. I was awarded the scholarship because I aced the interview by being myself. (BTW, if you are looking for scholarships, be sure you check out this online search engine  to help you.)

This is not to say the stuff on paper doesn't count — it definitely does. (I had to work hard to make up for my horrible SAT performance.) But equally important is your character and expressing the goodness that can't be communicated on paper.

Find your "ness"  and let it shine.

Posted by Rachel at 10:02 AM |  Contact Rachel |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Found in College selection, High school, Preparing, Remember, Scholarships, Wells Fargo Bank

I used to love back-to-school time. Now, I still share Staci's love of school supplies, but as a parent, "back to school" time can be hard sometimes. The first time you send your kid off to school it's tough — suddenly your round-faced "baby" is wearing a "Lightning McQueen"  backpack stuffed with crayons, juice and baby wipes. (That's what they request at preschool these days.)

But when you send your kid off to college — like many of you probably did over Labor Day weekend — it's even tougher. Suddenly your "baby" is leaving town with your car and a laundry basket full of clothes. And this time, she won't be home in three hours, ready for a nap.

Recently, I found a great article  in the Des Moines Register about how parents handle sending their kids off to college. It profiles three families: one with a senior in high school, one with a student about to start college, and one with a student who's just completed his freshman year of college. There are also some good tips for parents and students found in the article's left sidebar.

So parents, tell me: How are you coping with sending your kids off to college?

Posted by Caroline at 02:42 PM |  Contact Caroline |  Permalink  |  Comments (3)
Found in Back to school, High school, Parents, Wells Fargo Bank

If you're off to college this fall, you've probably loaded up on the necessities  like sheets, towels and cool décor for your dorm. But put one more thing on your list, if you haven't already: a bike.

A bike probably wasn't the mode of transportation you chose in high school—and maybe you haven't ridden one since the fifth grade—but bikes are the best way to get around on a college campus.

Biking is much cheaper than driving, when you consider gas prices and parking tickets. (Ask any experienced college student—you WILL get a parking ticket!) And it's faster than walking—good news when you oversleep the day of your bio quiz.

OK, I admit, I'm a little biased. I really like to bike. My most recent vacation was spent biking—I rode a couple days on RAGBRAI®  (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa™) in July. It's a touring ride across the state. And it's ginormous—about 10,000 people participate every year. It's actually a really relaxing vacation, because when you hop on a bike you completely change the pace of your life.

That's another benefit of biking that's great for college life. When you're busy and stressed, biking to class or a study session may be just the exercise and change of pace that you need to feel refreshed. Biking around campus can also help you ward off the "freshman 15"  without dragging yourself to the gym.

So dust off that two-wheeler and pack it up! Are you bringing a bike to college?

Posted by Caroline at 08:36 AM |  Contact Caroline |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Found in Back to school, Bikes, Budgeting, Cars, Financial education, High school, Moving, Parents, Paying, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

If you're going to be a high school senior this fall, it's likely that you've already completed a time-honored tradition: senior portraits .

Senior portraits have evolved from the traditional head-and-shoulders shots marking a student's graduation year to full-blown fashion shoots expressing a student's personality. Mine were somewhere in between.

I was a latecomer to the senior portrait party. Two months into the school year, I still hadn't had them taken. My father owned an advertising agency and suggested that one of his staff photographers take mine. "It's just a yearbook picture," he reasoned.

There was no reasoning with 17-year-old me: impetuous and hormonal and on the cusp of adulthood. I didn't want a photographer with a different point of view to document the end of my high school days/the beginning of the rest of my life. I wanted photos that looked just like everyone else's.

Eventually, my dad relented. If I remember correctly, my senior portraits cost a couple hundred dollars.

Seniors today might pay closer to a couple thousand dollars. Of course, there are more options now than there were in the late ‘80s. A friend or parent with a digital camera, an eye for detail, and some knowledge of Photoshop®  can produce professional-looking, personality-filled senior portraits at a fraction of the cost.

Class of 2008, what are you spending on your senior portraits?

Posted by Staci at 08:59 AM |  Contact Staci |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Found in Budgeting, High school, Looking back, Parents, Paying, Preparing, Remember, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank