Planning early is key to securing financial aid

College may still be months away for high school seniors, but state leaders are already pushing students to get a jump on a plan that will help them afford rising tuition without plunging into debt.

Federal grant aid for college-bound students is now available, and applying earlier could get Utah students more money for school.

"The earlier the better for lots of reasons. It just gives you more to plan on," said David Feitz, director of the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority. "The financial aid is given on the basis of need and there's only a certain amount of money. The demand for these need-based funds always exceeds the supply."

Too often, students wait until they've decided on a school to start looking into financing options, Feitz said, leaving many students with loans as their only option. In Utah, about half of students have some type of financial aid and 70 percent have a student loan.

The maze of financing a college degree is sometimes confusing, Feitz added, but students hoping to enter school next fall should apply online now for federal Pell Grants and other money through www.fafsa.com. Each student could be eligible for up to $4,000 in Pell Grants that do not have to be paid back.

Students applying for financial aid must begin with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which requires students to be attending an eligible college, and at some institutions to maintain a certain grade average while attending the institution.

"One of our biggest concerns is students are unprepared and sort of appear at the financial aid office and say, "I think I'm going to go to school with no planning, no savings,"' Feitz said. "By and large, the best thing the students can do is save early, first of all, and then get that FAFSA filled out early."

Students should then take their FAFSA results to the financial aid office of any institution they are interested in and meet with an advisor about a complete financing package. That may include a combination of federal aid, state aid and work-study programs.

John Curl, director of financial aid and scholarships at the University of Utah, said the bulk of students don't begin seeking advice at his office until later in the semester, but there's no harm in getting a jump-start on the crowd. Many students, he added, often don't try to get financial aid because they don't think they qualify for it.

"I think it's always best at least to try. It's free. It does cost some time, but it doesn't cost them any money to just take the time to apply and find out," he said.