It seems almost weekly that we see in the media that today's young people don't like to read anything longer than a bullet point. That generalization may hold some truth, but because some people (including your students' parents, perhaps) are still willing to gather their information via the written word, we'd like to share some thoughts about disseminating financial aid information via articles and emails. And we promise to keep things short.
Using Articles About Federal Student Aid
Using Emails About Federal Student Aid
Using Articles About Federal Student Aid
If you have a school or parent-teacher organization newspaper, you might wish to include an occasional article about financial aid or college preparation. Here are some topics you might consider, along with web pages that have wording you can adapt for your articles:
- Federal Student Grants To Help Pay for College (find wording at StudentAid.gov/grants)
- What To Do in 11th Grade To Get Ready for College (find wording at StudentAid.gov/resources/prepare-for-college/checklists/11th-grade)
- Deciding Whether To Take Out a Private Student Loan (find wording at StudentAid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/federal-vs-private)
- Gathering the Documents You'll Need for Your FAFSA® Form (find wording at StudentAid.gov/fillingout)
- Making Responsible Decisions When Taking Out a Student Loan (find wording at StudentAid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans)
Using Emails About Federal Student Aid
If you have your students' email addresses, you may want to send them periodic reminders about topics such as these:
- The availability of the FAFSA form (send this one when the FAFSA form becomes available, along with a reminder of the FAFSA form's .gov URL and the fact that it is a free application)
- Your state's or local college's FAFSA deadline (some are in March or April, while several states have a deadline of "as soon as possible")
- Informing colleges of the decision whether to attend; and making a deposit (send late April for those May 1 deadlines)
- Preparing for the end of a loan's grace period (frequently in November, so send this in late September or early October)
To enhance the effectiveness of your emails, you may choose to attach fact sheets, infographics, or videos. We've got a large selection on our "Search Financial Aid Tools and Resources" page.