When Is It Time to Visit Your Financial Aid Advisor?

​Thinking about pursuing higher education can cause a lot of headaches. The overall process of application and then also figuring how you will fund your education, the whole process can prove to be quite a lot for most students. That is why you should start as soon as possible to really streamline the process and not wait until the last minute because if you do, chances are you won’t get the desired results. 

So when should you meet a financial aid advisor? Well, you need to meet the advisor before you apply to the college of your choice. If you are planning on visiting the campus and taking a tour then pay a visit to the financial aid office of the school and speak to them. See what they offer as far as aid, this will allow you to determine whether or not you will get the aid you need and to apply to the school or not. So you need to do your research and speak to the financial aid advisor before you apply to the college to evaluate whether the college is the right choice for you in terms of financial aid assistance.

Questions to ask

When you do go to the financial aid office, you should go prepared. To ensure you get a meeting with an aid advisor, it is always better to book an appointment before you head to the campus. Financial aid advisors tend to be busy so if you go unannounced then there may be a chance they won’t be able to meet you. Once there, we have a list of questions that you should ask:

1. What kind of financial aid do you provide? This is an obvious question but you also put in your context to it. Let them know what your background is and what type of assistance you need for them to completely answer this question.
2. The aid you offer, is it constant for the full term of studies or does it vary per year? This will allow you to plan accordingly if the aid is not consistent throughout the full study term.
3. Is there a credit requirement that I must meet for the aid? Also, ask if there is any grade requirement that must be met?
4. If I find a job, will that affect the eligibility of my aid?
5. What is the general average debt a student at this university is in when they graduate?

These are just some general questions you should consider asking to get a better understanding of what kind of financial assistance is offered at the university. It is important you figure out exactly how you will stand in financing your studies before you apply so that you know your option and know that you don’t have to worry too much about aid and how to fund your studies.