Extra, Extra!

Sweet Briar ranked on the Princeton Review Best Value Colleges for 2010!

I know there will probably be a mixed reaction of “Duh!” and “Hey, good to know” out there, but we just returned from our Tuesday Morning Staff Meeting, and I had to share the good news with all you faithful readers.

How do you make SBC an even BETTER value?

1. If you are a high school senior and haven’t done so already Fill out the FAFSA!
2. When you do that, you automatically will receive the FAFSA Grant from SBC–$1,000 just for being a good kid and following the rules
3. Check out our scholarship page–you could qualify for more money through one of these grants!
4. And as you move forth, take every opporutnity to you get, grab the world by the tail and wrap it around and put it in your pocket–because at this great value, there is NO WAY you’re going to be living in a van down by the river

Do I qualify?

With the New Year also comes the frantic rush to get the FAFSA filled out.  What is the FAFSA, you might ask?  It’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  You can access it from the link above, and the FAFSA essentially  figures out a family’s demonstrated need and how much they contribute to their student’s college education.  After the Department of Education processes the form and comes up with a family’s EFC (estimated family contribution), they send those numbers to the colleges a student has indicated she’ll be applying to.

Many times, though, families think they won’t qualify for what is then called “Need Based Aid” because of a myriad of reasons, such as the following:

1. I make too much money to qualify
2. I just won the lottery
3. We have a good amount invested in…(land, Hershey Kisses, stocks, cars, etc) which means we have too much money in assets
4. Gramma got run over by a reindeer and the insurance money just kicked in–don’t you like our new cabana?
5. I don’t want everyone knowing my family’s financial business, thankyouverymuch, so we’ve decided not to file.

I just wanted to take this moment to clarify a few points, and then share some super exciting news on our financial aid end of things.  First of all, everyone,  no matter what your financial situation, should fill out the FAFSA.  You never know what you might qualify for until you fill it out.  Also, in the case that your situation changes, we have everything right on file to make that change QUICKLY.  Also, whether it’s your test scores, your personal story that you decided to share in your essay, or your financial information, we and our financial aid office are held to a strict code of ethics that includes confidentiality.  Your financial business is strictly used for creating that aid packet, and is kept very confidential.

“But seriously, we are not going to qualify for any money, GAL!”

Be that as it may, we’re super excited to offer a new scholarship for all of our families who fill out the FAFSA.  Regardless of if you qualify for need based aid or not, you will automatically be awarded our new FAFSA Grant just for filling out the FAFSA.  That’s right folks, if you just won the lottery and still fill out the FAFSA, we’ll give you $1,000.  If you are going to qualify for need based and fill out the FAFSA, you’ll still get $1.000.  AND the FAFSA grant is renewable all four years as long as you fill out the FAFSA every year.

Sweet Deal if you ask me

As we chug along with this semester, questions about financial aid are bound to pop up.  When you tackle these issues with your family, just let me know–I’m going to be more than happy to help when I can, and direct you to Bobbi and Wanda when I can’t