Hire a proffessional?

Paying for College
1

<p>Because of an upcoming unemployment, I was wondering if it would be advised to hire a professional. We were planning on completing all FA on our own.</p>

<p>Will hiring a professional help us with all of the appeals and stuff because of the unemployment to maximize FA?</p>

2

<p>If you are going to be unemployed, just exactly where is that money for the expert going to come from? You will have lots of spare time to do the paperwork yourself. The experts here can give you advice if it turns out you need it. If you read through the older threads from last spring and summer, chances are that you will hit on most of the advice you’ll need anyway.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the useful advice. I just want to make sure that we do everything correctly and maximize the aid.</p>

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<p>Alex7589 -</p>

<p>Have you sat down with your parents (or whoever it is who is going to be paying for your education) and run some of the financial aid calculators? There are good ones at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your College Costs – BigFuture | College Board) Run them with your family’s current financial situation, and again with the presumed situation after the expected unemployment. Once you have those figures, you will have a better idea how to approach things.</p>

<p>Talk with your family about just exactly where the money is going to come from, how much debt they are willing for you to take on, how much money they expect you to earn in summer vacations and during the school year. Don’t count on the “Financial Aid Fairy” to come through for you. Give yourself a clear back-up plan.</p>

<p>I see from your other threads that you have very nice ACT scores. You should be eligible for decent merit aid at institutions a bit lower down the food chain. Here are three threads with good information about finding merit aid.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/63770-best-schools-give-most-merit-based-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/63770-best-schools-give-most-merit-based-aid.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>That one made me laugh. I need a picture of that in my office somewhere. :-)</p>

<p>OP… lay it all out here for us. What’s your family’s financial situation: previous income, current and future income, assets, your financials as well? What’s your gpa and test scores? What are your college aspirations?</p>

<p>I am one of those “professionals”. I’ll at least give you my opinion on what I think would make sense, and you’ll get at least a dozen others as well.</p>