Most families rely on some form of financial aid to help fund their child's college education. Applying for and receiving financial aid is a process that requires a little patience, a lot of paperwork and a substantial investment of time. If you go through the process successfully, you could end up with more financial aid than you ever thought your student would be eligible for.

So how can you navigate the process successfully? By avoiding five common mistakes.

It takes several months to complete the process of applying for financial aid. If you're addressing your student's high school graduation announcements and still haven't started the college financial aid process, you've waited too long.

Financial aid directors say procrastination is a common problem. One director told Christian College Guide: "Many families are intimidated by the financial aid process. That intimidation causes them to put it off, and then when reality sets in, they've missed the opportunities for financial aid that they might have received if they had started earlier."

Most financial aid professionals recommend that families begin the financial aid process no later than the fall of their student's senior year. Once your student has decided on possible colleges and universities, contact the financial aid departments at those schools to find out what paperwork needs to be completed to apply for aid.

Another common mistake families make is not completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form makes qualified families eligible for federal financial aid, and many universities also use the information from the FAFSA to determine which students will receive institutional aid.

Some families assume they won't qualify for aid and don't apply at all. Others fill out parts of the FAFSA, but don't ask to be considered for all types of aid. These families are limiting their financial aid options by not seeking out every possible aid source, say financial aid experts.

The FAFSA should be completed as soon as possible after January 1 of your student's senior year in high school. If you want to get a head start on the financial aid process, you can fill out the FAFSA pre-application worksheet at fafsa.ed.gov/worksheet.htm. This practice form can help students and parents become familiar with the types of questions as well as the required information and financial documents your family will need to complete the official FAFSA.

When completing the FAFSA, pay close attention to the directions so that you can avoid careless paperwork mistakes, such as forgetting to sign the back page of the FAFSA. A simple mistake can delay the financial aid process for weeks. You can save time by filling out the form online at fafsa.ed.gov.

In the midst of filling out college applications and financial aid forms, the scholarship search often takes a backseat. There are a lot of students competing for the big scholarships, and smaller scholarships may only amount to a few hundred dollars. Why invest the time and effort when there are no guarantees, and the returns may be small?

Here's one good reason: More than $1 billion in scholarship money is available from hundreds of community organizations, civic clubs and corporations. And somebody's going to receive that money. Why not your student?

Another reason: The potential returns for a small investment of time are pretty amazing. Let's say you and your student spend an hour searching the Internet for scholarships. You find 10 that your student is eligible for, and they all have similar application requirements. So your student spends two hours preparing the essays and other materials for the first application, then another hour making photocopies for the remaining nine applications. If your child receives just one scholarship worth $200 for four hours of work, your effort has been compensated at $50 per hour—a pretty decent "wage"!

But before your child can apply for private scholarships, you've got to know where to look for them. The Internet offers a wealth of free scholarship search sites that can be a great resource, especially when looking for national scholarships. To find out about local and regional scholarships available in your community, check with your student's high school counselor, and watch your local newspapers for announcements about civic and community organizations offering scholarships.

And here's a tip to store away for the future: There might be scholarships that your student will qualify for only after they've been in college for a few years. For example, if your child is majoring in nursing, there may be scholarship money available for nursing students who have completed at least one year of college. Make it a habit to help your student look for new scholarships early each spring during the college years.

If you're tempted to leave the financial aid process completely in the hands of your student, you might want to think again. The families who are most successful in the financial aid search are those that are closely involved in the process, say financial aid directors.

Most college financial aid offices send correspondence about financial aid directly to the prospective student. But don't let that keep you from getting involved. Ask your child to always share any information they receive via mail or e-mail. Many high school seniors are so busy with academic and extracurricular activities that they can easily miss deadlines or let important paperwork for financial aid fall through the cracks. By staying closely involved in the process with your student, you can help encourage them to follow through on important steps in the financial aid process and avoid losing potential scholarships and grants.

With all the paperwork involved in submitting the FAFSA and other financial aid forms, parents can easily feel like they're the ones back in school, timidly trying to decide whether to raise their hands and ask questions about things they don't understand.

If parents or students are confused, they really need to ask for help, say financial aid experts.

"Parents who've never had a son or daughter in college don't know what's involved in the process," one director told us. "They really need to learn to ask for help from their financial aid professionals."

But don't pay for help.

There's no need to pay a fee for help in the financial aid process," the director says. "Ask for help from the financial aid office at the school where your student is applying. That's what we're here to do—we want to help families get through the process smoothly."

As you try your best to avoid these five mistakes, keep one thing in mind: God is there throughout the whole process. So don't let a mistake here and there discourage you. Just do your best and give yourself a little grace along the way. Then when your child's final aid package arrives, thank God for what's been provided and trust him to provide the rest. After all, if he generously feeds the birds and elegantly adorns the flowers, he will certainly supply your family's needs.

Experts from the following schools helped with the information in this article: Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma; Seattle Pacific University in Seattle; University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky; Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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