Think You Earn Too Much for Financial Aid? Why You Should Still File

Think you earn too much for college money? Skipping the financial aid forms can cost your student merit aid and scholarship money. In this College Coffee Talk, Andy and Pearl Lockwood of Lockwood College Prep walk through the October mistakes families make, and how to fix each one before the deadlines.

You'll learn:
• Why families who won't qualify for need-based aid should still file the financial aid forms, and why some colleges won't consider your student for merit aid unless you do.
• How filing can quietly show a college your family can pay, and why that may help in admissions.
• Why the odds from your high school's software look at three things, while admissions officers weigh up to 25.
• Why too many reach schools sets up an "Admissions Armageddon" in the spring, and how safety schools give you something to bargain with on price.
• Where hidden college essays sit on the Common App, even when a college says it "does not require writing supplements."
• What new federal data shows about earnings by college and major.
• Why a college essay that sounds like a pro or AI wrote it can hurt more than it helps, and why it should sound like a 17-year-old.

If your family has a senior applying this fall, or a junior who is next, these are the mistakes to catch now.

Andy and Pearl Lockwood run Lockwood College Prep in Glen Head, Long Island, and work with families nationwide on college admissions, the college essay and financial aid. Their P4 system (Plan, Path, Position, Pay Wholesale) helps families find the right college and pay far less than sticker price.

Work with Andy and Pearl, and get free college financial aid tips: https://LockwoodCollegePrep.com

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