In August

The start of school is right around the corner and for parents of college-age children August is the month I begin to help families with professional preparation, support and navigation of the college financial aid process. College Financial Aid Advisors promotes programs that remove financial barriers in order to ensure student access to post secondary education.

According to the United States Department of Education "the majority of people fill out the FAFSA (Free Application Financial Student Aid) form in such a way that they do not receive all the aid they are eligible for." As the founder of CFAA I am dedicated to guiding you through the process of applying for and establishing financial aid in a manner that is both effortless and precise. I will help you steer through the maze of countless and sometimes confusing financial aid forms. I will ensure your forms are completed properly and submitted in a timely manner.

I have a passion for working with parents to open up educational possibilities for their children. Many parents never dream these opportunities are possible because they think the cost of college is out of reach. By helping parents use and manage college financial aid strategies - from scholarships to work study jobs to student loans - I make it feasible for children to receive the best education regardless of cost.

Who is Jodi Okun?

As a financial aid expert who helps make college more affordable, I work closely with parents and families of students to successfully navigate the financial aid process. My exclusive confidential and personal service not only helps identify grants, loans and scholarships available to students, but also helps submit the multitude of forms associated with obtaining them.

As a parent myself, I know that next to buying a house, planning for college expenses can be one of the biggest financial obligations that families undertake. Four years of college can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and it is increasingly easy to break into the hundreds of thousands range, especially for advanced degrees. I can help students go to the college or university he or she has dreamed about and earned the right to attend.

The True Story of the Independent Student and His Grandpa

This year I was lucky enough to work with a wonderful family, grandpa and grandson. I began working with the family in September the beginning of the student’s senior year. I developed a financial aid time-line in order to make sure his financial aid documents were complete before the due date.

Grandpa was the legal guardian of his grandson for the past 13 years. His love and encouragement to help his grandson go to the college of his dreams will stay with me forever.

On May first the student made his decision to attend University of San Diego for the fall of 2011. This is where the story begins. Together the three of us continued to accomplish the financial aid mandatory checklist required by UCSD. I communicated weekly with the UCSD financial aid office and the family in order to verify the student is independent and in a legal guardianship.

The financial aid office at UCSD is outstanding and did everything they could to help us out. We want to thank them for making a dream come true for a very proud grandpa and his grandson.

In order to be an independent student you must answer “yes” to any of the 13 questions on the FAFSA and you may need documentation to prove your status. Let me know how can I help guide you through the entire financial aid process?

1, 2, 3, My Blog

I am a list girl! Everything I do is a list 1, 2, 3.

Here is the "To do" list for the day..

1. Write a Blog (check)

2. Social Media

3. Financial Aid

4. Connect Social Media and Financial Aid

1. Let's begin with Social Media. I jumped into the pool of social media..did you hear the splash? Twitter, Facebook, Blogger and Hootsuite are the tools that lead me to inspiration, education and encouragement from so many friends. Thank you all for helping!

My first share button experience was a link from SanLuisObispo.com..this is a must read. I even posted their picture on the blog so you can see the pair.

Pair Brings Tutors to the Web Here is the link:

2. Financial Aid this week for my client families included, receiving official financial aid award letters, applying for PLUS Loans and reviewing Student Loan options. Families who have incoming senior students are encouraged to begin exploring the financial aid process and if you have any questions I am here to help!

3. Connecting Social Media with Financial Aid. As we continue our journey together we will navigate the financial aid system with the help of social media.

College Financial Aid Advisors wants to connect with you! How can we help?

March Madness

As students and families await their acceptance letters from colleges they anxiously look forward to the financial aid offer (if they applied for financial aid) letter. While many of you have completed all your forms and applications there is still the scramble of how are we going to get enough money to pay for college. Please keep in mind there are different types of financial aid when reading your award letters. Try to seperate the grants/scholarships (free money), from loans and work study awards. Many schools have different formats for delivering the financial aid news don't hesitate to give colleges a call to help explain the details. And as always I am here to help!

Happy 2010!!

Today I spent most of the day completing the new 2010 FAFSA application on behalf of my client families. The FAFSA this year has a new clean look, with a new student information section and parent information section. Do I think it is better...I am not sure. The most important quality the FAFSA needs to have is the ability to help students apply for and qualify for funding. It is too early (only one day old) to see if this form will make the grade....

Changes for FAFSA in 2010

The Department of Education has recently announced that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is getting a facelift. The new FAFSA will be shorter and more intuitive than ever before. I will be traveling to Nashville in December to see the changes first hand. Any resent or prospective college students who plan to apply for federal financial aid for the 2010-2011 school year will be affected by the FAFSA overhaul.

My First Blog

I am finally up and running with my first Blog. It has been a busy financial aid month meeting with many new families and beginning the financial aid process. As students continue to apply to college they will find out the financial aid process is easier to understand if they are working with me to give them one to one personal attention with all their financial aid questions. I want to welcome everybody aboard.