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Many people mistakenly cheat themslves out of College Financial Aid they are entitled to. Check to make sure you don't make these mistakes about College Financial Aid.

* I don*t need to fill out the FAFSA form because I won*t qualify for federal loans.

Wrong. You need to fill out the FAFSA form if you expect to qualify for any sort of college financial aid, from any government entity or College Financial Aid office.

Organizations that provide grants, scholarships and private loan resources also often require a completed FAFSA form. It is the standard document for College Financial Aid of any kind.

* My Dad makes a lot of money and said he*d help out, so I*m going to bypass the FAFSA process.

Maybe he will help out, but that doesn*t necessarily mean a four year free ride. It is also important to understand that if your parents are divorced, you need only list the assets of one parent on your FAFSA application.

Over half the marriages in this country end up in divorce. There are a lot of factors involving broken marriages that may dictate the level of support that a student will receive from family. So it is important to go on record with a FAFSA form that provides the most modest financial scenario possible should you need to seek college financial aid.

* I*m not going to apply to the college that's my first choice because the tuition is out of reach and the school isn*t going to reduce their costs for me.

No, they won*t. But nearly every university has tuition that's out of reach for a majority of their students, and they know it. That's why the well run schools have knowledgeable, creative and well staffed college financial aid departments. They know it's essential to their survival as well as your enrollment.

There are a remarkable number of ways to reduce your yearly costs besides loans. Work study programs, grants, small scholarship programs from local non-profits; what's important to keep in mind is that the College Financial Aid department will be familiar with all the options. Be prepared to camp in their lobby and get all the direction you can. Be persistent and insistent and you will get results.

* It's going to take me forever to pay off these loans.

Not forever, but it's going to take you a while. It's an uncomfortable feeling, until you consider the alternatives. Take note of the fact that three quarters of the work force in this country are people with no college degree.

Thirty years ago, those people earned about 20% less, on the average, than a college graduate. Today the disparity is 40% and getting wider, as our economy turns increasingly to service jobs with limited or no benefits.

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Keep these points about College Financial Aid in mind so you don't miss out on funding that's available to you.