EP#28: The Biggest Financial Aid Mistakes Students Make

Paying for college can be expensive and frustrating. Many take out student loans while every year millions of dollars in scholarship money goes unawarded.  Today we discuss ways of avoiding the biggest financial aid mistakes students make with Sarah Nau, Financial aid specialist of Lorain County Community College. 

Sarah Nau has over 27 years experience helping students and parents navigate the financial aid system by making the complicated application process easy to complete. One of her current projects is overseeing the new scholarship app at Lorain County Community College. 

Here are ways to avoid making big financial aid mistakes:  

1. Don’t assume you won’t get aid. Complete the FAFSA: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
2. Apply for scholarships even in the spring semester: Don’t assume it is too late.
3. Update your contact information. Check your school’s email regularly.

If you are currently enrolled in college or are thinking about enrolling in the fall, I encourage you to take some time to seek out scholarship opportunities and look for ways to complete a degree, debt free. And if you are a Lorain County Community College student, I invite you to check out the new scholarship app on at myscholarships.lorainccc.edu. 

Finally, if you are unsure about your career direction and want help on completing a degree, debt free, you can reach me, Janet Maltbie, at noloanzone.com/contact. I meet with students and adults in transition so you can reach their career goals.  I also teach a totally online career exploration class through Lorain County Community College, called  Career Exploration and Life Planning, SDEV 103.