Today is January 1st, which means that you can now sign up for the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA determines your eligibility for stuff like grants, loans and work study, so be sure to apply for it early.
In my first year of undergrad college, I signed up for the FAFSA, but did so very late. I ended up not getting any work study money. I believe I waited until the very last day. This time, I’m determined to sign up very early… as soon as I find my pesky PIN number.
I’ve been reading your blog for a while cuz next year I’m planning on applying to some grad schools in informatics/information. I might apply to some of the programs you’re thinking about minus a couple of the more selective ones. I don’t feel confident enough to apply to those top tier schools.
In order to be considered for fellowships for many programs you need to fill out the FAFSA. But I guess most fellowships are merit-based and not need-based. They look at publications, grades, GRE scores, etc. If you did well on the GRE, that should help a lot with fellowships. How did you do on the verbal and quantitative?
Hey Brent,
It’s nice to see that people read my blog! I’m planning on writing about my GRE, but I want to hold off on that until I get the official scores from ETS.
Regarding the FAFSA, a lot of the fellowships are merit-based, but there’s also some need based stuff like work study and loans that you can get from the FAFSA as well.