The calendar (see link, top left part of this page) is for important information that deals with financial aid for seniors that can be accessed. It is updated regularly. There are college information nights, financial aid seminars, recruiting visits, etc., that are part of this calendar. BE VIGILANT ABOUT CHECKING THIS.

Senior Parents: Be aware that the FAFSA form is required for any type of financial assistance from a college, university, and usually a specialty/trade school. You can secure this online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov The form requires knowledge and usage of the previous year's tax information.

YOU MAY SUBMIT THE FAFSA FORM, completed or estimated, anytime after January 2nd. Go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov to submit it. If you wish to download a paper worksheet to do a "rough draft", that link is also available at the aforementioned internet address.

Parents of male children should note that your son must register with the selective service in order to be considered for financial aid. THis address is: http://www.sss.gov/

Financial News for Parents: Here are a few informational links of value to parents and students.

http://www.CollegeAnswer.com/tips (learn how to borrow responsibly)

http://www/CollegeAnswer.com/scholarship (scholarship search and information about scholarship scams)

The college scholarships link below includes financial aid information as well as an online directory of college and university admissions office email addresses and telephone numbers, college scholarship and financial aid office email addresses, and links to the home pages.

Missouri MOST is a 529 plan that encourages families to save money for college. The link below details how one can begin to save and plan for the future. Some recent changes in the program are included in the informational link below, including new sponsorship of the organization. This program has received strong endorsements from Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine over the past three years.

https://missourimost.s.upromise.com/

There also is a program regarding private colleges. It is the Private College529 Plan (www.privatecollege529.com). In both this plan and another, parents may prepay tuition years in advance, protecting against future tuition hikes. Go to www.collegesavings.org to find out more about the details of how this works.

REMINDER TO SENIOR PARENTS: March 1st (of any year !) is the priority deadline for the FAFSA. If you do not file the FAFSA by that date, you may still do so; your application just will not receive the same priority in its processing as it would if you filed prior to March 1st..

Mr. Murphy does not have paper forms of the FAFSA; you have to go online and request them. However, if you wish to download a worksheet that would serve as a rough draft, you can do that online at the FAFSA website. You may also secure these and / or the FAFSA worksheet at http://fafsa.ed.gov Even if the priority deadline of March 1 passes, families should still apply. Please do not assume that you may not qualify for financial assistance; criteria change frequently.

Here are some sites for savings for college that come from a recent edition of Reader's Digest:

www.centerforcollegeaffordability.com This site provides information as to how college graduates on the job market are doing and how much debt they have at graduation

www.collegeboard.com An all purpose site for scholarship searches, financial aid planning, and comparing aid awards.

www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov This forecasts your chances of receiving financial aid.

www.finaid/org/calculators (here you can calculate your family's EFC -- expected family contribution]

www.payscale.com Find out which majors pay the highest starting salaries and where top earners went to college.

www.savingforcollege.com This site projects future costs and how much you will have to save, based on your child's age and college preferences.

SENIORS NEED TO VISIT MR. MURPHY'S SCHOLARSHIP PAGE -- on his "Counseling Page" -- REGULARLY AND DO SOME APPLYING !!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a good link for assessing the value of schools. It is based on research from a non-profit organization:

http://whatwilltheylearn.com

This link is to the "Counseling" page:

http://www.quia.com/pages/spxcounseling.html