PA
President Stuart Leigh opened the meeting at 7:05. The debate team, originally
scheduled to appear first, was not ready, so he started with business, after a
motion to change the order of business was made and
passed.
Announcements:
• Money contributed in last year's
Phonathon by senior parents paid for a fabulous senior gift, a Steinway Model
B concert grand piano.
• There was a discussion of
concerts and upcoming events and workshops.
• The PA December meeting will be a
program on Student Life presented by students, with breakout groups on
such topics as teens, sex, drugs, parental control, etc.
• On December 8 at 7:00 pm,
Brother David will present his annual college financial aid
presentation.
The
minutes were presented and accepted as written, with one correction of
Mr. Blaufarb's name.
Treasurer's Report: Printed copies of the entire
budget were presented and Bill Graham reported that we've taken in over $12,000
over our budgeted phonathon amount.
7:15 Move
to present the Debate Team.
The
students explained the three areas they study: Dramatic presentation,
Lincoln-Douglas Debate, which concerns values, and Policy Debate, which concerns
policy. The dramatic team members gave two compelling performances. I'm sure
that we'll never say, "How are you?" the same again.
7:50 Carol
Katz introduced our Guest Speaker, SuzanneClair Guard, Dean of Financial
Aid at Barnard College.
Ms. Guard
outlined the procedures, policies and idiosyncrasies of applying for and
obtaining financial aid from an institution of higher learning. She clearly laid
a comprehensive picture for parents with her far-reaching and deep understanding
of the issues involved.
Some of
her points:
• For college planning, meeting the
deadline may be the most important thing.
• The answer to many questions is
"it depends," so always check with the college.
• Make a chart of which forms each
college requires, together with the deadline for each.
• Know that the information you are
giving will be evaluated.
• There are two types of aid: need
based aid, which is based on economic need with all factors considered, and
merit aid, which is based on a student's academic
performance.
• Each application is evaluated
individually and they look at the whole application.
• If you need financial aid, apply
for it; don't wait until after admission.
• Do your tax returns early, and if
you haven't done them yet, estimate accurately.
• It's very important that you
explain exceptional circumstances.
• Plan to fill out the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is available online at
www.fafsa.ed.gov.
• Many schools will want you to
submit the College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS Profile), which is available
online at www.collegeboard.org.
• Keep copies of EVERYTHING that
you send in.
• If divorced or separated,
information is needed for the two natural parents.
• Ivy league schools can no longer
compare aid packages with each other.
• There's a great website,
www.finaid.org,with an estimator that will give you a rough idea of how much aid
you may obtain. The site also has numerous links to other sources of financial
aid information.
• Look at the loan default rate of
each college; a low rate indicates a good school.
• Most schools don't negotiate
financial aid packages, but call anyway for reconsideration of special
circumstances.
• Most schools have work study
packages and make sure that students get a job.
• Be honest when applying for
aid.
• Be willing to help your child
financially with college.
Motion to
adjourn at 9:00pm.
-Respectfully
submitted,
Elizabeth
Schnee, Recording Secretary