Princeton Review Welcome! We're pleased to announce, that once again, The Princeton Review is working with students of Valley Stream Central High School District to provide SAT and PSAT preparation!		Two Prepping Options:    1 Preparation during the school-day as an elective course.  Speak to your guidance counselors if you're interested in this option. 2 After-school PSAT/SAT preparation program.  Just as in the past, we still have a number of different option for students who would prefer the after-school program or simply don't have time during the school day. Word of the Day FREE SAT test
We look forward to another great year of working with the students of Valley Stream and improving your SAT scores! Check out the links below for schedules, enrollment forms, free practice tests and more! If you have any questions, feel free to call The Princeton Review at 631/271-3400 or email them at Info.LI@review.com	Please follow this link to see after school schedules, pricing and course features.

Financial aid dollars are in great demand but short supply.  Rising tuition, plummeting  endowments, and cuts in state education budgets coupled with a weak economy and lay-offs  contribute to the feeling that there is less money to go around. 
 
If you didn't receive the financial aid package you were looking for, don't give up. There are strategies you can use to help get the maximum aid to which you are eligible. The Princeton Review, a leading education company, has advice for those who want to negotiate a better financial aid offer.
 
First, does your financial aid package meet your need? Need in the world of financial aid doesn't mean what you think you can afford; it is determined by a Federal government formula. This formula is calculated by taking the total cost of tuition and subtracting your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is again, another government formula that determines the amount they determine you can pay based on your financial standing. 
 
Financial aid offices may have some leeway in the package they offered.  The college might want you enough to be willing to make some adjustments.
 
1.      Timing. . Plan to speak to the financial aid officer before you've accepted the college's offer of admission. Make it clear that you could still choose another school.

2.      If you live close to the college, negotiate in person.  If not, use the phone.  They will find it hard to believe you need the money if you travel long distances to complain in person.

3.      Parents, not students, should do the negotiating. They are less easily intimidated.

4.      Try to speak with the head financial aid officer.  Keep records of everyone  you speak to.

5.      Act cordial and frank, organized and businesslike.

6.      Show them an example of a financial aid package you received from another school in which your total out of pocket costs would be less. A good rule of thumb is to ask for 100 per cent of your need. Be prepared to present the facts.

7.       Avoid confrontational language.  Ask if there is anything they can do to improve the package.  Tell the financial aid office that you want to appeal the award they have offered you. Avoid words such as negotiate or bargain. 

8.      Sometimes schools don't understand the full scope of your financial circumstances. If this is the case, clearly explain your situation and present examples that are not accounted for in the federal methodology used to determine your eligibility. Some expenses that the formula does not factor in are support of an elderly relative or unusually high business expenses that are not reimbursable.  

9.      Alert the financial aid officer of any change in circumstances such as a job loss or health crisis. 

10.   Follow up by sending a certified letter, reminding the financial aid officer of what was discussed.
 
The real measure of an aid package is how much the family will end up paying out of pocket and how much debt the student will have to incur.  The Princeton Review website, PrincetonReview.com, offers several free financial aid tools, including a calculator to figure out the EFC, as well as information about filling out the FAFSA and Profile forms. To learn more about the formula used to allocate financial aid, please read our Strategies for filling out the FAFSA and Profile forms: http://www.princetonreview.com/college/finance/fafsa/.
 
A free tool to help students compare  financial aid packages will be available in late April. The Aid Comparison Calculator weighs the school's tuition against the money received from work-study, federal loans, grants and scholarships to determine the family's out of pocket costs and to help you better assess multiple packages.
Time is running out.  May 1 is the national deposit deadline. If you don't respond to the financial aid offer within 10-14 days, you may lose it.  So don't wait. Start planning your strategy!
 

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