College - finance
In order to apply for fin.aid you need to do at least 2 things:

1. Register and fill out FAFSA (can't fill it out earlier than January 1 of the expected start year but should register and obtain pin in advance).

2. For private schools that accept PROFILE register on college board and fill it out (in our case 4 schools - Bard, Skidmore, Northeastern and Clark required PROFILE along with FAFSA, NYU does not use it).

For the above 2 steps you will need your tax information be in order well in advance. College finance aid application deadlines start from January 15 while tax return forms (W-2 etc.) arrive all the way through mid-February (if not later). I did calculations using pay stubs and mortgage payment statements.

3. Look for special scholarships at your college of interest Financial aid webpage and application requirements (e.g. Bard listed New Generation scholarship for children of immigrants, in theory no separate application was required, I sent e-mail stating our immigrant origin just in case).

4. Look for various scholarships on scholarship search websites. I used FastWeb. Unfortunately, most of the scholarships were essay-based, nothing for art. So it was not time well spent in my case. One thing to remember - such websites (FastWeb being one of the most respected) are supposed to be free, otherwise it's scam.

5. THERE ARE THINGS OUT THERE I DON'T KNOW ABOUT.

x-posted to senior_junior@lj
- там у них просто золотые россыпи.