January Beginning on January 1, file your FAFSA online. By filing online, your FAFSA will be processed much faster than paper FAFSA applications. Many scholarships also begin accepting applications in January, so start surfing!

February Be on the lookout for a “Student Aid Report” (SAR). This report is a confirmation of the data you submitted on the FAFSA. If you need to make changes, follow the instructions or contact the school’s financial aid office. You can also call 1-800-4-FED-AID for assistance.

Check the schools listed on the “School Section” of the SAR to ensure the correct schools were recorded on your application. You can always submit it to additional schools at a later date.

March Many schools begin distributing awards in March. You should receive a package of information from the school’s financial aid office that details the financial aid programs and dollar amounts of your financial aid award.

Follow the instructions and be sure to meet any deadlines for accepting your financial aid award.

Remember, financial aid rarely meets all the costs of tuition and fees; to make up any gaps between federal and institutional financial aid, you may need a private student loan.

April Remember to file your IRS 1040. Even though it’s not strictly financial aid-related, any tax penalties or taxes owed can wreak havoc on financial aid the following year, so be sure to stay on the good side of the IRS by filing a tax return.

May Students who are graduating should immediately file for student loan consolidation. Students still enrolled in school for another year or more should continue searching for aid, scholarships, and grants throughout the summertime.

For students who are studying abroad, May is the right time to acquire a study abroad loan. Those studying during summer semesters will need to have financial aid in order for Summer Semester I.

June Jobs and travel often occupy the calendars of students during the summer. Remember that any income you make as a student can potentially impact your financial aid for the following year, so it may be worthwhile investigating internships or volunteer work to build experience.

July For students taking summer courses, July is usually the beginning of Summer Semester II; be sure you have your financial aid in order.

August First time Stafford Federal Student Loan borrowers often have to fulfill an Entrance Counseling session – and many schools provide these sessions over the Internet. Check with your school.

Double check on any outside financial aid or scholarships you may be receiving.

Make sure any loans you’re applying for are in progress and moving towards disbursement to your school. Keep in touch with your financial aid office to verify that your award package is in place.

September School is beginning – make sure that all your loans are in process or disbursed, as the bills won’t be far behind. If you find yourself confronted with a spate of unexpected expenses or shortfalls in aid, apply for an alternative student loan, since you can usually obtain alternative student loans in a much shorter period of time than federal student loans.

October/November Students who have graduated and not consolidated their student loans will be approaching the end of their grace periods. Remember, the repayment rate for Stafford Loans is 0.6% higher than the grace period rate, so consolidating your loans can save you more than half a percent on your interest rate.

December Gather up your tax receipts, pay stubs, etc. and fill out an estimated IRS 1040 so that you can file your FAFSA as soon as the doors open on January 1!

Christopher S. Penn is the producer and creator of the Financial Aid Podcast, a daily free Internet radio show about making college affordable, as well as Chief Technology Officer of the Student Loan Network This organization offers federal student loans and student loan consolidation for college students, both undergraduate and graduate. His work has been featured in several books, newspapers, and conferences.

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- Revenue sharing. When a college sets up a revenue sharing agreement with a student loan company, the loan company may offer the college a payment based on the loans taken out by that college’s students, usually a percentage of the loan. While some argue that revenue sharing gives colleges more money to work with for defraying administrative costs or funding additional scholarships, it has been deemed a conflict of interest when colleges have a financial incentive to push students to a preferred lender when it may not offer the best benefits or lowest rates.

- Opportunity pools. Not every student who applies for a student loan will receive it, especially with private student loans, which are credit-based. When a college sets up an opportunity pool agreement with a student loan company, the loan company agrees to approve some students who would otherwise not be approved for a loan. This allows more students the chance to afford college who might not otherwise be able to, but can also provide loans to students whose families may not have the financial resources to repay the loans.

- Call center contracting. Running a financial aid office can be an overwhelming task, particularly at large colleges and universities with tens of thousands of students. When a college sets up a call center agreement with a student loan company, the loan company dedicates a portion of its customer service center to act as customer service for the college. The student loan company’s employees may identify themselves as employees of the college or employees of the loan company, depending on the contract terms. There are benefits to the college in that call center contracting reduces the burden and cost of a financial aid office for a college. However, call center employees may recommend their employer (the lender) over other lenders, even if other lenders have products with better benefits or lower rates.

- Advisory councils. To stay in touch with what’s happening in the financial aid world, student loan companies often convene advisory councils and invite college financial aid officers to participate. In some cases, the student loan companies pay travel expenses for financial aid officers to attend advisory council meetings. In other cases, financial aid officers may be paid for their time. While advisory councils can help student loan companies stay in touch with what colleges and their students need, some may perceive the lender has an ulterior motive. By serving on an advisory council and accepting payments or reimbursements for expenses, financial aid officers may have an incentive to recommend a specific lender over others that may have better benefits or lower rates.

- Payments and gifts. In a few of the recently publicized cases, financial aid officers have accepted gifts of significant value from student loan lenders, ranging from consulting fees to company stock. There are no positives to this practice as offering gifts of significant value implies a quid pro quo, meaning that reciprocity is usually expected, such as placement on a lender list.

- Preferred lender lists. Typically, a college assembles a list of preferred lenders which it recommends to students. In most cases, financial aid officers solicit proposals from lenders for product benefits and rates. A list of lenders is then drawn up and given to students, typically along with their financial aid award package. For the most part, financial aid administrators place lenders who offer the best benefits and rates to students on the list, helping simplify the task of choosing lenders for students and families. However, the process by which lenders are chosen is not always disclosed by colleges. If there is a conflict of interest as described above, lenders who don’t offer the best benefits or lowest rates may still be placed on the list.

Some of the practices outlined above are clearly a conflict of interest and need to come to an end, such as offering gifts of significant value in exchange for promotion or list placement. Others, such as opportunity pools and revenue sharing, are more of a gray area because there’s a definite benefit to some students and families, but potentially at the cost of value to other students and families.

Despite the recent uproar in the press, it is important to keep in mind that financial aid officers are for the most part honest and ethical people trying to stretch every dollar they have to help you pay for the ever increasing cost of college. There are a few who have made very bad judgment calls and have behaved unprofessionally, but the majority of financial aid professionals do have your best interests in mind and can be trusted.

Incidentally, it’s worth pointing out that the Student Loan Network has never and will not engage in these practices. We play by the rules very strictly, and hope that when you choose a student loan company you’ll choose us as the best balance of competitive products and great customer service. If you have any questions about our loan services, or would like help and advice with the financial aid process, please give us a call toll-free at (877) 328-1565.

Christopher S. Penn is the producer and creator of the Financial Aid Podcast, a daily free Internet radio show about making college affordable, as well as Chief Technology Officer of the Student Loan Network.

This organization offers federal student loans and student loan consolidation for college students, both undergraduate and graduate. His work has been featured in several books, newspapers, and conferences.

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