The college search is complete. I was accepted into my first choice. Despite this, the process is still not complete.

What comes next is another time consuming process that all college students must go through. This is, of course, filling out housing leases and getting all of the financial aid papers in. Both are very important, and involve plenty of paperwork.

The housing leases are simple to fill out, but it is a long process. At Northwestern State University, there are six parts to the housing lease. They are the lease contract, the community lease addendum, community policies, lease guaranty agreement, roommate preference questionnaire, and the missing student notification policy form. These papers just want information on who you are, contact information in case of an emergency, and information on what your interests are so that they can get a roommate you have a better chance of getting along with. A $175 check is also required as a security deposit and a processing fee.

Another thing that needs to be done is to get all federal and state financial aid forms in. The most common federal aid form is FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The application is long, but it is worth it because almost everyone who applies will receive some form of financial aid. Filling out the FAFSA will also help you quality for state and university financial aid.

For example, when you qualify for FAFSA, you no longer have to fill out an application for TOPS. It makes an extremely long process much easier because, if you don’t qualify for the Federal Aid, there is an application for TOPS that has to be filled out.

Another important thing about filling the FAFSA out is that it could help you qualify for university specific scholarships. All these opportunities make paying for college much easier, even if it is a lot of paperwork.

So all in all, even though I am closer to where I want to be, I still have a long way to go. The college search is complete, but there are still plenty of things that need to be done before it is all over. I still have to find the money to pay for university. I also have to get my housing lease in by the priority date, which is in March. I, however, do have it easier than some people because I, at least, know where I am going and what I plan on doing when I get there.