Editor's note: Tips about filing the Free Application for Financial Aid form were presented recently at Emmaus High School. This article, which first ran in the East Penn Press, is reprinted here in order to assist Northampton parents and students.

Despite bitterly cold temperatures, over 150 students and parents attended the financial aid night at Emmaus High School recently.

Presenting was Kim Adamson, assistant director of student financial services at Cedar Crest College.

In preparing to send kids to college, Adamson offered three pieces of advice for students and parents: make sure students have book money, keep passwords in a safe place and lock the dorm room and encourage others to do the same.

With that said, Adamson explained financial aid provides funds to students and families to help pay for post secondary educational expenses.

Explaining the cost of attendance, Adamson said the direct costs include tuition, fees, room and board and indirect costs include books, personal expenses, laundry, etc. The two combine into the cost of attendance which varies from college to college.

In many cases, the expected family contribution toward post secondary education is the theoretical amount the family can reasonably be expected to contribute and stays the same regardless of college. This amount is calculated using data from a federal application form and a federal formula known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

The financial need is calculated by the cost of attendance less the expected family contribution including student and parents.

Scholarships and grants are considered gift aid and are not repaid.

Self help aid includes loans and/or work study employment. Students can work on campus and either receive a paycheck or receive non-monetary compensation such as room and board. The typical work arrangement on campus, according to Adamson, is eight to 10 hours a week.

Sources of financial aid include the federal government, the largest source of financial aid, state, colleges and universities, private sources, civic organizations, churches and employers.

According to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, nearly two-thirds of students receive some type of financial aid.

Beginning Jan. 1, seniors and their parents should complete the FAFSA which is the most important application for qualifying for almost all types of financial aid. Many state, local and private entities use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for grants and scholarships, all with different deadlines.

Adamson told attendees to get the FAFSA done as soon as possible.

Regarding state aid, the student must be a resident of Pennsylvania for the previous 12 months. State aid is awarded based on both merit and need. The deadline to be considered for state aid is May 1 for most students and Aug. 1 for community colleges, trade and technical schools.

Adamson told parents and students not to pay a third party to complete the FASFA or to apply for scholarships. She also said not to share social security numbers.

The best way to file the FAFSA is online and accessed at FAFSA.gov or PHEAA.org/FAFSA. A paper copy of the form can be obtained by calling the U.S. Department of Education at 800-433-3243. The form is available in both English and Spanish.

To file online, the student and parent will need a personal identification number as an electronic signature. Visit pin.ed.gov to obtain the PIN number.

Adamson said the U.S. Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service have collaborated with a tool which allows FAFSA applicants and parents to request and retrieve their tax data directly from the IRS. Once retrieved, data can be transferred to the FAFSA application.

If filling out the FAFSA application before completing tax documents, the form can be started, saved and retrieved later.

Adamson said some common errors on the FAFSA form include incorrect social security information (not using the name as it appears on the card), parents completing the form and using their information instead of their student's information, divorced and remarried parental information, untaxed income and household size.

Parents were advised to let the school know if there is an unusual circumstance in the family such as a sickness or unemployment as the FAFSA form will not capture that information.

Adamson explained some of the questions parents and students have on the FAFSA form.

The custodial parents is the parent the student has resided with the most during the last 12 months and the person providing more than half of support.

Dislocated worker status refers to the parent being laid off.

Assets do not include the primary residence or the value of retirement accounts.

Untaxed income such as social security are no longer included on the FAFSA form.

Adamson also noted if a student gets a drug conviction while receiving federal aid, they lose eligibility.

Ten colleges can be indicated on a FAFSA form and the student and/or parent can go back later and release the information to other schools.

Regarding assets, typically the value of cash, savings and checking and investments are included. Do not include the value of a business if there are less than 100 employees.

Regarding a student's assets, do not include accounts such as stock which students do not have access to.

Once the FAFSA application is completed, the financial aid office at the school the student plans to attend will develop a financial aid award package outlining the financial aid eligibility.

Further questions should be directed to the student's guidance office.