At Jamestown High School, being prepared for college is more than just an academic matter.

Ashley Noon, JHS guidance counselor, and LeAnn Love, College and Career Center director, met with students this week to get them ready to apply for financial aid and get started on college applications.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid has undergone some changes, Love said. Holding workshops with the students and working through the changes will be helpful through the process, she said. The FAFSA can now be filed as of Oct. 1 this year, which is earlier than usual.

Another change is that income information will be used from what is called the “prior-prior year” forms, or the tax forms that were submitted in April 2016.

Love said they are big changes that will take some getting used to, but with a little guidance, the ultimate outcome will be good.

“I think it’s great overall for everyone involved of the process,” she said. “For some of the colleges, (the students) will be able to know in November that they’ve been accepted, and possibly what funding they’ll get. Right now, it’s very difficult, but eventually it will be very good for students attending college and their parents.”

It will be different for students to know which colleges or universities they’d like to apply for in October, but Love said students can list up to ten on their application. Otherwise, the process seems like it will be more streamlined, she said.

“It’s going to be much easier because the tax information is filed with the IRS, and the IRS will download your information,” Love said. “Essentially, all you’re putting in is your personal information. The financial part is done for you.”

The most difficult part for her is making sure students know how important it is to work on their applications now, she said.

“It’s just getting students to realize they can’t wait to get involved in the process,” Love said.

“It’s to their benefit if they start now. This is an opportunity for them to make a better informed decision about which colleges would be financially advantageous for them to attend.”

Working on a separate application with a similarly noble goal, Noon and her student group focused on the Common Application. The Common Application is a centralized application that is accepted by approximately 700 colleges.

“We wanted to get together with them today to help them get started,” Noon said. “(The Common Application) helps them to get organized and helps them to think about what they’re going to need to apply.”

She said the Common Application works for Jamestown High School because a majority of the colleges and universities JHS students apply to accept the application. All the institutions that accept the application are four-year schools, and the work is all done online, Noon added.

For more information on the FAFSA, visit www.Fafsa.ed.gov. The Common Application is located at www.commonapp.org.