Can I rely on my parents to take care of my financial aid for me?

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<span><font><font>Brad received his Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Arkansas University, with a major in Psychology and a minor in Business.<span>  </span>He furthered his education by graduating from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, specializing in Mental Health.<span>  </span>He has been involved in the financial aid and/or rehabilitation professions for the past 15 years.</font></font></span><span><font> </font></span><span><font>Brad, a Past President of the Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (VASFAA), currently serves as the Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships for James Madison University.<span>  </span>Immediately prior to JMU, he served as an Assistant Director of the Financial Aid Office at Virginia Commonwealth University.<span>  </span>Brad has presented numerous sessions at state, regional, and national conferences, and has served on a variety of association committees.<span>  </span>In addition to speaking at professional conferences, Brad has conducted an abundance of workshops and presentations in non-conference environments, including teaching a credit based financial literacy course at JMU entitled “Dollars and Sense.”<span>  </span>Many of the topics Brad’s speaks on include communication, leadership, values, financial aid policies and procedures, financial literacy, and saving for college.<span>  </span>He has also facilitated strategic planning and value development retreats.</font></span>

Can I rely on my parents to take care of my financial aid for me?

In this video, Mr. Barnett reviews some important aspects of how managing your money appropriately can help make college more affordable.

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Host: Can I rely on my parents to take care of my financial aid for me?

Brad Barnett: This is one of my favorite questions because it's kind of the personal soap box, where we see the 18,19,20 year old students in college and they are still calling home for Mom and Dad for everything, including financial aid and one of the beautiful things about the college is not only that you learn stuff in the class room but you are learning how to be an independent individual. So, when you get out of the college, you can handle your finances, you can handle your life in general. Financial aid is a big part of that. I encourage students and parents to work together in this process and I can tell you from years of experience, the students who have relied solely on their parents are typically the ones that we see who end up having problems getting through the process and or taking out unnecessary debt. So, do it together, do it in partnership and if you need some assistance in that partnership talk to your financial aid office. We will be happy to help.

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