You help pack the car and drop your entering freshman off at Cool U and drive off into the sunset relieved that you've done your job and the rest is up to your freshman and your checkbook, right? Not so fast Mom and Dad. You will likely be completing the annual FAFSA and institutional forms for the duration of your son or daughters time in college. Families often think they are done with financial aid once a student has enrolled for freshman year. They also often think the award for freshman year will repeat.

Kids have changed.  If you are a grandparent today, you grew up in a generation in which roles were evolving and which was warned not to trust anyone over 30.  If you are a parent today, you grew up in a generation of parents and schools that provided a significant amount of guidance for a more predictable world.

Today's kid faces a tougher world than his parents or grandparents could ever imagine.  How and where people work, what they work at, their volume of work and what they need to know is different.