FAFSA
If money is a concern for you going into college, then filling out a FAFSA is a must. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid and it is a form which must be completed to qualify for any type of government financial aid for higher education. This form should be completed every single year you feel that you need aide, not just before you plan on starting your first year. By submitting your FAFSA you place yourself in the running for grants, work-studies, loans, and some state/school based aid. You should fill out the FAFSA even if you don’t expect to receive anything from it because every student who fills out a FAFSA is eligible for unsubsidized student loans. Some private scholarships may even not consider you without a FAFSA so it’s best to fill one out. The form is 100 questions long and can be completed in more than one sitting online. However, if you don’t want to fill it out online, there is a printable version. There is no cost for submitting the form.
What You'll Need
The FAFSA Application is extremely important and there are practices you should follow and some items you’ll need:
FAFSA ID – This is one of the first things you need to do. This is simply a username and password which will allow you to fill out the application form. This ID will continue to be used over the course of using FAFSA and will include information about your financial aid. If you are not a student dependent on a parent or guardian, they too will need to create a FAFSA ID.
Time Management – The FAFSA is very time based, so it is important to place reminders on a calendar whether that be physical or digital. Placing reminders is extremely useful for ensuring you stay on track.
Necessary Documents – The FAFSA requires certain legal documents in order to fill it out. The necessary documents may vary from person to person, however, you should expect to need some combination of the following:
College Applications - On the form you will want to list the school codes to the schools you are planning to apply to. You should also fill this out even if you are unsure of your final school applications. You can easily find the school codes on the FAFSA website. The online form allows you to list 10 school codes, the paper version only allows for 4 school codes. Should your college applications change, you can always edit the information. In order to get access to these codes, simply go to the Federal School Codes Search link.
Additional Financial Aid Forms – Certain states or schools may require additional forms which are needed for financial aid. It is important to check the website of the school you’re interested in.
Student Aid Report - Upon completion of the FAFSA you will receive a student aid report. This will be sent either by Snail Mail or E-Mail, and can be checked online. Should you be missing any content in your FAFSA the Student Aid Report will show it. Any mistakes on your FAFSA can easily be changed. This Student Aid Report will also include something known as your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) which is the estimated amount of money your family can pay out of pocket towards your education. The EFC is used by colleges to determine how much aid you should receive. The funding you request in your FAFSA may not be given in its entirety, due in part to limited funds from the college which is something to be aware of.
Correcting Mistakes - Should you have made any mistakes in the FAFSA you will need to fix the mistakes which were made. If you are no longer considered a dependency you will also want to change this status on your FAFSA.
Verification Process - Some colleges will select a random percentage of FAFSA’s to verify that the information is correct. If selected, your Student Aid Report will indicate it. Being selected is not a problem and you should not panic if you are. The school may notify you of any extra documents they need to verify your FAFSA.
Your Financial Reward Packet – Depending on your financial need, the application will include the need and merit based awards you may receive. Simply being notified that you can receive certain types of aide does not mean you need to accept them. You should ALWAYS take advantage of the free money you can receive first BEFORE taking out student loans. Student loans can come with a hefty price tag which you will not want to be paying in the future. Should you need to borrow money, borrow only what you need, not the maximum amount offered. There are three major forms of financial aid which you may receive: Student Loans, Grants/Scholarships, and Work Studies.
Appealing the Award – Just as in a court of law, if you feel you are entitled to more financial aid you may appeal it. This could be caused be a parent/guardian being suddenly laid off, or large medical bills of close family. Whatever the reason, you may apply for more money. There is no guarantee you will receive more money, but it is worth a shot.
Renewing Your FAFSA – Every year you wish to receive financial aid, you must send in your FAFSA application. Once you have filled out the application once the renewal process is quite simple. The renewal form will pre-fill information from your previous submissions. Be sure to edit any changes which occurred since your last application.
Whew, that's a lot of stuff. If you're unsure of what exactly you'll need to fill out the FAFSA NerdWallet has a handy little check list you can use, check it out here. If you're still a bit lost about the FAFSA and the process, check out this FAFSA Guide and This information about what you need to know about FAFSA Changes.
FAFSA ID – This is one of the first things you need to do. This is simply a username and password which will allow you to fill out the application form. This ID will continue to be used over the course of using FAFSA and will include information about your financial aid. If you are not a student dependent on a parent or guardian, they too will need to create a FAFSA ID.
Time Management – The FAFSA is very time based, so it is important to place reminders on a calendar whether that be physical or digital. Placing reminders is extremely useful for ensuring you stay on track.
Necessary Documents – The FAFSA requires certain legal documents in order to fill it out. The necessary documents may vary from person to person, however, you should expect to need some combination of the following:
- Social Security Number
- Federal Income Tax Forms These can be taken up to two years prior to the application. For example, the 2017-2018 application can be filled out with the 2015 tax returns. Included in these forms is a W-2 form as well as a record of any untaxed income. In order to make the Federal Income Tax Forms more convenient you can transfer your tax returns using an IRS Retrieval tool, which you can use here. When prompted in the application simply select the “Link to IRS” option. UPDATE: The IRS retrieval tool is currently down, if you try to use it you may receive this message: "This service will be unavailable due to system maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience."
- Bank Statements as well as records of investments
- Alien Registration Number (If you are not a US Citizen)
College Applications - On the form you will want to list the school codes to the schools you are planning to apply to. You should also fill this out even if you are unsure of your final school applications. You can easily find the school codes on the FAFSA website. The online form allows you to list 10 school codes, the paper version only allows for 4 school codes. Should your college applications change, you can always edit the information. In order to get access to these codes, simply go to the Federal School Codes Search link.
Additional Financial Aid Forms – Certain states or schools may require additional forms which are needed for financial aid. It is important to check the website of the school you’re interested in.
Student Aid Report - Upon completion of the FAFSA you will receive a student aid report. This will be sent either by Snail Mail or E-Mail, and can be checked online. Should you be missing any content in your FAFSA the Student Aid Report will show it. Any mistakes on your FAFSA can easily be changed. This Student Aid Report will also include something known as your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) which is the estimated amount of money your family can pay out of pocket towards your education. The EFC is used by colleges to determine how much aid you should receive. The funding you request in your FAFSA may not be given in its entirety, due in part to limited funds from the college which is something to be aware of.
Correcting Mistakes - Should you have made any mistakes in the FAFSA you will need to fix the mistakes which were made. If you are no longer considered a dependency you will also want to change this status on your FAFSA.
Verification Process - Some colleges will select a random percentage of FAFSA’s to verify that the information is correct. If selected, your Student Aid Report will indicate it. Being selected is not a problem and you should not panic if you are. The school may notify you of any extra documents they need to verify your FAFSA.
Your Financial Reward Packet – Depending on your financial need, the application will include the need and merit based awards you may receive. Simply being notified that you can receive certain types of aide does not mean you need to accept them. You should ALWAYS take advantage of the free money you can receive first BEFORE taking out student loans. Student loans can come with a hefty price tag which you will not want to be paying in the future. Should you need to borrow money, borrow only what you need, not the maximum amount offered. There are three major forms of financial aid which you may receive: Student Loans, Grants/Scholarships, and Work Studies.
Appealing the Award – Just as in a court of law, if you feel you are entitled to more financial aid you may appeal it. This could be caused be a parent/guardian being suddenly laid off, or large medical bills of close family. Whatever the reason, you may apply for more money. There is no guarantee you will receive more money, but it is worth a shot.
Renewing Your FAFSA – Every year you wish to receive financial aid, you must send in your FAFSA application. Once you have filled out the application once the renewal process is quite simple. The renewal form will pre-fill information from your previous submissions. Be sure to edit any changes which occurred since your last application.
Whew, that's a lot of stuff. If you're unsure of what exactly you'll need to fill out the FAFSA NerdWallet has a handy little check list you can use, check it out here. If you're still a bit lost about the FAFSA and the process, check out this FAFSA Guide and This information about what you need to know about FAFSA Changes.