What Is The FAFSA?

If you’re planning to go to college soon, you will need to get help to pay for tuition and other costs. Most students entering college apply for government assistance with those costs.

In order to get government assistance with financing their college expenses, students need to complete a form called the FAFSA. (The initials stand for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.). The information needed by the government, in order to evaluate the students’ eligibility for funds and their degree of financial need is entered on this application.

Billions of students complete this document every year, and our federal government then annually distributes over $100 million in the form of grants, work-study programs and as low-interest loans to those in need.

In addition to the government, the schools attended by the applying students will also receive their information. The colleges then use that information to determine whether the prospective students are eligible for help with their college expenses from that school.

ABOUT COMPLETING THE FAFSA

To determine the applicants’ financial status, the document requires students to provide details about their financial information. This includes any checking or savings accounts, and any income from their jobs. The application also requires financial information about the students’ parents. A tax return is one of the documents which must accompany the application.

Students who need help completing the FAFSA can ask for assistance at the financial aid office of their colleges. These offices have experience in helping with this form, as well as making the applicant aware of other potential sources of help with their school expenses.

FACTS ABOUT THE FAFSA

1 Filling out this application is the most important thing to do; in order to get help with tuition and with other college costs.

2 Completing the document is free. You won’t need to pay someone to fill it out for you.

3 The FAFSA must be completed again for each year’s expenses. Your financial circumstances are likely to change – as are the circumstances of their parents. So, you need to complete a new form before each academic year. The FAFSA opens yearly on October 1

4 Be sure the email you use when you send in your form is a permanent email. The organization that oversees this process will use that address to contact you throughout the academic year.

5 Although completing this form is the most important way to be eligible to receive government and college-based funds, there are other organizations available where you might get some monetary help for school funds. An internet search may help you find resources, but you can also get similar information from your high school counselor. The college’s financial aid office is also an excellent source for help.

WHO NEEDS TO COMPLETE A FAFSA FORM?

Everyone who will be attending college during the next school year should complete and submit one of these applications..

Here are the reasons why;

1 Every year, millions of dollars of federal financial aid is left untouched. These funds were available, but not used. If you don’t apply, you won’t know if you are eligible for an interest-free grant – or for other monetary assistance.

2 You may worry that your family’s income is too high. However, having a low income is not a requirement. Families with up to $200,000 in annual income may still be granted financial aid.

3 By submitting your FAFSA, you automatically become eligible for a low-interest federal loan. If you accept the loan, you will be glad to know the lower interest on these loans make them easier to pay back than loans from traditional institutions.

4 If you want to participate in a work-study program, many of them require you to have completed this form.

5 Some merit-based scholarships may use the data on these documents to decide the amount of funds they will award the recipient.

HOW TO COMPLETE AND SUBMIT THE FAFSA APPLICATION

Here are the ways you can enter the needed information onto your FAFSA.

You can go online to https://studentaid.gov.

Or, you can print out the FAFSA form, which can be found at the above URL, and writing out the needed information. You can then mail the form – and any needed financial documents – to the address printed on

the form.

Many advisers recommend going online to complete the needed details of your annual application. At the above website, the user can find valuable tips and guidance for how to correctly complete the FAFSA.

Anyone who enters their data electronically will be required to create an ID to use during their school years. This is called your FSA ID. To create this ID they will ask for your social security number, full name and date of birth. After you complete the firm, you will need to sign the completed request; with an electronic signature.

Since at least one of your parents will need to sign the FAFSA form, they will also need to create an FSA ID.

ALL ABOUT FAFSA DEADLINES

If you are in high school, and you plan to go to college next year, you can file as soon as October 1 of your senior year of high school. It’s wise to file your form as soon as possible, because some federal funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Here is a guide to FAFSA’s Three Deadlines:

College deadline: These become relevant for you in order to receive money help from your college. Deadlines are different for each school, so it’s important to check with your college to see when their deadline will be.

State Deadline

This will help determine whether your state will offer you financial aid- and how much they will give you. You can check your state’s deadline at: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/fafsa-deadlines#state.

Federal Deadlines

The final day you can submit your application for next year’s federal aid is June 30.

The federal government has funds available to invest in your education. They make these funds available to everyone who plans to attend college. In order to obtain these funds, they require you to complete the FAFSA form.

Remember: completing this form as early as possible, each year, will allow you to be eligible for the largest possible amount of federal aid available.