Financial Aid applications are an important process for college students.
FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the first step in determining Financial Aid or grant eligibility or acquiring a student loan, if needed. Traditionally, the FAFSA forms were filled out in a college or university's Financial Aid Office and the application process involved a lot of waiting. Now, FAFSA can be accessed online and the eligibility process is sometimes only a few days of waiting rather than several weeks. There are things you can do to make the application process run more smoothly and all are simple things.
Have All Your Documents Ready and Organized
The more organized you are, the faster your FAFSA process will be.
When entering the Financial Aid office, or preparing your FAFSA online, it can get very frustrating very quickly if you realize you are missing important documents or can't find what you need. You will need: your social security number, driver's license (if you have one), W-2 tax forms from last year (the ones you filed your taxes with this year), your most recent Federal Income Tax Return, your parents' most recent Federal Income Tax Return (if under age 23 and unmarried) and your most current bank statement. If not a U.S. citizen, you will need your alien registration or permanent resident I.D. as well. If married, you will also require your spouse's most recent Federal Income Tax Return or your joint return.
For optimal efficiency, have each document set in a separate folder or separate section of a binder and label each folder or section so they are easy to navigate.
Plan Ahead, You Will Do Again and Again
Keep documents organized as you receive them to prepare for the FAFSA application process.
FAFSA must be completed every year you are in college, whether undergraduate, graduate or other. Instead of rushing and stressing over the documents each year, plan ahead and begin organizing documents the moment you receive them. As soon as you file your Federal Income Tax Return, save a copy in your FAFSA folder and label it for the correct year (to distinguish it from the previous return). When you get your W-2s from work, save a copy in the FAFSA folder, also labeled. When your parents or spouse file their Federal Income Tax Returns, get a copy and save it labeled. Also, if you completed your previous FAFSA online, you will have received a PIN to access your account. If unmarried and under age 23, your parents will also have a PIN. Save these PINs to save time and frustration when you return to FAFSA online for the next application process. You can reapply for new PINs, but the process takes time.
Answer Questions Honestly and Carefully
Take time to read questions carefully and ask questions before submitting your FAFSA.
Nothing slows down a Financial Aid application like the wrong information. Take your time filling out your FAFSA and read each question carefully. If the wording includes "you" or "your" it is referring to the student; words such as "school" or "college" are used universally to mean any school, college or university after high school level. When entering numerical values for income amounts, round the number to the nearest dollar (if the change is over 50 cents, round up; if less than 50 cents, round down) and do not enter special characters (such as $) or punctuation (such as commas and decimals). Likewise, do not use dashes, slashes or other characters when entering dates.
If you do not know answer a question, consult your Financial Aid advisor (at your school) or contact FAFSA directly before submitting your FAFSA or FAFSA online. With the online application, you can always save and return to it later.
Understand FAFSA and What it Means for You
FAFSA is used for Financial Aid grants and student loans; know the difference.
FAFSA is not Financial Aid, Scholarships, Grants or Loans. FAFSA is an application process for "student aid" which can come in different forms. Financial Aid does not have to be paid back when in the form of a grant, but there are restrictions on who qualifies for these grants and household income is a big factor. If you are unmarried and under age 23, your parents' income will determine your eligibility; if married, your household income is the determining factor. Scholarships are generally applied for directly to the school or to organizations offering them.
For those students who do not qualify for Financial Aid grants, or only partial Financial Aid (meaning it won't cover all your tuition needs), you may check the "student loan option" box on your FAFSA when filling it out and your Financial Aid advisor can work with you to set up student loans (which you have to pay back) to cover your education expenses.
Tags: your FAFSA, application process, Federal Income, FAFSA online, Federal Income Return, Income Return