With the new year comes thoughts about your aspirations and goals, and for many high school seniors and their family members, their minds head straight to graduation and then head onto thoughts about to college. While everyone may be excited, some reality may begin to set in when you and your parents realize you need to fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to determine their eligibility for financial aid. After completing the FAFSA form, it will then be determined if the student is also eligible for school grants, work study and the amount of loan money in which the student will be granted.
While all of this may be confusing and filling out the form could be somewhat time-consuming, we are here to answer some of your questions and offer tips completing your FAFSA form.
Question: Does everyone still need to fill out a FAFSA form even if they have enough money to cover the cost of college?
Answer: Yes, everyone should fill out this form even if you will not need assistance or financial aid. Some school and states will use this information to award certain scholarships to their programs. While you may not need the financial aid now, you may need it in the future, and if you have already filled out the form, then it will be an easy task to complete.
Question: Who needs to complete the form?
Answer: The form can be completed by anyone, however, both the student and a parent will need an ID to complete the form. If just a student is applying, additional information will need to be provided.
Question: What will you need to complete the form?
Answer: According to fafsa.edu.gov you will need your id to log in, your social security number, your most recent federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned, bank statements and records of investments (if applicable), and records of untaxed income (if applicable).
Question: Should I apply to schools first or fill out the FAFSA Form?
Answer: You should fill out your FAFSA first so that the college or university you choose will have ample time to review it and get back to you in regards of possible scholarships and what you could receive in the form of financial aid.
Question: Should I only list one school or college on my FAFSA form?
Answer: No, you should list all of the schools you’ve applied to, that way they will all receive your FAFSA results. According to fafsa.edu.gov, you may only initially list 10 schools on your form but once the form in completed you may go back and re-enter different school information.
Question: After I’ve submitted to FAFSA form, when will I hear back?
Answer: Once you have submitted your form, it should take around 3 days for your selected schools to receive your results. Once this happens all parties will be notified with an email.
While completing your FAFSA form may be a little overwhelming and time consuming, we hope we’ve answered some of your questions and put your mind at ease before you start filling out your form.