All About The FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly called FAFSA, is considered a must for college students. It helps determine the eligibility of the student to receive financial assistance with their education. The FAFSA must be completed before the school can offer any type of award package. This may include grants, loans, work study programs, and scholarship money.
Various types of information will be collected on the FAFSA. Personal informatidon such as social security number, date of birth, and contact information is required. Expect to answer questions about income, living arrangements, school enrollment, education level and the like.
Keep in mind, if under the age of 21, these questions will be based on your parents income. There are some exceptions to this rule, check the website or speak to a financial aid officer to see if you might qualify.
To complete the questions, you will need a copy of your tax return, or your parents, and possibly bank statements for accounts that accrue interest.
Although you can make corrections as necessary, try to be thorough and answer all questions accurately. It helps to have all the information in front of you before you begin. Be sure to adhere to the priority deadlines. The deadlines may differ from the government and your school, always double check.
You may apply online or obtain a packet that must be mailed in. If you choose to apply online, you will first be prompted to create an account and a password. You will also be given a computer generated PIN. You can request the PIN be mailed or choose to view it online. At anytime during the application you may save the information and continue at a later date. After your application has been successfully submitted, you will receive a confirmation number and an e-mail.
The details submitted in the FAFSA form will assist in assessing your EFT or the Estimated Family Contribution. This number helps in assessing whether you have to make any contributions to the tuition costs. If the EFT is 0, this means that you do not have to pay any part of the tuition charges. On the other hand, if the EFT is more than 0, you would have to pay a portion of your tuition costs. Bear in mind that it is in your advantage to fill the FAFSA form, even if you are ineligible for the federal aid. The FAFSA application will help you in applying for and getting study loans, scholarships or even campus work-study.
When the school receives FAFSA results, they will then contact the student regarding any additional information that may be needed. This may include but is not limited to a copy of tax returns, w-2’s, or any other document related. This process is called verification, not all students will be selected for this. Only after this process has been completed will the student be offered financial aid.












