WHY, WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and HOW of College Financial Aid
WHY fill out the FAFSA?
College is expensive, increasingly so. Financial aid can include grants, scholarships, work study, and as a last resort, student loans. College is an investment in your future career and earning potential. The median lifetime earnings over $1 million higher for people with bachelor's degrees than high school diplomas. Financial aid can make this important investment more affordable. Two main forms are used in the US for financial aid processing. Either the FAFSA and the CSS profile may be required to qualify for many sources of financial aid for college.
WHO?
College bound seniors and students currently in college, intending to enroll the following year need to complete the FAFSA and/ or CSS profile in order to access financial aid. High school juniors can prepare by researching college cost carefully, and creating a FAFSA account.
WHAT is the FAFSA?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
WHAT is the CSS Profile?
An additional financial aid application required by only some college and scholarship programs. https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/
WHEN should I apply for financial aid?
Senior year of high school, and every year thereafter when in planning to attend college, ASAP after October 1st for enrollment the following year.
HOW to apply? (The following focuses on FAFSA not CSS)
Step One:
Create your FAFSA Account, as early as junior year. In most cases, students and their parental contributors need a FAFSA account.
Create your FAFSA Account Here: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
College bound juniors and seniors along with their contributors should create a FAFSA account in preparation to fill out the FAFSA senior year. Contributors usually includes both parents and depends on tax filing status. For more info about contributors, see this site:
https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/parent-info
After student and parent/ contributor accounts are authenticated and the FAFSA for your year of college enrollment is available, it will be possible to fill out your FAFSA application. For some people, this is immediate. For others, it may take a few days. So, it is ideal to create that account in advance.
Step Two:
Fill out the FAFSA once it opens on October 1st for the following year of college enrollment. Be sure to select the correct enrollment year! Seniors in high school: Be sure to list all the colleges you are applying to on your FAFSA, and also finish applying to those colleges on time. College financial aid offices will only process your FAFSA once you are admitted. Meet all priority deadlines for colleges to ensure maximum access to financial aid and scholarships.
https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Step Three:
Do any needed steps for verification if applicable. Some students need to turn in documents to verify the information that was submitted on their FAFSA. You may also need to do corrections to the FAFSA after it is processed.
https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/review-and-correct
Step Four:
Login to admission portals for each school you have applied to, and review your admission, scholarship and financial aid offers carefully. Financial aid offers are typically available during Apri of senior year. As needed, follow up with financial aid offices at the colleges you have been admitted to. Use this information to determine the net cost (what you will need to pay out of pocket after financial aid). NOTE: These financial aid offers are usually only available via an admitted student portal and are rarely mailed to parents. Students are responsible for logging in to view their financial aid offers. If you have not heard from the financial aid office for each of your colleges by April, reach out to make sure you have completed all the necessary forms with that school.
https://studentaid.gov/articles/evaluating-financial-aid-offers/
Many more details available:
https://collegeiswithinreachhawaii.com/financial-aid-resources/
HOW do you fill out the FAFSA? This is best answered with a more detailed tutorial. The FAFSA requires prior prior year taxes, with parent and student.
PACFAA, The Pacific Financial Aid Association, in partnership with P-20 offers regular Financial Aid Workshops that are free and open to all students and families. Currently, these are virtual in format. The focus of these workshops is the FAFSA and scholarships, not CSS Profile. If you missed the workshops, you may review them on the PACFAA/ P-20 website:
CollegeIsWithinReachHawaii.com
https://collegeiswithinreachhawaii.com/upcoming-events/
To Fill out the FAFSA, follow directions at Fafsa.gov, https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
You will be using tax information from the prior, prior year of taxes, so make sure you have filed taxes for that year. For Fall 2024 enrollment, you will use 2022 taxes. You will also need bank statements and information about your assets, businesses, and dependent information. It also helps if students know which colleges students plan to apply to, as they will be asked to list them on the FAFSA. This is the process that allows the financial aid offices at colleges to receive financial aid eligibility information for your family.
Verification is common: You may be prompted to provide further information after filing your FAFSA. If needed, go back onto the FAFSA online form, sign in, and make needed corrections or submit required documents. You may benefit from preparing for the possibility of verification. Be prepared by ordering a copy of your tax transcript using the following form: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript If you are selected for verification, you must submit required documents to the financial aid office in order to be offered financial aid.
Further Resources
General Information about Federal Student Aid can be accessed on the following website: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Financial Aid Estimator: To estimate your federal financial aid eligibility prior to senior year, you may use this site:
https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/
Each college or university in the US is required to offer a net price calculator. These provide a rough estimate of the net cost you may pay if your student enrolls at that college. Search for "net price calculator" and "name of college" to find this resource for your colleges of interest.
How do colleges use the SAI?
College financial aid offices use the SAI, Student Aid Index, as a guide to calculate student financial need. Typically, this equation is used:
Cost of Attendance - SAI = Need
Cost of Attendance includes direct and indirect costs associated with attending the university and may vary depending on your housing plan and other factors. Not all colleges are able to meet the full financial need. Most colleges are need aware. Also, not all colleges calculate SAI using the same tools and factors (depending on whether they use the FAFSA or CSS Profile). For a list of colleges that meet full financial need, see this website, and other updates from colleges.
https://www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/colleges-that-offer-complete-financial-aid
Keep in mind that in addition to need based aid, some students may qualify for merit based aid, which can also offset the net cost. Not all colleges offer merit aid. Usually, the most selective colleges only offer need-based aid. Moderately or less selecive colleges more often offer merit aid.
IS THERE A FINANCIAL AID DEADLINE?
Although there is no real deadline for financial aid, if you want to get the better types of financial aid (grants, scholarships, work-study), it is essential to meet the priority filing date for college admission applications and for financial aid. Meeting the priority deadlines ensures that you receive the best financial aid possible, and may affect housing availability or other campus resources. However, you can still apply for financial aid after these posted dates.
CSS Profile- Required for Some
Some families of college-bound seniors will also need to fill out the CSS Profile (which is a fee-based College Board financial aid tool). For those eligible, the fee to fill this form out is waived. Check with each of your colleges to see if they require this additional financial aid application. Many private colleges and universities require this form in addition to the FAFSA so they can more strategically distribute aid to the neediest families. Eligibility calculated using the CSS profile may be slightly different from the FAFSA.
List of colleges and scholarship programs that require the CSS Profile: