Financial Aid Information for College
Reminders for College-Bound SENIORS!
WHY, WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and HOW of College Financial Aid
WHY fill out the FAFSA?
College is expensive, but worth it. Financial aid includes grants, scholarships, work study, and as a last resort, student loans. College enrollment is an investment in your future career. FAFSA and the CSS profile are required to qualify for many sources of financial aid for college.
WHO?
College bound seniors need to complete the FAFSA to access financial aid. Juniors can prepare by researching college cost carefully, and creating an account.
WHAT is the FAFSA?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid
WHAT is the CSS Profile?
An additional financial aid application required by only some college and scholarship programs.
HOW and WHEN do I proceed?
Step One: Create your FAFSA Account ASAP
College bound juniors and seniors along with a parent should create a FAFSA account in preparation to fill out the FAFSA senior year. After student and parent accounts are authenticated and the FAFSA for your year of college enrollment is available, it will be possible to fill out your FAFSA. You have to create the account first. https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
Step Two: Fill out the FAFSA once it is available in preparation for college enrollment the following year. https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
WHO should fill out the FAFSA? WHO should fill out the CSS Profile?
FAFSA- All college bound seniors along with their contributors to the FAFSA (*typically this is one parent).
FAFSA for 2024-25 college enrollment will open on approximately Dec 31, 2023. This is later than usual due to the recent redesign. https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
CSS Profile- All students applying for colleges or scholarships that require the CSS Profile shoudl complete the application https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/
HOW: What else do I need to do?
Be sure to apply to colleges/ universities by their priority deadlines, check your email regularly, and follow their instructions regarding financial aid and scholarships. Some private colleges/ universities and scholarship programs ask for an additional application called the CSS Profile.
More info including a Free BOOKLET about College Financial Aid:
https://collegeiswithinreachhawaii.com/financial-aid-resources/
WHEN should students and their family fill out the FAFSA?
In a typical year, ASAP after October 1 for college enrollment in the following year.
Note- for 2023-24 school year, FAFSA opens later, in December due to the redesign, but please make your FAFSA account in advance. If you previously created an FSA ID, that is the same as what will now be called a FAFSA account.
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. If you missed the workshops, you may review them on the PACFAA/ P-20 website:
CollegeIsWithinReachHawaii.com
https://collegeiswithinreachhawaii.com/upcoming-events/
Quick Overview of Process:
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, any businesses, and dependent information. It also helps if students know which colleges they 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.
SENIORS- CHECK YOUR EMAIL AND LOGIN TO ADMISSION PORTALS FOR MESSAGES! Keep in mind that STUDENTS will be receiving the emails regarding the FAFSA process, so whatever is entered as the student's email on the FAFSA will need to be checked regularly to avoid delays.
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.
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 that require the profile: