Financial Aid/FAFSA
Terminology
Financial aid is money for education expenses..
Grants, or gift aid, do not have to be repaid.
Work-study is money earned by the student at a job (often on campus) that helps the student pay his or her education expenses. This money does not have to be repaid and is not taken into account in assessing a student’s eligibility for financial aid the following year.
Loans have to be repaid with interest.
Scholarships are funds that do not have to be repaid. They are usually based on academic merit but can be based on a interests, hobbies, religion, ethnicity, and/or financial need.
FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid
The FAFSA is a form that students fill out with their parent(s)/guardian(s) that determines who qualifies for state and federal grants for college and is the first step for requesting student loans.
The FAFSA is free and everyone planning to apply to 2 or 4 year colleges should fill it out in their 12th grade year of high school.
It opens October 1st each year.
Instructions for filling out the FAFSA can be found below.
The FAFSA must be filled out each school year.
Each year, Erwin High School hosts a financial aid information session. The recording to the left is last year's.
Information You Need Before Filling out the FAFSA
Tax Return Information with W-2s: for both parents and students with jobs
Social Security Numbers if applicable
A list of schools you plan to apply to
Step-by-Step Instructions for Filling out the FAFSA
Create your FSA ID at fsaid.ed.gov/. The student and one parent/guardian will each need to create an FSA ID. Do NOT use your school email address since that will no longer be active after graduation.
Write down or otherwise document your FSA ID, as it will be used each year.
Fill out your FAFSA at studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.
Resources and Help for Filling out the FAFSA
FAFSA Tips for Immigrant Families
Each October, Student Services hosts a FAFSA day on campus. All 12th grade students are brought to the library to get help filling out the FAFSA. Please pay attention to announcements for information about our annual FAFSA day.
