FAFSA

WHO SHOULD COMPLETE THE FAFSA?

ALL families who have a student planning to attend college in the upcoming academic year.

There’s a misconception that if a family’s income is above average they shouldn’t complete the FAFSA, but that isn’t true. Those students might not be given need-based grants, but they’ll still want to try for scholarships, merit-based aid, federal loans, or work-study. To earn any sort of financial aid, students need to have first completed a FAFSA.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO COMPLETE THE FAFSA?

• FSA IDs

  • An FSA ID is a username and password that serves as an electronic signature to sign the FAFSA. Parents and students must create their your own FSA ID.

• Parents & Students will each need to gather these documents:

  • Social Security number

  • Alien Registration number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

  • 2017 federal income tax returns, W-2s, and/or other records of money earned*

  • Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)

  • Records of untaxed income (if applicable)

• List of the school(s) you are interested in attending

  • Even if there is only a slight chance you’ll apply to a college, list the school on your FAFSA form. You can always remove schools later if you decide not to apply, but if you wait to add a school, you could miss out on first-come, first-served financial aid.

  • You can list up to 10 schools at a time on your FAFSA form. If you’re applying to more than 10 schools, here’s what you should do.

WHEN SHOULD YOU COMPLETE THE FAFSA?

Each school year, the FAFSA opens on October 1st. Once it's available, complete it ASAP!

The earlier you file, the more grant money (FREE MONEY!) you are likely to receive. Filing early also helps to ensure you don’t miss FAFSA deadlines for state and college aid, which may differ from the federal deadline. You can find state FAFSA deadlines at https://fafsa.ed.gov/deadlines.htm. For a specific school’s FAFSA deadline, contact the college directly.

WHERE SHOULD YOU COMPLETE THE FAFSA?

https://fafsa.ed.gov

The FAFSA is always free to file, so be wary of websites mimicking the federal site or requesting a fee. Filing online can greatly speed up the review process and allows you to list up to ten potential colleges (you can only list four on the paper version of the FAFSA).

If you prefer to file your FAFSA the old-fashioned way, you can request a paper FAFSA (call 1-800-433-3243 or TTY 1-800-730-8914 to request) or complete the fillable PDF FAFSA, but know that your application will take longer to process if you do it this way.

WHY SHOULD YOU COMPLETE THE FAFSA?

• It's FREE! Don't leave money on the table!

  • By not completing the FAFSA, students are missing out! Federal grants do not need to be repaid, federal student loans have low interest rates and work-study programs can be a convenient way to simultaneously fund an education and build a resume.

• It's quick!  The FAFSA takes the average student around 30 minutes to fill out, according to the U.S. Department of Education's federal student aid website.

• When you file early, you will likely receive information on how much aid you qualify for before you receive admission notifications from colleges. This can help you decide how much you can afford, and which school will best meet your needs, both academically and financially.

• Students tend to underestimate how much need-based aid (aid based on income and financial situation) they are eligible for, and overestimate how much merit-based aid (aid based on academic performance) they will receive.

HOW CAN YOU RECEIVE HELP COMPLETING THE FAFSA?

• Visit the Federal Student Aid website: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/help

• FAFSA on the Web. The federal government can help if you have questions with the form. Just call the FAFSA hotline at (800) 433-3243. When you are working on the FAFSA online, you can also click the "Live Help" button.

• Be on the look out for community events. SECU, UNCW, and CFCC typically hold annual FAFSA Help days. You can also reach out to the Financial Aid office at CFCC to schedule an appointment for FAFSA help (even if you aren't attending CFCC!)

• Check out the complete walk through video below!

AFTER COMPLETING THE FAFSA

• The U.S. Department of Education will process your application within 3-5 days. If you submitted a paper FAFSA, your application will be processed within 7-10 days.

• You will receive a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR), which summarizes the information you provided on your FAFSA. Review your SAR and make sure all of the information is complete and accurate. Complete or correct any missing/incorrect information as soon as possible.

• Once your FAFSA is processed by Federal Student Aid, your SAR is sent to the colleges that you listed on your FAFSA. Each college will use the information on your SAR to determine your eligibility for federal and nonfederal student aid.