What is the FAFSA:
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form that college bound individuals complete to determine if they qualify for government assisted funding to aid with college tuition and expenses. This is application is 100% free to complete and in most cases will require both student and parent(s) information. Eligible students may receive financial aid in a combination of student grants, work-study and loans.
How the FAFSA Works:
The FAFSA is used to determine how much financial aid a student qualifies for in the form of both need-based and non-need based aid. The FAFSA asks a series of questions about the parents' and students' income, assets, and other factors. Based on the responses, a calculations is made and the family will receive their Expected Family Contribution The primary purpose of the FAFSA is to determine how much financial aid a student qualifies for, including both need-based and non-need-based aid. To determine a family's financial need, the FAFSA asks a series of questions about the parents' and student's income and assets as well as other factors--such as household size--, such as how many children there are in the family. It then comes up with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC determines how much money the family can contribute to their child's education.
Who can apply:
At minimum, you must: Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen (including a U.S. national or permanent resident) and have a valid Social Security number. Have a high school diploma or GED certificate. If you are unsure whether you meet these requirements, please schedule an appointment with your counselor to further discuss.
Many families may opt out of completing a FAFSA out of fear that their earnings are too high. While most need based aid, such as student grants, may be based on earnings, there may be an opportunity to qualify for other forms of financial aid, so it is important to complete the FAFSA regardless so you can explore all options.
Where to Find the FAFSA
The FAFSA is available online at FAFSA on the Web. If you need a paper copy, you can download a PDF at www.studentaid.ed.gov/PDFfafsa or call 800-4-FED-AID (433-3243).
Reminders and Resources
Oct. 1 is the first day you can file the FAFSA. You should try to file as close to this date as possible. College, state and private aid deadlines may be much earlier than federal deadlines. You should pay attention to your colleges' priority financial aid deadlines. It’s a good idea to file your FAFSA as early as possible, so that you can get a jump on other financial aid applications (state or institutional aid) that might have earlier deadlines.
For help, go to the free government website Completing the FAFSA. It has a detailed question-by-question guide to filling out the FAFSA.
More free help can be found at Student Aid on the Web.