FAFSA is an acronym for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is an application that U.S. citizens and permanent residents can fill out to see how much federal financial aid they qualify for to assist them in pursuing a college education. EVERY STUDENT'S FINANCIAL SITUATION IS DIFFERENT; therefore, there are different factors that may affect the amount of eligibility of financial student aid. If you are not ready to apply for federal student aid, but you would like to estimate your aid, visit www.fafsa.gov and click on "Thinking About College?" In FAFSA4caster Click HERE, you can complete this easy online assessment to give yourself an early estimate of your eligibility for federal student aid.

BASIC FACTS ABOUT FAFSA:

  • The application will open OCTOBER 1ST, 2021 for students entering college in the Fall of 2022.

  • It can only be completed on www.fafsa.gov. There are other sites that are very similar and will charge students to complete this FREE application.

  • IMPORTANT: Ridgevue High School periodically provides FAFSA Workshops where students and parents can get assistance in completing FAFSA. These dates can be found on the Career Center Calendar.

STUDENTS: If you have completed your FAFSA, you need to set up your student account at each of the colleges that you have applied to in order to view your student aid report. This is where you will accept/deny any aid offered to you. Please see me if you have questions about this process.

STUDENTS: Pay attention to application and scholarship/priority deadlines.

Parents: Having difficulty locating your 2021 Taxes? You can usually transfer your federal tax return information directly from the IRS through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool built into FAFSA. Select the button labeled "IRS Data Retrieval Tool" when prompted and follow directions. You will get a mailed confirmation from the IRS for verification your requested your tax information to be provided for FAFSA use.

Information needed to complete FAFSA:

  • Your Social Security Number

  • Parent’s Social Security Number if you’re a dependent

  • Your driver’s license number if you have one

  • Your Alien Registration Number (if not a US Citizen)

  • Your federal income tax returns, W-2’s and other records of money earned or your parents if you are a dependent student (You may be able to transfer your federal tax information using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool)

  • Information on cash (savings and checking balances), investments, stocks, real estate (other than home)

  • An FSA ID to sign electronically (Step 1). To create an account: fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm

Helpful Website: Guide to Paying for College - https://studentloans.net/guide-to-paying-for-college/

For additional help or information, see Mrs. Ashton in the Career Center