After your school applications are finished, there is still another important application to fill out; the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Otherwise known as the FAFSA.
Using your parents’ tax information and a simple questionnaire, the FAFSA is crucial in helping determine the amount of aid you’ll receive from your college and outside sources or at the very least the way to a loan with a cheaper interest rates. Although it may seem frightening and tedious, there have been significant changes to the FAFSA that help promote ease of use.
FAFSA Online
www.fafsa.ed.gov is the site for online filing of the FAFSA. The online FAFSA is easier to follow, more secure, and faster for making deadlines. Instead of taking two weeks for processing like with the traditional paper application, the online FAFSA takes up to three business days!
After you have your tax information ready, head to www.fafsa.ed.gov. Once there, the first thing you’ll need to do is having you and a parent obtain Personal Identification Numbers (PIN). This number will qualify as your signature when filing the FAFSA online. Throughout life, you’ll have the same PIN so make sure to remember your number
Interview with a FAFSA Expert
Still not rushing to the FAFSA website (www.fafsa.ed.gov)? After talking with Tara LaFerla, Assistant Director of Multicultural Student Services at the University of St. Thomas, she answered three crucial questions regarding why it is beneficial to complete the FAFSA.
Why is the FAFSA so important to complete?
The FAFSA gives students an opportunity to receive federal and state grants that could total in the thousands. It also allows students to take advantage of federal loans with the lowest interest rates and makes college more affordable. Everyone will receive something from filling out the FAFSA – it may be a loan and not a grant but it’s something.
What are the consequences (if any) for not completing the FAFSA?
If they don’t complete the FAFSA, students often borrow private loans with higher interest rates and less desirable terms. Some students even stay out of school because they can’t afford it. The FAFSA allows students to afford college tuition, books, and fees.
What is the most important about filling out the FAFSA?
1. Have your parents file taxes ASAP
2. Complete the FAFSA by the deadline March 15th and
3. Complete the FAFSA every year (even during graduate school)
The FAFSA is available January 1st of every year and students must complete it every year to be eligible for grants, loans and scholarships. It’s free and only takes about 20 minutes to complete.
One student’s story
Filling out the FAFSA alone can be a daunting task, especially for first generation college students. Doing it incorrectly can often result in not receiving enough aid and could even dramatically affect which college you end up attending. For Minnesota Public Radio’s Ambar Espinoza, it did both.
The first in her family to attend college, Espinoza filled out her FAFSA by herself, and put her mother’s income in two different spots, making it seem as if she made twice as much, causing a miscalculation in the results.
“It was challenging for me because I had to learn how to read tax forms. My mom
didn’t know how to and I simply didn’t think to ask for help. Maybe because I didn’t find my high school counselors all that helpful.”
After only receiving offers on loans, she made the decision to attend a community college. There, during her sophomore year, she decided to reapply for the FAFSA.
“The financial aid office helped me correct my first FAFSA application and helped me fill out my renewal application correctly.” This help was exactly what Espinoza needed.
“It turns out you can also get grant money to go to community colleges to help you pay for books and fees and housing,” said Espinoza. “I got back grant money that I didn’t get my freshmen year in addition to grant money for my sophomore year. After going through this, I learned how to accurately fill out the FAFSA and how to ask for help, too.”
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what about the CSS?? i
what about the CSS?? i think that is way more complicated to tackle than the FAFSA
help me matt! :]
-dannah
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