If you are a student looking to apply for a good college this year, you should first and foremost know about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, what documents you need, how to apply, when to apply, and when the deadline is.
If you are wondering why the FAFSA is that important, you should know that this application is definitely worth your time and a little effort so that you could be safe from situations such as student loan forbearance during your college.
It is always recommended to fill out the application as early as you can, to ensure that you do not miss the deadline for the financial federal aid you might qualify for.
Keep reading to find out the correct way to fill out the application alongside all the documents you need.
What is FAFSA?
FAFSA is an abbreviation of “Free Application for Federal Student Aid”, and it is a form that decides whether a student will receive financial aid from the government and colleges or not.
This form requires a set of information regarding the students’ and parents’ financial information. And accordingly, decides the EFC “Expected Family Contribution”.
The form mainly collects data about assets, income sources, and how many children have been enrolled in college.
The application is available for the following academic year every October. After you have been accepted into colleges, you receive your financial aid package.
Who Should Submit the Application for FAFSA?
Everyone can and should apply for FAFSA! Even if you think you make enough money and will not qualify for financial aid, submit the FAFSA either way.
Do not just assume you will not qualify when it comes to school-based financial aid availability and federal financial aid as the FAFSA takes so many factors into considerations and not only your reasons behind internship, assets, and income.
What to Consider Before Submitting the FAFSA Application
Submit the FAFSA as Early as You Can:
Even though most students submit their application before the deadline, it is always better to submit it as early as possible as this gives you a bigger chance to get the aid.
Use trusted Sources to Apply for FAFSA:
While applying for FAFSA costs absolutely nothing, some websites take advantage of students and charge them a fee for applying. Therefore, make sure you only use the “myStudentAid” mobile app or visit fafsa.gov to fill out the form.
Apply Even if You Think You Will Not Qualify:
So many students missed out on applying for FAFSA because they thought they wouldn’t qualify.
But you would be surprised with the number of people who qualify for aid, most of them never thought they would. Therefore, do not miss a chance to apply as soon as you can.
Revise All Information on the Form Before Submitting:
Most people fill out the form way too fast that they make some mistakes and it results in delay or having to resend the application.
Make sure to double-check the names, the social security number, dependency status, household size, number of family members in college, and who is reported to as a parent.
What Document Do I Need to Submit the FAFSA?
It is always better to keep all your documents ready in one place so that the process is simpler and more organized.
Keep the following documents ready, but keep in mind some of them might need to change depending on your dependency status.
- Social security number
- Social security numbers of both or one parent
- Driver’s license
- If your parents are not U.S citizens, you will need a permanent resident card or an alien registration
- If you recently filed a tax return, include your own tax records
- A record of your assets as well as your parents
- A list of all the schools you’ve applied to and the schools you might apply to
- If your parents live outside the United States or in Puerto Rico, you will need to include a copy of their foreign tax returns
- Your parents’ tax records, which can include forms like IRS 1040, 1040EZ, 1040A, and documentation like mortgage statements or bank statements
- Records of untaxed income like retirement plan withdrawals
- Financial assets such as investments or saving accounts
- Federal tax information
How to Apply for FAFSA
The first step is to set up an FSA ID on the Federal Student Aid website, this registration will allow you to apply for FAFSA, as well as work as a legal signature, and allow you to change information on your application later on if needed. Parents and students should both apply for their own FSA ID.
Now that your FSA ID is ready, head to the official website and log in before starting to fill out the application.
You will enter your personal details like name, citizenship status, and social security number. Then, you will be asked plenty of questions to determine your dependency status.
The next part of the form will be for your parents’ information. You will need to provide personal information as well as financial info such as assets, income, and tax forms.
You will need to enter information for the 2018 tax year for the 2020-2021 FAFSA application. You can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import your past tax returns into the form automatically.
The FAFSA will guide you through any questions you may have about who to count as a parent and what to do in the case of divorce or having step-parents, and other situations as well.
And finally, you will need to provide some info about the student’s finances and their spouse’s as well if applicable.
You will also need to list all the schools you have applied to, will apply to, or are considering applying to. You can add 10 schools to the application. The order of the schools listing could make a difference in some states.
Deadlines
If you wish to be considered for the federal student aid for the 2021-2022 award year, you need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) between Oct.1st, 2020 (11:59 p.m. Central time) and June, 30th, 2022.
Keeping in mind that any updates or corrections must be done before Sept. 10, 2022 (11:59 p.m. Central time).
While at the first glance, it seems like a lot of work and effort to get the aid, it is surely worth it and you can take your time gathering the information you need. If you cannot finish the application all at once, you can save the progress and get back to it later.
