What is FAFSA?
FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Anyone who wants financial aid for higher education, be it federal grants, federal loans or other financial aid offers from colleges, must fill up this form. The information you put in your FAFSA is used to determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is the dollar amount you and your family will be expected to contribute towards college (not necessarily the amount you must pay towards college – BIG DIFFERENCE!).
Why is FAFSA Important?
All federal grants and loans are determined by your FAFSA. In addition, most colleges use the information in your FAFSA for their own financial aid programs. In other words, if you have no FAFSA, you might not have financial aid at all.
Granted, many families think that just because they are middle class, their children have no chance of getting any form of financial aid. This attitude isn’t just a terrible mistake. It can also be a very costly one. If you want to give your children the best chance to find financing for college, it begins with filling up that FAFSA form.
Ideas about Financial Aid You Need to Forget:
Students from Middle-Class Families Don’t Qualify for Financial Aid – This assumption is WRONG. Although middle-class students may not qualify for federal student grants or state grants, they may still qualify for federal student loans that offer more reasonable repayment options than most private student loans. Also, not all financial aid programs from colleges and universities are need-based. Since most schools refer to your FAFSA, you might miss your chance to qualify for non-need based scholarships.
Scholarships are only for Academics and Athletics – The most popular scholarships usually are academic or athletic.
However, scholarships cover more areas than that, such as visual arts, music, dance and other specific majors. There are even scholarships for left-handed people, little people, tall people, moms and women among others. Charity-based scholarships are also available from corporations like Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart and famous foundations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The bottom line is that there are so many forms of financial aid out there. Never assume that your children won’t qualify for anything.
Setting up an account on the Child’s Name is a Good Way to Save for College – The federal government places a much larger percentage on the child’s savings accounts than the parents’ savings account when calculating your EFC.
Having a savings account on your child’s name will work against you.
Scholarships With Small Rewards Aren’t Worth It – Don’t laugh at scholarships with rewards under $1,000. These days, any source of help is always good. These types of scholarships may be minimal for tuition, but they can always be used for costly school supplies (if allowed).
What do you need to fill up a FAFSA correctly?
You must do the following:
• You need to get a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the Department of Education. This will be your electronic signature on the FAFSA application. Remember that both you and your child must have a PIN.
• If your son is at least 18 years old, he must register with the Selective Service. This is a requirement for federal student loans.
• Prepare all your paperwork. You’ll need you and your child’s social security numbers, federal tax returns for you and your child (including W2 data and forms 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ), investment data, other income data and bank statements among others.
When you are ready, you can start filling out that FAFSA form through the official FAFSA website by following the link:
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. For more information, please click on this link to be taken to the proper directory