FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (from www.fastweb.com - http://www.fastweb.com/nfs/fastweb/static/PDFs/Financial_Aid_Wisdom.pdf)
File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is the gateway to financial aid from the federal and state governments and most colleges and universities. You can file
the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

File the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1 of your senior year in high school and each subsequent year. Do not wait until you have been admitted or you file you federal income tax returns. Some states have very early deadlines for state grants, as early as February 1, and other states give out money on a first-come first-served basis until the money is gone. Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, if possible, to prefill some of
the answers on your FAFSA. This will reduce the chances your FAFSA will be selected for verification. If you can’t use it to file the initial FAFSA due to timing considerations, use it to update the FAFSA after you’ve filed your federal income tax returns.

Apply for financial aid every year even if you think you won’t qualify or even if you didn’t qualify last year. The need analysis formulas are complicated enough that it is difficult to predict whether you will qualify without applying. Changes in the number of children in college at same time can have a big impact on aid eligibility, as can changes in income and the amount of assets. Families often overestimate their eligibility for merit-based aid and underestimate their eligibility for need based aid. Remember: You can't get aid if you don't apply.

-Ms. Miller-Pecora