Applications for FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, start every year on October 1. Since some of the aids are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, it may be a good idea to submit your application as soon as possible. The earlier you file your application, the greater the probability of benefiting from certain financial aid.
If you are unsure about what to do, have no worry. You can complete all the required paperwork in less than a week and submit your application while it is still early. Without a doubt, FAFSA is an amazing opportunity to find some financial aid for college students.
Unlike student loans, you will not have to pay these financial aids back. In addition, the earlier you submit your application, the earlier you will receive your aid award letters. Thus, you will have plenty of time to compare the offers from schools and make a better decision.
How to Prepare for the FAFSA Application?
There are certain files that you need to prepare to submit your application. In addition to this, you also need to meet FAFSA requirements. The first thing you need to have ready is your social security number. You can use your alien registration number if you are not a citizen.
In addition, you need your W-2 forms and federal income tax returns ready, which show how much money you earn in a year. Moreover, if you have nontaxable income, such as veteran benefits or child support, you need to make these records ready as well.
Additionally, you need to prepare your financial statements, such as investment records and bank statements. All these documents will be required while submitting your FAFSA application.
After completing your documents or while doing so, the first thing you have to do is set up your FSA ID. If you are a dependent student, then your parents will also set up their own ID so that you can apply for financial aid.
You will be submitting your application with the help of this ID, including the electronic signing of your application. While setting up your FSA ID, you will provide your full name, date of birth, social security number, phone number, and email address. You can only have one FSA ID per email. So, if your parents have to create an FSA ID, they need to use a separate email.
If you have already created an FSA ID in previous years, you can use the same ID to submit your application by clicking the FAFSA renewal button.
Once you have your FSA ID, you can start preparing your application. In your personal information section, you will provide further information. In the school section, you can add up to 10 schools, and your FAFSA information will be sent.
You may not be sure about the schools, but there is nothing to worry about. You can update this list whenever you want without any requirements. Experts recommend putting at least one school in your state on your list. This will let you benefit from additional state aid.
After this section, you will have to provide your financial information. Keep in mind that you will be using the financial information from the previous year for your applications for the next academic year. In other words, you are going to use your 2021 tax year financial information for your FAFSA 2022–2023 application.
Once your application is ready, you can download the printable PDF version to submit via the Federal Student Aid website or the myStudentAid mobile application. Just make sure that you see the confirmation screen before closing the tabs on your browser.
Depending on your applications, soon you are going to receive a confirmation letter from the government and be informed further about the details and aids.