We all know that paying for college is tough, and I know I've been hammering it into you for a couple months, but I wanted to make one last push for filing the FAFSA. Let's go through some basics.
What: The FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It includes Grants (free money), Loans (money you pay back), and Work Study (job opportunities). You do NOT have to accept loans if you don't want to.
When: The FAFSA is available starting October 1st of the year prior to when you want to attend school. For example, if you want to go to school this fall, your FAFSA application opened last October, and is available for filing for the 2020-2021 school year.
FAFSA must be filled out every year, and can only be redeemed for grants (if you're eligible) for your first four years of school. Take advantage of this opportunity!
Why: Sure, you may think you don't qualify, but the data they use to determine who qualifies varies each time, so it's good practice to always fill one out just in case! Many larger scholarships also require you to have filed the FAFSA before applying for the scholarship, which is a big reason to file if you have been applying for scholarships.
Yes, it takes some time.
Yes, it's a bit complicated.
But that's what I'm here for! To make it less complicated.
Here are some resources to get you started, and for any questions you can't find the answer to, send me a message!
Website to file FAFSA: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Website to create Login for FAFSA (both a parent and the student need to make a login): https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm
FAFSA Application Walkthrough Video: https://youtu.be/liO5RKKNrhE