Free Application for FEderal Student Aid (FAFSA)
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form that students and their families must fill out in order to receive financial aid from the federal government. Colleges often use information from the FAFSA to make financial aid decisions as well. The FAFSA is how the federal government and your college determine how much money your family can afford to pay for your college education. It is a very important document.
When is it filed?
The FAFSA must be filed every year in which you apply for financial aid. Students who are preparing to enter college must file the FAFSA after October 1 of their senior year of high school. The Indiana deadline for filing the FAFSA is usually in early March, and your college may have an earlier submission deadline. It is your responsibility to know when that deadline is for your college. You can contact their financial aid office if you do not know when it is.
What Will I Need to Do?
The Office of Federal Student Aid made some changes to the FAFSA beginning this school year. A summary of the changes may be found here.
Here are some tips for filling out the FAFSA. You will need to gather tax information for yourself and your family, you will need your parents' or guardians' social security numbers (as well as your own), you will need your drivers' license number if you have one, you will need your alien registration number if you are not a US citizen, and you will need records (or at least a knowledge of) any other untaxed income and assets. You will also need a Federal Student Aid ID so you can sign your FAFSA electronically. Your parent or guardian will need one as well. You may create an FSA ID before you begin filling out the FAFSA. In fact, we recommend it.
Here are some tips for filling out the FAFSA. You will need to gather tax information for yourself and your family, you will need your parents' or guardians' social security numbers (as well as your own), you will need your drivers' license number if you have one, you will need your alien registration number if you are not a US citizen, and you will need records (or at least a knowledge of) any other untaxed income and assets. You will also need a Federal Student Aid ID so you can sign your FAFSA electronically. Your parent or guardian will need one as well. You may create an FSA ID before you begin filling out the FAFSA. In fact, we recommend it.
What Will My Parents Need to Do?
Their taxes. The FAFSA uses information from the IRS 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ forms that your parents submit for their tax returns. Please encourage your parents to file their taxes early, because the sooner they gather their tax information, the sooner they can help you complete the FAFSA. Some colleges distribute aid on a first-come, first-served basis, so the sooner you apply after October 1, the better.
How Much Aid Will I Get?
You will not know for certain until after you have filed the FAFSA. However, you can get an estimate of how much aid you might receive by using the FAFSA4caster on the FAFSA website.