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What Do You Need For The Fafsa – This article refers to the 2023–24 FAFSA® form. The 2024–25 FAFSA form will be available in December 2023, not October 1. Watch our video about the 2024–25 FAFSA updates.
Filling out the FAFSA form is easier if you gather what you need in advance. Here are some things to help you fill it out.
What Do You Need For The Fafsa
If you haven’t already done so, create an FSA ID, which is your account username and password. The FSA ID is a digital legal signature that allows you to complete and update the FAFSA form, so create your own and keep it safe. Parents of dependent students must use their own FSA ID to complete the FAFSA process.
Fafsa: Application For Financial Aid
We recommend creating your account early – even before you’re ready to fill out the FAFSA form. This extra step can avoid delays in the process especially since it can take up to three days before you can use your FSA ID.
Important: Do not create an FSA ID on behalf of someone else. This includes parents. A parent should not create an FSA ID for their child and a student should not create an FSA ID for their parents. Signing and submitting the FAFSA form may cause issues and lead to delays in financial aid. (Also, it’s against the rules.)
You can find your Social Security number (SSN) on your Social Security card. If you don’t have access to it or don’t know where it is, you can request a new SSN card or a replacement card from the Social Security Administration.
If you are not a US citizen but meet other eligibility criteria for federal student aid as an eligible noncitizen, you will also need your Alien Registration number. Parents and students need this information for the FAFSA form.
Benefits Of Filing The Fafsa Early
You must enter your driver’s license on the FAFSA form. If you don’t have a driver’s license, don’t worry about this step.
On the 2023-24 FAFSA form, you (and your parents, if you are a dependent student) will report your 2021 income.
Because you may have filed your 2021 income tax return before the FAFSA form is available, you may be eligible to transfer your tax information into the FAFSA form in immediately using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).
The IRS DRT is the fastest and most accurate way to submit tax return information to the FAFSA form. To address security and privacy concerns related to the IRS DRT, the tax return information you transfer from the IRS will not appear on fafsa.gov. Instead, you will see “Transferred from the IRS” in the appropriate fields on fafsa.gov.
Fafsa Eligibility: Guide To Qualify And Apply For Federal Student Aid
You cannot use your 2022 tax information. We understand that the 2021 income for some families does not accurately reflect your current financial situation. If you have decreased income from the 2021 tax year, you should fill out the FAFSA form with 2021 tax information. Then, contact the school where you plan to attend and explain and record the change in income. School officials can evaluate your situation and amend your FAFSA form if appropriate.
The FAFSA questions about tax-free income, such as child support, interest income, and veterans’ non-education benefits may apply to you. On the 2023–24 FAFSA form, you will report 2021 tax or calendar year information when asked these questions. Find specific details for tax-free parent income and tax-free student income.
This section includes savings and checking account balances, as well as the value of investments, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate (except for your primary residence.) Report current amounts from date you signed the FAFSA form, rather than reporting the 2021 tax year amounts.
Note: Reporting the value of investments on the FAFSA form is a common mistake. Please carefully review what is and is not considered a student investment and a parent investment to ensure that you do not over- or under-report information. You might be surprised at what can (and can’t) be excluded.
Easy Steps To The Fafsa: Student’s Guide To The Free Application For Federal Student Aid
Even if there is only a slight chance that you will apply to a college, list the school on your FAFSA form. You can remove a school later if you decide not to apply, but if you wait to add a school, you could lose financial aid .
The schools you list on your FAFSA form will automatically receive your FAFSA results electronically. They will use your FAFSA information to determine the type and amount of financial aid you will receive.
If you add a school to your FAFSA form and later decide not to apply for admission to that school, that’s okay! The school may not support you until you are accepted anyway.
You can list up to 10 schools at one time on your FAFSA form. Find out what you can do if you are applying to more than 10 schools.
Fafsa Verification: No Need To Panic
Tip: Several states require you to list schools in a specific order to be considered for state aid. For example, you may need to list a state school first. Find out if your state has a requirement for the order you list schools on your FAFSA form. Find out when the FAFSA is due, how to submit the application, and what to do if you miss the deadline.
The most recent data shows that the average cost to attend a 4-year public university in the US is about $25,864 per year. That’s over $100,000 to get an undergraduate degree! And unfortunately, that’s more than families can afford.
That’s where the FAFSA comes in. The FAFSA is a federal form that you can submit to qualify for financial aid in the form of grants, student loans, work study, and scholarships.
In this article, you will learn what the FAFSA is, how and when to submit it, and what to do if you miss the deadline.
How To Get More Money From Fafsa
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form you fill out that colleges use to determine how much financial aid you qualify for. This is one of the important parts of the financial aid process.
T students are considered dependent. As a dependent student, you must report your parents’ financial information on your FAFSA.
You could be considered an independent student if you are over 24, married, have children, are a military veteran, are a graduate student or a Ph.D. a student If none of these apply to you, you are dependent.
Before you fill out your FAFSA, you must create an FSA ID, which is a username and password combination that allows you to fill out and sign your FAFSA electronically.
How To Fill Out The Fafsa
You’ll use this same FSA ID year after year to complete your FAFSA, sign loan agreements, and access other federal aid information.
If you are applying as a dependent, you will also need this information for your parents. For example, you will need their Social Security numbers, copies of their tax returns, and information about their assets.
Simply answer each question in the application. It should not take more than 1 hour to complete. Take your time and make sure you don’t miss anything. An incomplete form could cause you to miss out on financial aid.
To sign your form electronically, you’ll need your FSA ID, which you created in step 1. If you’re a dependent student, you and your parents will need to sign it.
How Do You Add Schools To The Fafsa?
Once you have completed the form, you can come back in future years and select the “Renew FAFSA” option. The form will be pre-filled with your personal non-financial information, so you don’t have to re-enter it.
The information you provide on your FAFSA determines whether you qualify for financial aid from the federal government and the school you attend. That means it’s important to fill it out, but it’s not mandatory if you have a lot of money and don’t want to try to get aid. Of course, filling out the FAFSA does not mean turning down free money in the form of federal grants and other aid, so 99% of students should definitely fill it out.
T financial aid is need-based, meaning it is given to students whose parents do not have the financial resources to finance their college education.
However, you may also need to fill out the FAFSA to qualify for merit-based scholarships and grants, depending on your school.
What Is The Schedule 1 Form For Fafsa
The FAFSA is the first necessary step in obtaining federal financial aid. As a result, anyone who cannot fully finance their college education should complete the FAFSA. After all, the money is there. You have nothing to lose by completing and submitting a FAFSA, and you could benefit greatly.
Based on your family’s income and assets, the government will determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) or the amount your family can put towards your education for the coming year .
Then, the school will subtract your expected contribution from the total cost of attendance (COA) to calculate your financial need.
If your parents have enough savings to fully fund your college education, you may not need financial aid and may decide that completing the FAFSA is not worth your time.
College Financial Aid For 2024: Fafsa Delay Could Be Worse With Government Shutdown
However, while there is nothing wrong with submitting the FAFSA if your college expenses are fully funded, it may still be worth filling out.
Even if you don’t qualify for need-based funding from the federal government, many schools still offer scholarships to attract students to their school over their competitors. And if a school is willing to give free money, it’s worth taking. Remember that your financial aid package may include merit-based scholarships that you may be eligible for even if your family does not have financial need.
It also means that some of the money you or your parents have saved over the years could go towards other financial goals.
The government only expects families to allocate a certain percentage of their income and assets to college. And, with the cost of college rising—up 25% in the past 10 years—your family may still demonstrate financial need by government standards.
The Financial Aid Application Process
There are no real downsides to filling out the FAFSA. The worst that can happen is that you spend 1 hour completing it, and
