Applying for Financial Aid

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the first step in the financial aid process.  The new year application is available after January 1st of each year. This application is used to apply for federal student financial aid, such as grants, loans and work-study.  In addition, most states and schools use information from the FAFSA to award non-federal aid.

You will want to gather the following information before you begin the process of completing your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid):

• Your social security number and/or alien registration number
• Your driver’s license (if you have one)
• Your (and your spouse’s, if you are married) Federal Income Tax Return – if taxes have not been filed yet, be prepared with good estimates of the dollar amounts requested
• Your parents’ Federal Income Tax Return – if taxes have not been filed yet, be prepared with good estimates of the dollar amounts requested
• All applicable W-2 forms and other records of money earned
• Records of the year’s untaxed income – Social Security, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Military Housing Allowance, Ministerial Housing Allowance, welfare, child support, veteran’s benefits, etc.
• Your bank statements
• Current net worth of investments such as: real estate (do not include the home you live in), trust funds, money market funds, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, Coverdell savings accounts, 529 college savings plans, etc. 

To avoid mistakes and delays in processing, it is crucial that students and parents carefully read and follow all directions for the FAFSA.  We recommend that you submit the FAFSA on line due to the built-in audits that help parents and students avoid some of the most common errors people make on the paper FAFSA.  If you are not able to file the application on line, you may call the Department of Education at 1-800-433-3243 and request a paper FAFSA be mailed to your residence.

Both the on line application and the paper FAFSA require signatures.  The on line FAFSA can be signed in one of two ways.  First, the on line FAFSA can be signed with your (and your parent’s) Department of Education PIN (personal identification number).  You (and your parent) can apply for a PIN at www.pin.ed.gov.  Providing the PIN as an electronic signature is optional, but it speeds up the application process.  The other option for completing signatures is to print and mail in the signature page once you have submitted your on line FAFSA.

Be sure to print and save the confirmation page in order to assure that you have completed AND submitted your FAFSA on line.  If you do not receive a confirmation number, your submission, most likely, did not reach the federal processor and is not complete.