Ways to use the FAFSA4caster

The FAFSA4caster is a free prediction tool in the U.S. Department of Education that gives families an earlier estimate of the eligibility for federal student aid. Such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA4caster uses your household income and assets to find out your expected family contribution or EFC.

How Will the FAFSA4caster Work?

TheFAFSA4caster can help families estimate the amount of federal student aid students might receive with different family’s income and assets.

The answers are offered with regards to the potential eligibility for any Federal Pell grant, federal work study, and student loans.

By learning these details early, families could possibly get a jump on comprehending the quantity of aid they might be qualified to apply for. Families should use this information to assist pick which colleges they might or may not be able to afford.

[5 Things To Consider When Discussing College Costs With Your Teen]

How Do I Use The FAFSA4caster?

Gather financial documents

You'll need asset information for the student and parents or guardians.

Asset information includes info on most cash and accounts. Common exclusions are retirement accounts, home equity inside your primary residence, and also the value of life insurance.

The worth of family farms and small businesses with less than 100 workers are also excluded.

Input basic information

The FAFSAForecaster takes only five minutes to complete. You'll input asset information, dependent information, and tax information from the last taxes you filed.

Spend time to fill out each question thoroughly as it is going to be good practice when ever you're ready to complete the real forms inside your senior year.

Review Your Potential Federal Aid Eligibility

After clicking submit, the FAFSA4caster will then get you to some page with your potential Federal Pell Grant eligibility amount, work study eligibility amount, and Direct Stafford loan eligibility amount.

Pell grants are federal grants based on need. The amount you receive can vary a great deal by school because cost of attendance is a factor.

Work study may be the maximum work study amount you could get.

Work study money is succumbed exchange all night worked on or off campus. The amount paid each hour starts at minimum wage.

The quantity of student education loans awarded is the maximum awarded to the student. Parent PLUS loans aren't contained in the estimate.

The FAFSA4caster doesn't tell you about scholarships from the college, state grants or university grants.

It also doesn't let you know your EFC, but it does essentially let you know how the way your EFC affects you.

Can I Change The Amount Of Federal Aid I’m Entitled to?

First, recall the quantity of federal educational funding awarded is based partly on a family’s adjusted gross income from tax returns filed 2 yrs prior.

Even after you file the FAFSA, you can file a unique circumstances form in case your family experienced an income drop or excessive medical expenses happens afterwards.

Second, have fun with the numbers.

By using the FAFSAforecaster, you can observe how parent assets affect federal aid eligibility versus student assets.

You may be able to reduce student assets by shifting student savings into a 529 take into account college savings or moving money to a parent’s account.

[Understand how FAFSA calculates expected family contribution.]

Quick tips for while using FAFSA4caster:

  • Gather your financial documents including tax information, bank information, and property information.
  • The FAFSA4caster is best for estimating federal grants, student education loans, and work study estimates. You can use the school Board EFC calculator to help estimate your EFC.
  • Play with numbers in the calculators. You might be able to make changes to how your income and assets are interpreted through the government and colleges themselves.
  • Ask questions of your high school counselor if any details are confusing. You wouldn't want an error you are making filling out the form next year to cost your student educational funding.

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