The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is among the most significant components of the school application. This document is exactly what schools use to determine just how much educational funding they'll offer for your child.
It's essential to complete and submit the FAFSA when your child is applying for school, even if you think your financial circumstances may not qualify for assistance. Not completing the FAFSA may affect your child's eligibility for multiple types of aid, including merit scholarships.
What Is FAFSA?
FAFSA allows colleges and universities to get all the information they need about your finances to allow them to decide what type of educational funding to offer your child. Submitting the FAFSA is required to be considered for:
- Federal grants (e.g. a federal grant)
- Federal work-study programs
- Federal students loans
- State scholarships
- Scholarships provided by colleges and universities
Is FAFSA Free?
It's completely free to fill out and submit the FAFSA, and it's available to every U.S. citizen (plus some non-citizens).
What is FAFSA Employed for?
The information you provide can be used to calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This is the amount the government assumes you are able to contribute toward your child's college expenses.
The formula that's accustomed to calculate EFC incorporates several factors:
- Oldest parent's age
- Number of kids in the household in college
- Household size
- Financial income and assets (both the student's and the parents')
The FAFSA Simplification Act, that was passed in 2023, will cause some changes towards the process starting in the 2023-2024 academic year. Especially, the EFC can change being the Student Aid Index (SAI).
This is really a semantic change meant to avoid some common misconceptions about the EFC (for example the EFC represents the greatest amount a family will have to purchase college). However, you will see some minor changes towards the formula which may be better for low-income families, and disadvantageous for middle- or high-income families.
Who Should choose FAFSA?
It's a good idea for each college applicant to submit the FAFSA, even when they might not qualify for need-based financial aid.
Some high-income parents don't fill out the FAFSA simply because they think they are ineligible for income-based financial aid. However, not submitting the FAFSA can keep your son or daughter from being considered for some state and institutional scholarships as well as work-study programs.
The FAFSA is technically your child's paperwork, but you may wonder if you and your child should complete it. Based on the Federal Student Aid Office, a parent must include their very own financial information and sign the form if their child is considered a dependent.
In reality which means that many parents complete the FAFSA for his or her children. However, your child will still need to sign the shape. You and your child will each require a unique Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) to be able to sign in towards the online portal, connect to the FAFSA, complete it, and e-sign it.
Divorced Parents and FAFSA
What happens if you are no longer married for your child's other parent? The FAFSA process can be a little complicated for divorced parents.
Under current rules, if your child lives with you, your financial information must be around the FAFSA. If your little one splits their time equally coping with you and together with your ex-spouse, then your parent who provided the biggest financial contribution during the previous year may be the one that should complete the FAFSA.
However, things can change slightly from the 2023-2024 academic year, due to the FAFSA Simplification Act. Underneath the new rules, where your son or daughter lives doesn't determine who should fill out the FAFSA. Parents accountable for completing the FAFSA is simply the one who provides more financial support towards the child.
How Does FAFSA Work?
You've chose to help your son or daughter fill out the FAFSA. Start here. You can save your progress on the form and go back to it, which means you don't have to complete everything in one sitting.
When you're done, just sign electronically. If you prefer to complete and mail a paper copy from the FAFSA, you can.
FAFSA Deadlines
When should you make an application for FAFSA? Each university and college determines its very own educational funding deadlines. However, the government FAFSA application window opens October 1st and closes the following June 30th. So, for instance, to try to get aid for the 2023-2023 school year, you would submit the FAFSA sometime between October 1st, 2023, and June 30th, 2023.
It's generally better to submit the FAFSA as soon as possible; people who file earlier may receive more grant money compared to those who apply toward no more your window. Additionally, many states and colleges have scholarship deadlines that are far earlier than June from the school year under consideration.
What is a FSA ID?
The initial step in completing the FAFSA is receiving a FSA ID. You'll need to make an application for one on your own, as well as your child will need to make an application for their very own. You shouldn't create an FSA ID for someone else.
What Do You Need to Fill Out FAFSA?
Once your child and you have your FSA IDs, you can start completing the FAFSA.
Here's the data you'll need:
- The Federal School Code for every school your child will apply to
- Your child's private information: Ssn (or Alien Number plate) and license number (if applicable)
- Your private information: Social Security number (and your spouse's SSN, if applicable)
- Your child's financial information: tax returns/W2s, information on untaxed income, savings accounts, and other assets
- Your financial information (as well as your spouse's, if applicable): tax returns/income documents, records of retirement plan withdrawals or other untaxed income, financial assets, investment accounts, and savings accounts
For the FAFSA, you will employ your tax records from 2 yrs prior (e.g. use 2023 income information for that 2023-2023 FAFSA form).
The first section of the FAFSA covers your son or daughter's details: personal information and dependency status. If your child is male, they have to complete their Selective Service registration when they turn 18, however, they no longer have to sign up for the Selective Plan to submit the FAFSA. If your son hasn't yet registered for that Selective Service, they still may achieve this on the FAFSA itself (question 22).
Additionally, while FAFSA accustomed to require Selective Service registration to become eligible for aid, this changed for the 2023-22 award year. The rule was eliminated as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act of 2023.
The second section is where you'll enter your information because the parent: your personal details, financial information, and tax forms. You may have a choice of using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to automatically import your tax information into the form. Not everyone is permitted to use this tool, and even if you are, you might still have to enter additional financial information.
The next section of the form is for your son or daughter's financial information. The financial records necessary for the FAFSA are those from two years prior, so chances are your son or daughter won't have much to report. However, you shouldn't just skip this; make sure to fill in all the details as indicated.
Adding Schools to FAFSA
Finally, you'll need to incorporate a listing of schools that the child plans to apply to. This helps the federal government know where to send your financial information so that potential schools can create a educational funding package for the child.
You must include at least one school on the FAFSA, however, you can also add up to 10 in the online application.
You'll use a Federal School Code for each college you want to share your FAFSA results with. If you've already used the government's search tool to find the Federal School Codes for the colleges you're signing up to, you are able to enter them directly. Otherwise, you should use the search tool in the online FAFSA application.
If there are multiple schools around the FAFSA, the order they're in might matter. The order does not matter for federal student aid, but some states make use of the order the colleges are listed in when creating decisions about state educational funding. Find out about your state's policies.
What if you want to add more than 10 colleges to the FAFSA? The internet form is limited to 10 schools, and adding more codes only will replace the codes previously entered. However, when your child receives their Student Aid Report (SAR) back from the government, they are able to supply the information to more colleges in one of three ways:
- Log in to the FAFSA account and discover the option for Make FAFSA Corrections. Enter in the form and replace the school codes from the initial application with codes for that additional schools. Then submit the corrections. (The colleges around the original application will have received your son or daughter's SAR already.)
- With a paper SAR, switch the colleges for auction on it using the new ones, and then send the paperback towards the Federal Student Aid Office through the mail. (With this method, only four colleges can be added at any given time.)
- Ask the Federal Student Aid Information Center over the telephone to add the brand new colleges. When your child calls, they'll need to supply the Data Release Number (DRN) for auction on their SAR towards the customer support representative.
There is not a limit towards the quantity of colleges that may receive your son or daughter's SAR.
Before You Submit FAFSA
While you may make edits or corrections towards the FAFSA if required, it is best to double-check everything before you submit the shape. Ensure that the information is correct; legally, it must be accurate by the date you sign the shape.
How Long Will it Decide to try Hear Back from FAFSA?
Once the federal government processes the FAFSA, your son or daughter will receive their Student Aid Report. They should get their SAR inside a few days (as much as fourteen days) when they submitted the FAFSA online. If they mailed a paper copy from the FAFSA, the SAR is going to be returned by mail, which takes longer.
The SAR doesn't indicate whether your child is eligible for financial aid. Rather, it shows the government's look at your funds and ability to cover college.
The Expected Family Contribution number is what prospective colleges will use to find out when they will offer you financial aid (and just how much). Your son or daughter's SAR can also get a DRN, that they will need to provide if they contact the educational funding office's customer service.
Do You Have to Fill Out FAFSA Every Year?
Yes! If you would like your child that need considering for educational funding (loans and scholarships), you have to complete the FAFSA each year.
The government calculates eligibility for educational funding one year at a time. Fortunately, renewing the FAFSA is less time-consuming than completing the first application.
The FAFSA Is Important for Everyone
Filling out the FAFSA is an essential part from the college application process. It's vital to send it in even though you think your child won’t qualify for educational funding based on your earnings and assets.
The FAFSA is used to determine eligibility for loans, work-study programs, as well as scholarships, therefore it is important to renew it every year. This form can be the answer to reducing the costs of your child's higher education.
Other Articles About FAFSA:
How you can Produce the FSA ID
How Long Does it Take for FAFSA to Process?
Reviewing Your FAFSA SAR
Do I Have to Complete FAFSA Basically Don't Qualify for Financial Aid?
FAFSA and Divorced Parents
What goes on If I Miss the FAFSA Deadline?
So how exactly does Educational funding Work? Comprehending the System
Is it necessary to Pay Back FAFSA?
How to find Financial Aid for College