FAFSA determines
a student’s eligibility for federal financial aid. It also is used by colleges
and universities to determine who is eligible for financial aid awarded through
their institutions. Even if you don’t think you qualify, you probably should
fill it out, as not all financial aid is based on need. You could also qualify
based on merit, for your grades, standardized test scores, or for athletic
achievements. And it costs nothing to apply.
Even if your
parents make enough money to pay, or you’re a nontraditional student, or your
grades are not as high as they should be, you probably still qualify for some
form of financial aid. (The biggest problem with low grades is that fewer
colleges or universities will accept you, and you will end up at a less
competitive institution. And this may limit your future opportunities.)
A common myth is
that filling out a FAFSA form is difficult and takes too much time. The form
used to be time-consuming, but it has been made much easier to fill out. It now
takes an average of 23 minutes.
Because college
is expensive, you should always be looking for some type of financial aid. Although
not all forms of student aid are equal and taking on too much loan debt can
leave you with a heavy financial burden for many years, you do well to
investigate all aid that is available to you.
Have you filled
out your FAFSA form for the next school year? The best time to begin is early
January, as soon as the form becomes available for that year. This way, you
learn your results earlier, and so will your college or university. If your
institution awards funds early, you want to make sure you’re in time and have
every opportunity to receive aid.
Watch out for
errors when filing, as most submissions have some incorrect information. Most
importantly, be sure you understand which assets count against you and which
you could leave off the form. Your checking account does count against you,
while retirement assets and family businesses do not. But you will have a
chance to correct errors. If your parents have not yet filed their taxes, you
can always estimate their income and correct it later.
References:
Hoyt, E. (2015, December 2). Why Should I Complete the
FAFSA? Fastweb. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/why-should-i-complete-the-fafsa.
Rice, A. (2015,
January 5) Why You Should Fill Out the FAFSA. US News & World Report. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2015/01/05/why-you-should-fill-out-the-fafsa.
