Completing the FAFSA is an important step in funding your education. The FAFSA is a comprehensive application used by the Department of Education to determine eligibility for federal student financial aid for college. This aid includes federal grant programs (such as the Pell Grant), federal work-study, and federal student loans. It is also used by states to determine eligibility for their college aid programs, such as state grants. Colleges also use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for the need-based aid programs they administer. Finally, many scholarship opportunities request FAFSA information as part of their application process. Always apply for need-based scholarships and grants. At the minimum, you will qualify for Stafford Loans, low-interest federal student loans.
Each year, the government makes the new FAFSA available on October 1. In addition to federal deadlines, there are state deadlines and college deadlines that may have different deadlines, so be sure to check all three sources when applying for federal financial aid. You must complete a new FAFSA each year you attend school; fill out your FAFSA online so that you can make simple updates (renew) rather than redoing the entire application. The schools to which you are applying, or the one you are currently attending, will use the information you provide to determine the amount of financial aid you will receive. You should receive your financial aid package information by early spring, if not sooner.
The amount of federal financial aid you will receive is hard to predict, given that you can receive federal financial aid, federal- or state-sponsored grants, student loans, or a combination of all three. You can apply for a work-study program at your school, which is typically a paid part-time, on-campus job. The actual dollar amount you receive will vary based on a variety of factors.
If this is the first time you are completing a FAFSA, you should compare financial aid offers from all of the schools to which you have been accepted, and make a decision that best fits your financial situation. The financial aid package you receive is designed to bridge the gap between what college costs and what you and family can afford to contribute.
Not sure of what to do next? While filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), follow the directions on your screen and pay attention to the tips designed to help you along the way. If you need help filling out the FAFSA form, here are some free FAFSA Help tools that may address your unanswered questions
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
Latest College & Financial Aid NewsAvoid Student Debt at Colleges with No Student LoansFebruary 25, 2021 by Izzy Hall Here at Scholarships.com, we connect students with scholarships that can help alleviate the amount of student loans they need to take out to pay for college. But there are colleges out there that offer students such generous financial aid packages that they need to take out very little in loans if at all. These “no student loans” colleges replace student loans in financial aid packages with additional scholarships and grants to help fund a student’s tuition. Students accepted into these schools will pay much less than the cost of tuition and thus will not be as burdened with student debt. [...] Test-Optional Policies Drive Increase in College ApplicationsFebruary 23, 2021 by Izzy Hall Well-known and selective colleges such as the University of Virginia, Harvard and the University of California at Berkeley are seeing a spike in college applications due to their adoption of test-optional admissions for the 2021 admissions cycle. These record increases have led some schools to announce an extension of test-optional admissions into future years. [...] Big STEM Scholarship Opportunity for HBCU StudentsFebruary 18, 2021 by Izzy Hall A great scholarship opportunity for students enrolling at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has extended through the end of Black History Month. The Future of Stem Scholars Initiative (FOSSI) will award 150 scholarships worth $40,000 over four years as well as provide mentoring and internship opportunities to select winners. The extended deadline for this scholarship is March 1st. [...] |