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- The FAFSA-Free Application for Federal
Student Aid
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- The FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the form
that will qualify you for need based aid at colleges in the United States.
All students and parents should complete a FAFSA form and file as early as
possible, regardless of what they think they might or might not qualify for.
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- Students fill it
out in December-January of their senior year and submit it as soon after January 1st as possible to the federal processor.
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- The FAFSA will
require income tax and investment/bank records for both parents and students.
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- The FAFSA is the
formal/official Federal EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) calculator and is the one used by colleges.
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- You need to be
very accurate and honest with completion of this form. Nearly half of
the students and parents are required to verify information by sending in
tax and
bank documents to the colleges showing how they arrived at the reported
figures on FAFSA. Students and
parents who misrepresent their financial facts on the FAFSA can be
held responsible for criminal charges and lose all eligibility
forever for financial aid.
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- The FAFSA results
are sent to students and to colleges selected by students. You must
have applied to and been accepted to the college before you will learn
of financial aid offers from FAFSA process. Colleges will
then send you a
financial aid letter detailing a financial aid package offer for you. Since each college
gets only so much state and federal money to distribute, the most needy of students, who apply the earliest possible date, will stand the best chance of receiving
financial aid.
- Even the most needy of student can not
receive aid if they fail
to apply, apply too late and all aid has been awarded or misrepresent the
financial facts on the FAFSA.
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- After
a student makes application and is determined by the Congressional
formula to have need, the financial aid administrator at the college
generally combines or "packages" various sources and types of financial
aid with the goal of meeting the student's calculated financial need.
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- Each
student's package depends on: family circumstances, eligibility for aid, applying early, on time, or late,
costs to
attend the college and the amount of financial aid funds available for the
college to distribute.
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- You may file a
paper copy by mail or do the electronic version of
FAFSA on the Web.
Nearly 85% of
the FAFSA filed last year were electronic and the Department of Education
encourages this kind of electronic application. The on line
electronic version is recommended because it speeds up the process, reduces errors,
gives the users more
flexibility in finding and reporting date, allows you to make timely
corrections and will allow you to file a FAFSA Renewal next year and save
time.
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- Both you and your parents each will need a
FAFSA Personal Identification Number (PIN) in order to use
FAFSA on the Web.
We will examine the FAFSA process and
securing a PIN in the next chapter.
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