Why Should I Complete a Fafsa?

This is a question that comes up sometimes. Remember that the Fafsa is heavily based on income, so if you have a higher income, there's it's quite likely that you won't qualify. So why should you fill it out? There are several reasons:

1. You don't know you won't qualify until you complete it. There are many elements of the Fafsa that impact your Pell Grant eligibility. Some examples would be if you're married, have dependents, or earn income other than from work (such as certain types of government assistance). 
2. You have to complete a Fafsa, even if you know you won't qualify for any Pell Grant, in order to fill out federal loan paperwork. So if you want a subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford loan, then a Fafsa must be completed.
3. There are times when your FA administrator can work with your income to help you Pell Grant eligibility. The Department of Education stipulates that the Fafsa is dependent on your most recently completed year's income, but if it's not an accurate representation of your present situation, there are times when that can be taken into account. Some of the rules for Fafsa can bend, and some can't. Be sure to talk to your FA administrator about any situation that might impact your Fafsa. (Remember: you must fill out your Fafsa 100% accurate the first time, and only the FA administrator will know how or if your Fafsa can be worked with.)

In the end, you should always fill out the Fafsa for the above reasons. Even if you qualify for the minimum amount, that's still going to be a small amount that you won't have to worry about paying back. Since it's a grant, your Pell Grant will help you take some of the burden from figuring out how to pay for your tuition. Why not try for it? The worst thing that will happen is you won't get any. It costs nothing to complete the Fafsa, so go for it!

What if I Don't Remember my PIN?

Time is ticking to complete your new 2013-14 FAFSA. I'm sure that by now you've received your email notification that it's time to re-apply for your FAFSA. Obviously, your best bet is to use the IRS data retrieval tool in order to make sure your tax information is correct. But what if you lost or forgot your PIN?

That's where the PIN website comes in. All you have to do is go to pin.ed.gov and on the left side, request a duplicate PIN.

On that same list of options, there are other things you can do also. If you need to, you could change your PIN. You can update your personal information if you need to. You can also reestablish your PIN, or even disable it.

If you don't have a PIN, then the PIN website is the place to go to obtain one.

Should I Put More Than One School Code on the FAFSA?

This is a question that has come up sometimes in the Financial Aid office. Like everything else in the world of financial aid, the answer is simply "that depends". It depends on a few different things, but to help you think about the answer, here's what happens when you enter a school code on the FAFSA.

By entering a school code on the FAFSA, you are literally authorizing that school to be able to access your FAFSA information. It's a simple and easy way of sending your FAFSA information to a college that you are considering without having to complete the form again or bring/send copies of your FAFSA information to the school. When you enter the school code, then your information will become accessible to that school shortly (sometimes a day, sometimes a couple days).

This is especially helpful for students who are undecided about which school they should attend. If you are considering multiple schools, then there's no harm in entering the school codes for all the schools you are considering. By entering all those codes, you will make it easier for you to ask questions about your possible financial aid package for that school.

You are allowed up to ten school codes when you first complete a FAFSA, which means you can send your information to up to ten different schools. If you are shopping schools, then it's a good idea for you. Keep in mind that the schools you send your information to can also see the other schools you've sent your information to. If you've forgotten to add a school code that you wanted to, once your SAR had been produced, you can go back to the FAFSA website to add more school codes.

There's no harm in sending your FAFSA information to multiple schools, so if you're shopping for the best options, then send away!

After the FAFSA: What Happens Next

So, you've filled out your FAFSA. Then what? Here is a short video from Federal Student Aid (FSA) that manages financial aid that helps students pay for tuition. It explains what happens after you have completed your FAFSA. The FAFSA is probably the most important piece of FA that you will complete.





If you have any questions about the process of obtaining FA or the process of filling out the FAFSA, contact your FA office at your school.

How to Fill Out the FAFSA

Below is a video made by Federal Student Aid (FSA) which is in control of the federal financial aid funds that students receive to pay tuition. The FAFSA is often the most talked about document that students have to deal with, and with good reason too. The first time you fill out a FAFSA, it may not be the simplest form to complete, but it's essential. In order to be considered for any other federal financial aid, you have to have a FAFSA completed. The FAFSA is without a doubt the most important element of the financial aid process.





Hopefully the video helped you understand the FAFSA a little more. You can always call the FAFSA help or your FA office if you need more information.

What to Expect in Student Loan Repayment

Say you're getting out of school and you have student loans. What are you to expect? Below is a great video explaining what to expect when you are approaching graduation.





In most cases, Stafford Loans have six months of grace period before you have to go into repayment. However, there are situations where you might have already used your six month grace period. If you are not sure, you should always contact your servicer. While the school can assist you with many FA related questions, once you have graduated your best contact will be your loan servicer. They will have the most current and most specific answers to your individual needs.

The best advice anyone in financial aid can give you is if you have any problems or questions, contact your loan servicer as soon as possible. The worst thing you can do is put things off because often the problems will compound quickly, and usually the problems could've been avoided with a phone call.

Taxes and the FAFSA

Each year, the FAFSA has to be completed for any time that a student will be enrolled in a college. The FAFSA is like the gateway to financial aid since you have to complete the FAFSA in order to obtain other grants, scholarships, and loans. Because of this, the FAFSA needs to be correct. Fortunately, students have the ability to correct it.

That being said, when it comes time to fill out the FAFSA, should you wait to fill out your FAFSA until you have your taxes? That will depend on your school. Schools with enrollment beginning in the fall usually require the FAFSA to be required a couple months earlier than July 1 (depending on the state). Schools with open enrollment through the year will allow you to fill out your FAFSA anytime before you start.

The problem is what happens when your school requires you to fill out the FAFSA no later than April 1, but taxes aren't required to be done until April 15. What do you do?

You have to perform an educated guess, or the best guess as to your tax information as you can. Think of how many exemptions you will have, use your W-2 information, estimate the tax. If you do this, however, you should go back and update your FAFSA to match what the tax information came out to be. Some people will put in the previous year's tax information as a guess, but the problem with this is there could be big differences that you aren't aware of or have forgotten about which can change your eligibility very quickly. So, it's best to guess as closely as you can. If you're at the open enrollment school, then you probably should wait to fill it out until you have your taxes completed. The exception to this is if you don't have your taxes done later than April 15; in that case, estimate but also complete your taxes as soon as possible.

The key is to have the correct information, so make sure you go back and double check.