Attend a FAFSA Help Session

by Ashley Mytych
(Vernon, CT, United States)

Having a difficult time with FAFSA... See where you can get help! Attend a FAFSA Help Session. - I heard the word “FAFSA Application” at school through my counselors, and I didn’t know what it was or where to start. I successfully completed the FAFSA form with the help of many people. Rockville High School, which is my current school sent out flyers and made announcements saying that the seniors needed to fill out a FAFSA form. They stated that there would be many staff in the building to help if you needed it.

The one thing that I found most interesting is that they also told us that at the end of Jan. 2013 there would be about 15 schools around Connecticut that would have experts there, who are good at filling out the forms, to help you. My mom and I were completely lost when we looked it up ourselves. We decided to register and go to Manchester Community College, which happened to be one of the schools where people would be there to help you.

When we first got there, they were so organized and were giving us paperwork on FAFSA. They had a little introduction in the auditorium where they explained exactly what FAFSA was and how it would help the students that are going to college or are in college. Secondly they divided us up into groups and each group had about 3 experts in the room with you. The experts gave us more information about it. They started off by taking us Step by Step through most of the application.

One thing that my mom and I really liked about this FAFSA help session was that the experts worked very hard to get to everyone and answered all questions you had. They were very polite and very understanding if we didn’t know what we were doing. They made sure that they helped you privately if it was a private question that no one should have known. The form was confusing but I honestly think I couldn’t have done it without them. They were so helpful in all the questions we had. They were a huge help and I don’t know what we could have done without them.

I think it was a great idea to have a FAFSA help session on the FAFSA application.

Read more tips on FAFSA Help from other students and parents who have been through the FAFSA process.

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Comment from your friendly team at College Financial Aid Advice

Thank you Ashley for sharing your experience attending a FAFSA Help Session. We strongly recommend these sessions. They are awesome! Not only do they provide you good information and answers to your questions, they also force you to get it done to meet your state deadline for state financial aid. Good luck to you.

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Word of Advice

by Ludi Zhao-Orena
(Mineola, NY, USA)

Here is a word of advice for first-timers: unless you have done this multiple times already, do not do your own FAFSA financial aid. Most parents assume only an online application has to be completed, and then FAFSA Correction updated after receiving tax returns. However, it is far more difficult than the general assumption, so professional assistance is a must in applying for financial aid.

Do not try to fool the government or colleges; they will catch up and will unleash heavy consequences. In this unstable economy, more than 90% of American families cannot afford the high cost of college. Most families try to save up as much money as possible for their kids. However, due to the struggling income, some of these families might have used their savings for other necessary expenses, some might not have that much money saved anyway, and many others did not even save any money at all. People need, and want, money.

Let’s face it: it’s virtually impossible to afford college for average working families. In turn, people beg the government for money. The government does not care about family situations. Regardless of how much schools cost, if you make more than a certain amount of income annually, the government assumes you have enough money to pay for college. So people, in return, lie about their income.

I heard a story from my financial aid advisor. Mr. Doe (real names will not be disclosed) had two sons; he completed the FAFSA by himself for this eldest son. He messed it up horribly. First, he has four people in his household; he put down six, thinking it will increase his financial aid. Second, he did not know that his wife never changed her name on her Social Security card. Third, he was completely unaware of many other college requirements. He thought the federal government won’t find out because it doesn’t have time to do a background check on everyone. My advisor was not clear on what happened after that, but the end result was that his numerous mistakes cost him thousands of dollars in financial aid. He realized how silly he was to do the FAFSA first time without help, so he came to my advisor to do his youngest son’s FAFSA. He begged her to fix his mistakes, but she refused. She can fill out FAFSA forms, she cannot perform miracles. Apparently, it would take a miracle to fix all of the mistakes he made.

First-timers think they are so clever and can fool the government. Unfortunately, they can’t. The consequences for lying are not limited to the denial of financial aid, but you can also face jail time and heavy fines. There are professionals that are well-qualified to help you through this process. So please, get yourself some help and a clue. Thank you for reading.

Read more FAFSA Help from other students and parents who have been through the FAFSA process.

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Comment from your friendly team at College Financial Aid Advice

Thank you Ludi for your Word of Advice re. the FAFSA. Lying on the FAFSA is never a good idea. The information will be cross checked against the Social Security database and IRS database. It is a good idea to get some help from a free FAFSA workshop or financial aid counselor. Best of luck to you.

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FAFSA Help Sessions

by Gnei Dimple Dole
(Honolulu, Hawaii)

When filing out the FAFSA it can be confusing, especially for my parents because they both do not know how to use a computer. Luckily, my school has FAFSA help sessions.

I attended Kaimuki High School in Honolulu, Hawaii and I was fortunate to have attended a great school because they were very helpful. In Hawaii there were a couple of high schools that were having the FAFSA help sessions that helps students fill out their FAFSA in one hour or less.

The people who helped us fill out our FAFSA Application were actual college students who were majoring in accounting and they were kind enough to come to our school to help us for free. The college students were coming from Chaminade University and they really did all the work and filled out our FAFSA.

Always ask your school if they are having any help sessions to help students who are struggling to fill out their FAFSA.

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Comment from your friendly team at College Financial Aid Advice

Thank you Gnei for this great tip. Many high schools and colleges offer FAFSA help sessions. Typically you will bring your financial paper with you and they will help you complete and submit your FAFSA. It sounds great that the accounting students helped out, because some of the most confusing and important part of the FAFSA application is the financial information. Check with your high school or local colleges to see if they will have FAFSA help sessions or other financial aid informational sessions.

You also bring up an important point that some parents do not know how to use a computer. If that is the case, you may want to try a couple of options. First, the student can still submit the FAFSA online and have their own online FAFSA PIN to manage the process online. But instead of getting an online PIN for the parent, the student can print a form for the parent to sign to submit. The second option is to submit a paper copy FAFSA.

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More FAFSA Help

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Prepare to Sit for 30 Minutes

by Yara Celaya
(Laveen, AZ )

When I first applied for financial aid for college, I had no idea the headache it would be. Be prepared to sit for 30 minutes straight and be prepared with your tax information from either your parents or yourself to answer the complicated questions from the previous school year. Have your school's financial aid advisor’s phone number at hand to make sure that any questions that arise can be answered immediately!

What ever you do, do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT wait until last minute to file your application; as most students get comfortable with the process the procrastinate. If for some reason you decide to wait and put it off it will definitely not be in your favor as the opportunity for help from your advisors is not readily available as one would like!

Look for the help tab above or between text on the application online to help you answer the questions that arise, as the application is user friendly. If you get completely lost, ask for an appointment with your financial advisor at your school of choice to sit and fill it out!

Read more FAFSA Hints from other students and parents who have been through the FAFSA process.

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Comment from your friendly team at College Financial Aid Advice

Thank you Yara for sharing your college financial aid advice with others. I like your suggestion of having the phone number to call the financial aid office. They are helpful and experienced financial aid advisors. We have links to all the key FAFSA information and tools at FAFSA Official Website.html.

Check out our more FAFSA tips on financial aid for college at the links below. Good luck.

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FAFSA Tips on Financial Aid for College

FAFSA | FAFSA Hints | Expected Family Contribution
| Dependent or Independent Student | Parental Income on FAFSA | FAFSA Official Website | Printable FAFSA Application | FAFSA Application PIN Number | FAFSA Application | FAFSA Deadline

Submit your essay in our College Essay Contest:

FAFSA Hints | Scholarships and Grants for College | Paying off Student Loans | Scholarship Essay Samples | Other College Financial Aid Advice