Tips to Help Complete Your FAFSA

by Megan
(Ohio)

I have been taking college classes since 2006. Which means I have had to complete my FAFSA many times in order to apply for any financial aid. I have always been responsible for doing all of my applications as well as my taxes myself since I was 18 years old.

The first thing to remember is to have all of your income information ready and in front of you. If you are under the age of 24 you will also need your parent's income information. The website is very easy to follow and it asks you questions in a specific order to help fill out the forms.

You will need to know what school you want your results from your FAFSA to be sent to. You can pick several schools and have it sent to all of them if you wish.

After submitting your application you will be contacted from the schools that you chose on what financial aid you are being offered. This is for grants, not loans or scholarships. You may still apply for scholarships if you wish and for loans if needed as well. Most schools require a FAFSA to be done, even if you know that you will be a self-pay already.

My school does and sadly I've been a self-pay student for most of my college career. Here recently after turning 24 I started getting some financial aid since my FAFSA goes off of my income alone, but it still isn't enough to cover everything and I always end up paying. But something is always better than nothing and you learn to do your best because you are ultimately the one paying.

Overall, FAFSA is not hard, it is not scary or intimidating, and the average college student should be able to complete their own application without any difficulties. Good luck to all and work for what you want...always!

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Comment from your friendly team at College Financial Aid Advice

Thank you Megan for sharing your story about Tips to Help Complete Your FAFSA. The FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid get easier the more times you fill it out.

Navigating FAFSA

by Kaise
(North Carolina)

As I approached my Junior year in High School my mom and I sat down to search for general info on the CFNC website about how to plan and pay for college. I am a senior in High School and will be graduating in June 2014! I have a dream and desire to enter college in the Fall of 2014 with efforts of pursuing my degree as a Pediatric Nurse. The first time you access the www.fafsa.ed.gov site there is a lot of important information available to guide you. When you're ready to apply for financial aide I recommend to please have all important documents ready including financial,school and other personal information to use during the application process. To begin your FAFSA application you will need your social security number, birth date and you will have a chance to select a pin number. Please write down your pin number for future use.

Next you will need to create a secure username and password. Also make sure you are working without any distractions so that your application session does not time out. Enter all information truthfully and accurately without any missing information as you go through each section.

Most importantly know the school(s) that you are interested in applying to and attending. It is very helpful to have your parent assist you with any of their personal and financial info that may be required. If you need to save what you have entered and go back be sure to do so then log out. Take note of your pin and confirmation in case you need it again when logging back in. Once all of the necessary information has been entered be sure to submit.

You may have to re-enter your FAFSA pin again and please print your confirmation page. Soon after you will get a confirmation email of your application.

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

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Comment from your friendly team at College Financial Aid Advice

Thank you Kaise for sharing your tips about navigating FAFSA. The FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the best way to get financial aid for college.

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