Students who are prepared for the SAT’s are statistically more likely to perform well on them than a student who did not prepare for nor had no prior knowledge of what the test would consist of. The same can be said of the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Knowing what’s on the form will enable you to be more effective when filling it out, as there are a number of documents and pieces of information that must be collected in order to validate your information. This will result in getting all of the financial aid you deserve, whether that be loans, grants, scholarships, or work study.
The best way to begin is to download a FAFSA from the US Department of Education website. FAFSA’s are also available on most school’s websites. Study the form, and collect the documents requested. In general, the information you must provide will include:
*Your income and personal information. Your full name, address, date of birth, social security number, etc. All income earned from all sources, including dividends earned on investments. This will include providing your most recent year’s tax returns.
*Your parent’s income and personal information. Their full names, birthdates, social security numbers and more. If you are a dependent student, your parent’s income information will determine how much aid you receive.
*Your student status is a primary question on the FAFSA: Are you part time or Full time? Dependent, Independent, or Independent with dependents?
*Military service. You must indicate on the FAFSA whether service is active duty, reservist or Veteran.
*Information about the school/ program you intend to enroll in
*Information regarding your interest in non-loan programs, such as scholarships and grants
*Your parent’s education history
*Information regarding your criminal history is required on the FAFSA, as some drug convictions can bar you from receiving awards.
*Your marital status
Being prepared by having these documents and pieces of information available can go a long way toward getting you the financial aid you need. In fact, if you have this information available, completing the FAFSA can take as little as 25 minutes. However, if you don’t understand something on the FAFSA, you may use the help feature on the US Department of Education’s website, or ask a financial aid official at your school.
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