I'm a junior in high school, and my parents are starting to look into the FAFSA. They have some questions about what information they'll need to provide. For any parents or students who've already gone through this process, what are the key things they should be prepared for when filling out the FAFSA? Are there any common mistakes to avoid or tips to ensure everything goes smoothly? Any help would be greatly appreciated as we navigate through this.
The FAFSA is definitely a critical component of the college application and financing process. You're right to start looking into it early. Here are some details to keep in mind:
First, compile all the necessary financial documents. This includes tax returns, W-2s, bank statements, records of investments, and records of untaxed income. Remember, the FAFSA uses "prior-prior year" tax data. Meaning, if you're applying for aid for the 2024-2025 school year, you'd use tax info from 2022.
A regular mistake parents make is misunderstanding which parent's information to provide if they're divorced or separated. The student should include information for the parent with whom the student lived more during the past 12 months. If time was split evenly, information should be provided for the parent who provided more financial support.
Another common mistake is not including the student's name and social security number exactly as it appears on their social security card. This can lead to the FAFSA being rejected. Be careful with this information.
You'll also need to list the schools where the FAFSA information should be sent. Be aware that some schools have early FAFSA submission deadlines, so be sure to look up individual schools' financial aid deadlines and submit everything accordingly.
Finally, many people forget to sign and date the FAFSA before submitting. Both the student and one parent (if you're a dependent student) need to sign. You can do this electronically by creating a FSA ID.
Starting from the 2023-24 school year, the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) was replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI). So, if you found older resources mentioning EFC, substitute that with SAI. The main differences between EFC and SAI is that SAI can be as low as negative $1,500, and SAI is not divided based on number of students in college within a family.
Hope this information helps on your journey to financing your education!
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