Is FAFSA used for college scholarships?

I'm starting to fill out my FAFSA forms and I'm wondering if the information there is automatically used to consider me for scholarships as well as financial aid. Does anyone know how that works?

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is primarily a tool used to determine eligibility for federal aid, which includes grants, work-study funds, and loans. This aid is typically need-based and determined by your family's financial situation.

Now for scholarships, it's a bit different. While the FAFSA doesn't directly qualify you for most scholarships, the data provided within it can be used by your chosen colleges to determine your eligibility for their own institutional grants and scholarships. This is because some schools use a combination of your FAFSA information and your overall academic record to determine scholarship allocations.

However, there are many scholarships, especially those offered by external organizations and foundations, that require you to apply separately. These external scholarships usually have particular requirements and their own application processes.

So, while FAFSA data can be used to help determine your financial need for scholarships specific to certain colleges, it's still important to actively seek out and apply for other scholarships for which you might be eligible.

Remember also that some colleges and universities may require additional financial aid forms, like the CSS Profile, especially if they offer non-federal financial aid packages. You should check each college's financial aid website to see exactly which forms they require.