The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the most common form of financial aid available in America. It’s a universal application that can be used by all U.S. citizens attending public and private colleges, universities, vocational schools or other post-secondary institutions at the undergraduate level…and it’s free! For those who are unsure about how to fill out the FAFSA form on their own, here are 31 things you should know before completing your 2018–19 FAFSA:
The “fafsa facts for parents” is a list of 31 facts about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Most high school students take a critical step in their transition to college life by applying for federal help. Parents who are unfamiliar with the college admissions process may not understand that they may assist their children in applying for grants and scholarships via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
FAFSA applications for the 2021-2022 academic year commenced on October 1 and will close on June 30, 2022. If you’re searching for FAFSA facts to help your kid apply for college assistance in the 2021-2022 academic year, we’ve put together a list of the most relevant information on how you can assist your child with the FAFSA process.
For the first time, you’re filling out the FAFSA? These information and FAFSA guidelines will help you prepare for the application process and provide advice on how to maximize your financial assistance.
Guide to the FAFSA
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1. To receive government student loans, you must complete the FAFSA.
FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Help, and it is the form that students use to apply for federal financial aid. Every year, approximately 18 million students apply for financial aid via the FAFSA. If your kid does not apply for government-funded college help, such as loans or grants, they will be ineligible.
FAFSA 101: How to Fill Out the FAFSA is a good place to start.
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2. Filling out the FAFSA might help your child qualify for grants.
Your kid may be eligible for awards in addition to subsidized or unsubsidized loans via FAFSA. The Pell grant is a popular government grant that is given to first-time undergraduate students who have shown extreme financial need, such as coming from a low-income household.
Types of Federal Student Loans (recommended)
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3. It also determines whether or not you are eligible for work-study.
Work-study is a federal program that allows students to earn money while attending college by working part-time. These occupations might be on-campus or off-campus, and they vary per institution, albeit not all colleges participate. To see whether you’re qualified for work-study programs, you’ll need to fill out the FAFSA.
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4. Some schools use the FAFSA to determine what kind of financial aid they can provide.
If the institutions to which your kid applies provide their own financial help, such as need-based scholarships, FAFSA may be used to evaluate eligibility. You should inquire whether the schools your kid is applying to have a separate application for internal scholarships and awards.
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5. Almost every applicant under the age of 24 is considered a dependent.
Most students under the age of 24 will not be allowed to qualify as independents, therefore family income will not be taken into account. Instead, they’ll most likely be classified as a dependent student, which means they’ll require financial information from their parents to complete the FAFSA.
Recommended: Are you an independent or dependent student?
https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/independent-vs-dependent-student/
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6. Your child need your personal information in order to apply.
If your kid is claiming you as a dependant, they’ll require some basic financial information from you, such as your salary and bank statement. You may also apply for a Parent PLUS loan, which will assist pay your child’s educational costs if they don’t get enough money through loans and grants. It’s worth noting that you may need more information to qualify for a Parent Plus loan.
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7. High-Income Families May Still Be Interested in Applying
If your family is middle- or upper-class, you may be concerned about whether or not your kid will be eligible for FAFSA assistance. Applying is, however, free, and family income is merely one of several variables taken into account during the selection process. Furthermore, even if you don’t believe your kid will need or get help, your child’s school may need FAFSA to be eligible for institutional aid, so it’s worth submitting even if you don’t think he or she will.
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8. FAFSA Eligibility Isn’t Affected by Grades
There is no minimum GPA required to apply for FAFSA. However, your kid should be aware that any help received via FAFSA may be forfeited if they have bad grades for many semesters after receiving it.
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9. State and school deadlines may differ.
While the FAFSA does not end until June 30, 2022, state and school FAFSA application dates may differ. Federal requirements may be met before state and school deadlines. If you’re unsure about your student’s deadlines, contact the financial aid departments of each school your kid is applying to and inquire about their FAFSA deadlines.
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10. Having Multiple Children in College Doesn’t Affect Eligibility Any Longer
Starting with the FAFSA form for 2021-2022, the number of children in a household who are in college or who are applying to college will no longer influence their financial aid eligibility. Families with numerous children in college used to be eligible for additional financial help. This is one of several improvements brought about by the FAFSA Simplification Act, which attempts to make the FAFSA form easier to understand and fill out, perhaps encouraging more families to do so.
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11. Family Contribution Expectations are Shifting
The expected family contribution (EFC) is a calculation that FAFSA uses to determine how much a family can pay to the cost of a student’s education. Starting in the 2024-2025 academic year, the EFC will be replaced by the student aid index, or SAI, as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act. While that may seem long away, a freshman who enrolls in the 2021-2022 academic year will graduate in 2025, meaning this change might influence their assistance eligibility during their final year.
What is your anticipated family contribution (EFC)?
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12. The FAFSA Process for Children of Divorce is Changing
When a child’s parents were divorced before the new streamlined FAFSA, the custodial parent’s information was included on the form. With the new regulations, the parent who provides the student with the greatest financial assistance is now responsible for completing the FAFSA.
Recommended: How much money can I anticipate from the FAFSA?
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13. Your Social Security Numbers will be required.
You’ll need your social security or alien registration numbers as you and your kid prepare to fill out the FAFSA.
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14. Be prepared with non-taxable income.
What FAFSA deems nontaxable income is one issue that parents may have. For the purposes of the FAFSA, this often includes (but is not limited to):
- Compensation for employees
- Benefits for people with disabilities
- Benefits from the government
- Earnings from Social Security
- Benefits for veterans
- Allowances for military or ecclesiastical personnel (if applicable)
- Governments do not tax foreign income.
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15. Grants and Scholarships may be required to be reported by your child.
Most first-year college students will not be required to record any grants or scholarships. They could, however, if they have to record them on their taxes, such as:
- Benefits from AmeriCorps, such as living allowances and awards
- Work-study, assistantships, and fellowships that are taxable
- Earnings from joint education programs, battle pay, or special combat pay
- Other scholarships or awards reported to the IRS
If you’re unsure about whether sorts of grants are taxable, get advice from a tax specialist.
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16. Have your bank statements on hand
You’ll need bank statements for both you and your kid to complete the FAFSA application. This information is used to calculate how much financial assistance your kid is qualified for.
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17. To apply online, you’ll need an FSA ID.
You’ll also need a federal student assistance (FSA) ID if you want to file FAFSA online. This is just your username and password, which you and your kid must both establish (you may do so here). This is also where you’ll sign your promissory note.
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You don’t have to file your taxes before you file your taxes.
You and your kid do not need to submit taxes before completing the FAFSA; however, you must disclose last year’s taxes at that time. This is due to the fact that your tax bracket might affect the amount of help your kid is entitled for.
Recommendation: What tax bracket do I fall into?
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19. You’ll need a list of assets on hand.
To evaluate assistance eligibility, the FAFSA looks at parental assets. You’ll need to know how much money you have in assets, such as (but not limited to):
- Cash, savings, and checking accounts all have money in them.
- Farms or businesses
- Small enterprises that are controlled and held by a family
- Farms for investment
- Other assets, such as real estate or UGMA and UTMA accounts owned by you as the parent (Note that if they are merely the custodian of these accounts and not the owner, they do not need to be reported.)
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20. 529 College Savings Plans are also considered assets.
You’ll also need to include any 592 College Savings Plans you have while filling out the asset information. Investment assets, not income, should be mentioned for these programs.
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21. You don’t have to include your primary residence as an asset.
Listing your principal residence as an asset is a typical FAFSA blunder. FAFSA, on the other hand, does not force you to do so. In fact, declaring it as an asset may reduce the amount of financial assistance your kid gets.
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You don’t need to know about your retirement or insurance.
Retirement and insurance funds aren’t included as assets on the FAFSA. Again, mentioning them may inflate the number of assets you have and, as a result, reduce the amount of financial assistance your kid receives.
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23. Make a list of all the schools your child is applying to.
You’ll need a list of all the schools your kid could be interested in applying to when you and your youngster complete out the FAFSA. To add each school to the list of schools you want your FAFSA information sent to, you’ll need their federal school code, which you may find on the form itself if you can’t find it on the school’s website. It’s probably a good idea to include schools your kid isn’t sure they want to go to just yet, since it’s faster to add them to the list now than than sending them your FAFSA information later.
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24. Financial Aid Updates Will Be Provided by Schools, Not the Government
Because schools, not the government, provide financial aid packages, you’ll need to submit your FAFSA to any schools your kid is contemplating applying to. As a result, each school to whom your kid applies may provide a unique financial help package.
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25. It Can Be Expensive to Ignore Information
Before you press submit, double-check that you’ve filled out every area of the FAFSA (and accurate). Skipping parts of the FAFSA might cause delays in processing, problems that prohibit you from submitting, and even a reduction in the amount of assistance you get.
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26. Your child will be required to attend exit counseling for student loans.
You may hear about student loan exit counseling when filling out the FAFSA or speaking with your school’s financial assistance office. Anyone who receives federal student financial help must do so. Counseling is a simple online course that will teach your kid how to manage the student loan repayment process. In your child’s last year of school, an email will be sent to their email address reminding them of the exit counseling deadline. However, before the counseling session, you and your kid should research student loan exit repayment alternatives to ensure they choose the best option for their financial position.
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27. File Early for the Most Assistance
While it may seem that you have plenty of time to finish the FAFSA, it is probably advisable to do it sooner rather than later. If you wait too long, your state’s or school’s financial help may run out before your kid is even considered. Furthermore, understanding how much financial assistance each school offers your kid may assist them in picking which school to attend.
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You could be chosen for FAFSA verification.
Your kid may get a message stating that they have been chosen for verification after receiving their student assistance report. Some institutions utilize FAFSA verification to ensure that students’ FAFSA information is correct. Some schools choose students to be verified at random, while others verify all students. Some institutions may choose not to verify any students.
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29. You Have the Right to Appeal Your Aid Package
When your kid receives his or her financial assistance packages, he or she may discover that they were granted less than they anticipated or hoped for. If your child’s dream college didn’t provide enough financial help (or didn’t provide any aid at all), they may be able to apply for more. If your financial position has changed since you and your kid initially filed for FAFSA, this step is very critical. While some schools may refuse your request, it costs you and your kid nothing except time to seek for further assistance.
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30. You may make a list of unusual financial circumstances.
Listing exceptional financial circumstances on your FAFSA and in an appeal letter to schools you’re applying to is another option to attempt to boost your financial aid package. The following are just a few examples of rare circumstances:
- Expenses for elementary and/or secondary school tuition
- Unexpected medical or dental costs that aren’t covered by insurance
- Having a family member who has just lost their job
- Changes in income and/or assets that may have an impact on assistance eligibility
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31. Every year, you’ll have to reapply
After you’ve submitted your FAFSA, you should keep your login credentials secure. You’ll need that information to complete FAFSA every year your kid attends school, and missing your FSA login information might cause you to miss out on applying the next year. Although FAFSA will give you an email reminder when next year’s FAFSA is available, you may wish to set a reminder on your phone or calendar to apply next year.
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The Remainder
FAFSA is a critical first step in assisting your kid in paying for college. Understanding how FAFSA works and how to maximize the amount of assistance your kid gets will help them earn more federal aid.
If their financial assistance package is insufficient to meet educational expenses, they may wish to look into private student loans. Because private student loans are not obligated to provide the same borrower safeguards as federal student loans, they are often regarded as a last resort after all other options have been exhausted.
More information is available at:
MediaFeed.org syndicated this story, which first appeared on SoFi.com.
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Farley, Kaitlyn
MediaFeed’s writer/editor is Kaitlyn Farley. She is pursuing her master’s degree in journalism at Northwestern University, with a focus on social justice and investigative reporting. She has covered higher education, local politics, natural catastrophes, and investigative and watchdog topics pertaining to Title IX and transparency problems at several radio stations and newsrooms.
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The “how old do you have to be to file fafsa without parents” is a question that many students ask. The answer is dependent on the student’s age.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum parent income to qualify for fafsa?
A: The maximum family income to qualify for the Free Application For Federal Student Aid is $47,000. However, this does not mean that an individual household must earn at or below that amount in order to receive aid from the FAFSA.
Do parents have to pay back fafsa?
A: No, unfortunately.
What are 3 facts about financial aid?
A: The first thing that you should know about financial aid is that its not free money. In fact, a lot of institutions will require the student to pay back any loans or grants they receive. Some students also have to fill out forms with the IRS when filing their taxes and may be required to file for them in order for the funds from your institution to be tax deductible.
The second thing is that there are many different types of financial aid available such as scholarships, fellowships, grants (loans), work-study programs and more!
Finally – dont wait until its too late! If youre thinking of going on scholarship or getting other type of grant/work study opportunities while still in school then start looking around now so your options arent limited later on down the line!
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