FAFSA Forms
After you have applied for admission to the institution of
your choice, apply for federal financial aid by filling out a Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form will
determine your eligibility for financial aid from the government
including Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity
Grants, Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, and work-study. To obtain a
paper FAFSA, check with your guidance office, or contact the
admissions or financial aid office at your school or contact the
Department of Education at (800) 4-FED-AID.
If you would like to fill out the FAFSA on the Internet, visit the Department of Education's Web Site, www.fafsa.ed.gov. You can fill out a secure form, and you can save it if you would like to work on it in more than one session. (You probably will -- it's a tough one!) The online FAFSA will work with most browsers for 1999-2000.
You must fill out a new FAFSA for each year you plan to be enrolled in school. The best time to apply for aid is between January 1 and March 1, since most schools award aid on a first-come, first-served basis. About six weeks after you submit your FAFSA, you will receive a student aid report that will give you an opportunity to correct previously reported 'incorrect information' before the form goes from the Department of Education to your school.
The FAFSA requires financial information for the previous tax year. For example, for the 1999-2000 academic year, you must provide 1998 financial information. Even though you may not be able to complete your federal income tax return until March or April, you should not wait to file your FAFSA until your tax returns are filed with the IRS. Instead, use estimated income information and submit the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1. Do not submit your FAFSA before January 1 -- if you do it will be automatically disqualified!
When you sit down to fill out the FAFSA, it would be helpful to have the following forms and documents handy because you will have to refer to them and/or use them to provide specific information:
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US Income Tax Returns (IRS Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ) for the fiscal year that just ended and W-2 and 1099 forms
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Records of untaxed income, such as Social Security benefits, AFDC or ADC, child support, welfare, pensions, military subsistence allowances, and veterans benefits
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Current bank statements and mortgage information
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Medical and dental expenses for the past year which weren't covered by health insurance.
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Business and/or farm records
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Records of investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, as well as bank Certificates of Deposit (CDs) and recent statements from any money market accounts