What You Should Know When Doing The Fafsa

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What You Should Know When Doing The Fafsa

Thursday, June 12th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

If you are a high school student entering into college for the first time or a non-traditional student joining the academic world for the first time, then you are faced with the problem of having enough money to pay for your college education. How do you pay for college? Financial aid for students is the number one academic concern that can keep a lot of people out of school when in reality it does not need to be this way. There are ways to go to school and get the money you need to do so. But first you will need to become familiar with the FAFSA.

The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid from the government. It is the single most important application you can fill out besides your application for admittance to the university. It lets the government know of your economic status and will determine how much money you qualify for in student aid. You cannot get any form of aid from Pell Grants or student loans without filling out one of these applications, so you can see why they are so important to your academic status.

When filling out the application, you will need some information about yourself. Obviously, you will need to supply very important personal information, such as your name, address, school of choice (up to three that will receive your report), social security number and your previous year’s tax information. The tax information is used to determine how much you make and how much money in Pell Grants you will be able to receive.

Pell Grants are free grant money from the United States government that you do not have to pay back. It is awarded based on your financial need. This is the best way to help pay for school since you do not have to worry about accumulating student loan debt. Granted, you will probably still need to take out student loans to help finish paying for your expenses but the Pell Grant can lessen the debt load.

After filling out the application for aid you will receive what is known as a SAR report. SAR stands for Student Aid Report. It will list how much money you are eligible to receive and when you can expect to receive that money. Even if you know that you do not qualify for a grant, then still fill out the FAFSA since many student loans require the same information on their applications. If you find yourself stalled or confused on any paperwork, then visit your university’s financial aid office for help.

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