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FAFSA Facts: What you Need to Know about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Contemplating the costs of today's higher education can surely make college-bound students- and especially their parents- lose sleep at night. But take comfort in knowing that the United States offers over eighty billion dollars in federal aid for students each year. A helpful chunk of that aid is likely available to fund your educational goals.

It's important to know that the financial aid process can start even BEFORE you have been officially accepted by a college, and the process begins with a few sheets of paper called FAFSA.

FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the crucial first step towards financing your college education. All federal grants, loans, and work-study programs, as well as many private forms of financial aid, are based upon your FAFSA application.

FAFSA needs to be submitted as early as possible (typically January) in the school year you plan to attend college. If, for example, you expect to start college in September 2008, then you must submit your FAFSA in January of that same year (2008).

FAFA is a fairly straight-forward form that requests information about you and your parents' financial situation, such as assets you (and your parents) currently have, as well as how much money you (and your parents) earned in the previous year. If you (and/or your parents) have not filed your previous year's federal tax return, it is okay to estimate the information from the W2 forms you should have received from employers by this time.

TIP: Be prepared!

You may have to wait to receive W-2 forms from each employer you (and/or your parents) worked for in the previous year. Fortunately, much of the FAFSA can be completed without that information- fill in as much as you can ahead of time, so you can immediately focus on the financial information once you get your W-2's (and by law, employers must give you your W-2's by the end of January).

(NOTE: There are situations in which your parents' information is not required, such as in the case of students who are not claimed as dependents on their parents' income tax return.)

FAFSA also requires you specify the college you plan to attend. It's okay if you have not yet been accepted, and it's perfectly fine if you list more than one college you have applied to. College names are necessary for FAFSA processors to determine the total cost of attending school, and that amount can vary wildly from college to college.

FAFSA

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