By: Yara Zakharia, Esq.Many students who need a student loan or student financial aid aren’t sure where to start. However, the place to start is with FAFSA, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. FAFSA is basically the form a student can fill out annually to determine their eligibility for a federal student loan or student financial aid. This includes a student loan, work-study programming and grants. Additionally, most states and educational institutions use information obtained from the FAFSA to award non-federal student financial aid too.
The FAFSA consists of numerous questions regarding the student’s finances, as well as those of the student’s family. This information is then entered into a formula that determines what is known as the Expected Family Contribution, or EFC. The total EFC can vary quite a bit depending upon a number of factors. An example could be whether or not the student has siblings in college at the same time, thus determining how much FAFSA financial aid or student financial aid is needed. Additional factors could be the specific college or state of residency of the student. These could determine whether the student is eligible for school or state student financial aid, in addition to federal FAFSA financial aid. A Student Aid Report (SAR) includes a summary of the student’s financial aid package and the EFC. This is forwarded to the schools listed by the student in addition to the student. These schools will then use the SAR to determine what student financial aid package or student loan the student should be awarded.
The timeline for FAFSA can vary. The FAFSA financial aid process can take anywhere from a few weeks to two months, depending on when your FAFSA application is submitted. The sooner you send in your FAFSA application, the better. In general, it is probably best to check with your school's individual FAFSA financial aid office. Deadlines for FAFSA applications depend on individual schools. However, most schools, agencies and scholarship providers expect your FAFSA aid applications to be completed no later than June 30. However there is a limited amount of available FAFSA funding and it is usually disbursed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The FAFSA can seem like a needless complication on the way to a student loan, but it is the only way to determine the amounts each individual is eligible for. FAFSA doesn’t have to be complex, it can be filled out on paper and mailed in or it can be filled out online and submitted to the Department of Education. Recently, online FAFSA completion has become the more popular option as it takes a shorter amount of time to reach its destination and using the postal service can potentially mean lost FAFSA applications.
One thing to be aware of is that filling out a FAFSA does not guarantee a person FAFSA financial aid. If you are determined to be ineligible for FAFSA financial aid, you may receive assistance in other ways. There is state funded financial aid, school funded financial aid, scholarships and grants and private student loans that can also provide support for your educational expenses.
