<p>And what about the FAFSA? I mean, assuming you have all of the tax forms and etc. in front of you. And also assuming that you are absolutely clueless financially :P I just need to know so I can plan my time accordingly.</p>
<p>So can anyone give me a rough estimate of how long each would take? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>If you have uncomplicated finances, it is a matter of taking numbers off your tax return and investment and bank account statements and inserting them into the forms. Maybe an hour or two to make sure you have what you need and understand what you are doing. Do the Profile first, and at the end it gives you the FAFSA numbers as well.</p>
<p>If on the other hand you have a family farm or business, you may need to hire a CPA to fill out the required supplement, and there will be a lot of gray areas.</p>
<p>That's good to hear =) I just wanted to make sure that it didn't take hours and hours (or even days). </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I would suggest that you complete the FAFSA worksheet first...then do the FAFSA. The questions are the same and once the worksheet is completed, it's just a matter of transferring the numbers onto the form. It does take a bit of time....not just minutes, but yes, hours, to complete.</p>
<p>My first FAFSA took days--- mostly making sure I understood how it worked, and getting all the numbers together, running the finaid calculators, and tweaking some things. Actually inputting the numbers, once you have them in hand, might take an hour or two.</p>
<p>But it's a big mistake to wait until it's due and just plug in the numbers. Planning should start months, or years, ahead.</p>
<p>Agree with sblake7</p>
<p>FAFSA was pretty straightforward for us but the PROFILE.....it took us a week just to fill out the business/farm supplement.</p>
<p>Some of the questions are confusing, so allow plenty of time to read the instructions thoroughly. There is also a toll free number to call (which I had to do numerous times).</p>