<p>Whens the best time to file the fafsa for the 06-07 year if you already filed the FAFSA for 05-06 year ?</p>
<p>Do you mean you will be renewing your FAFSA? If you did the FAFSA online last year, you should be able to access your information online on January 1. If you did a paper version, they will send you a paper form aoon after the 1st of January with last year's data to be corrected, or this year's to be completed.</p>
<p>My experience so far with two different universities is that renewal financial aid is decided quite late in the spring or even in June. So, even though you can put in your renewal fafsa as early as January 1, there is no reason to hurry it up like there is with initial aid for an incoming freshman. If there is a deadline set by the univ., follow that and don't worry about doing it sooner.</p>
<p>What about first time FAFSA filing? Does Jan 2 or Jan 31 makes difference? Or as long as you file under deadline it is about same?</p>
<p>For an initial filing, the sooner the better. Give yourself some leeway just in case something pops up that may need correction (aside from just the estimations). The most critical date in the process is the school's priority deadline. Consider this your drop-dead date, but you'll want to have the FAFSA filed before this for processing time by DOE and pick up from the the schools.</p>
<p>End of January is normally our goal.</p>
<p>We have seen some refiling dates as late as May.</p>
<p>If a universities deadline is March1 for the Fafsa (financial aid)....but the taxes are not due until april 15....and the info on the Fafsa are still estimates in march.... how is it possible for them to know if the info in the Fafsa is estimates or actual numbers...</p>
<p>....and how do the Fafsa people know that that information is true that people enter in??</p>
<p>The first time you file the FAFSA, it is in your best interest to file your taxes as close to February 1 as possible. This is NOT the time to put off filing until April 15. We will be filing the FAFSA as a "will file" on January 2. We will complete our taxes immediately upon receiving our W2 forms at the end of Jan and will go and amend the FAFSA as soon as our taxes are completed. NO delaying this year...not worth it. If you do not complete your taxes until April 15, and therefore do not complete the real FAFSA numbers, you are jeopardizing your chances at finaid. Do your taxes ASAP this year. For renewals you can wait until later.</p>
<p>so im guessing that if my parents get a six month extension until october to fill taxs....i wont get any financial aid.?? lol : /</p>
<p>You won't necessarily get any aid, but you will likely get much less. The most common method the school uses to verify your FAFSA info is to request a copy of the student's and parents' signed tax returns for the year. This tax return doens't necessarily have to be filed at that time, but it will need to be signed and completed.</p>
<p>For example, you and your parents get your tax returns done at the end of January. Your family owes $2,000 in taxes. Obviously, you don't want to file and pay until you have to; so you wait until April 15th.</p>
<p>In March, the school asks for a copy of the tax returns to verify your award. You send a copy of the completed but not yet filed return. This is the normative process.</p>
<p>When filing for first time financial aid, I agree with the other parents that sooner is better. Most schools do have drop dead dates as funds are limited and if you are late you could essentially be out of the money. If your paperwork is late, at some schools the money could be gone by the time they get to your application. </p>
<p>Remember that only a handful of school have the funds to meet 100% of your demonstrated need using grant/scholarship aid. The rest, especially in the case of need sensitive/need aware schools will process until the money runs out then between 2 similiarly qualified students, will take the one that requires the least amount of money from them.</p>
<p>Many schools also have a verification process (as the government does require a random sample of applications to be verified against the paper work). This verification process has now become a standard practice at many schools and they will not send you a finalized package unitl all of your paperwork has been submitted.</p>
<p>As a retuning student, your FA paperwork may not be due unitl the spring. However, you and your parents should still gather all of your information so that it is available for you to file. This is especially inportant if you are dealing with non custodial parents, parents who have their own businesses, farm, whose filings are not pretty straight forward or have had changes in their financial situations.</p>
<p>As a first year student, it is in your best interest to have yor parents file and fill out the forms asap. Even if they owe money to the IRS, they can still file, they just have until April 15 to send their check.</p>
<p>scottaa, do all schools ask for a copy of the tax returns to verify your award in March....?</p>
<p>Thanks for everyones help</p>
<p>A copy of the tax returns to verify your award is pretty much standard practice (think aboutit, it a school did not verify information you could essentially put down anything in the hopes of maximizing your financial aid). I know as a first year student each school required a copy of my tax information before my D's admissions/financial aid letters were sent out. </p>
<p>As a returning student, I had to submit my tax information with the financial aid paperwork.</p>
<p>In my experience, schools will ask for tax returns about 40-50% of the time.</p>
<p>How do you file a fafsa if its your second time filing the fafsa?</p>
<p>Assuming you filed via the Internet last year...</p>
<p>Go to the FAFSA website and click on "File Renewal FAFSA"</p>
<p>Which FAFSA do you use, FAFSA.com or FAFSA.ed.gov?</p>
<p>Can you start filling out the FAFSA application on Dec.31 and summit on January 1, 2011?
Or wait till midnight to start your application?</p>
<p>DO NOT use fafsa.com. ONLY use fafsa.gov.</p>
<p>The 11-12 FAFSA will not be available until (at least) 12:01 a.m. January 1, 2011. You will still be fine if you wait until tomorrow afternoon. ;)</p>
<p>@EvansRhythm, FAFSA.com is a clever company that took out a similar domain, it is not the official FAFSA. It’s basically what H&R Block does for taxes, except for the FAFSA. I would probably not recommend using them, since you (or your parents) can probably do a good enough job yourself.</p>
<p>All they do is charge you to file what you would otherwise file yourself. On top of that, you are giving them social security numbers, birth dates, income info, etc. Do not, do not, do not fall for that. There is nothing they will do for you other than charge you to submit a form that is free to submit.</p>