My daughter is beginning the college application process and we have started thinking about financial aid. I thought I would start a thread where parents could discuss any questions or confusions they had about FAFSA, because from my research, it is a confusing process.
What is the deadline for turning in your FAFSA form? And what documents/forms should we have on hand when we begin filling out the form?
Deadlines depend on the individual colleges that you are submitting the form to. Check the website of each college. However, some aid (not federal entitlements) is given out on a first-come, first-served basis, so getting financial aid apps in as soon as you can might be a good idea, depending on what aid is potentially available.
When you are completing FAFSA, it will be helpful to have with you the appropriate tax returns (parents and student, if applicable) and information regarding the value of any assets (bank accounts, investment accounts, etc.) as of the day that you are completing the form.
FAFSA for 2017-18 school year will be available on Oct 1. Some schools have moved their priority deadlines for FA up to as early as Nov., so don’t rely on websites for deadlines as they might be outdated (the Oct 1 availability date is new this year).
Get your FSA ID (the student needs one, parent needs one) before Oct. 1 so you are ready to go when the application opens.
You will need current bank account balances, list of assets, but 2015 tax returns. You may need some information from your 2015 W-2’s (amount contributed to 401k)
It is best when you sign up for your FSA ID and do FAFSA to have actual social security card in hand to make sure your name and social sec # matches what’s on your card. Also pay particular attention that address and birthdate is correct.
The FAFSA that starts in Oct 2016 is for school year 2017/18 and will use tax returns for year 2015. These should hopefully be done by then (if you filed an extension in April try to do them asap).
Some state also have early deadlines.
I was confounded too. FAFSA actually turned out to be fairly easy. Make sure you write down all the PINs you choose. I did the FAFSA at the same time I did my taxes. That way I had all the bank statements at my fingertips. All the schools my son applied to required the FAFSA be filed before March 1. If you google “FAFSA sample” you should be able to find an example to qualm your anxiety. There’s also a VERY helpful video on YouTube from Khan Academy. Once you have the PINs set up and your paperwork it’s actually very easy. Do it even if you don’t think you are eligible for aid. Some outside scholarships require it. Here’s the You Tube link:
I use TurboTax to do my taxes and it can spit out just about everything you need for FAFSA quite easily.
As mentioned above, some scholarships (not just outside) require that you fill it out. Some colleges want to be sure students get any government aid they might be eligible for, so they’ll require you to fill out a FAFSA so they won’t miss out on any possible PELL grant money.
Financial aid can be very confusing. I can send you a spreadsheet which shows what paperwork has to be submitted by when for a fairly long list of colleges. In most cases the FAFSA is due on or around Feb 1st. If your child is applying early action or early decision, these application deadlines are usually around Oct 1st and you will probably have to submit other, preliminary paperwork when the EA or ED application is submitted and then around Feb the definitive FAFSA. In years past you would submit FAFSA in Feb based on the tax year which just finished. For next year and going forward the FAFSA will be submitted based on what is called the “prior, prior” year. This is so parents don’t have to rush to complete their taxes just to hit a financial aid deadline
One thing that’s confusing to many is that EFC is rather meaningless. You could have an EFC of $7500 and your child’s school might cost $25k…and all you might get is a $5500 loa
FAFSA is just an application for fed aid…which isn’t much. Colleges are under NO OBLIGATION to give you money because usually, most colleges have little money to give.
If there are 2 working parents filing jointly, you will need their W2’s (or each person’s income) in addition to the tax return. For some reason FAFSA wants the income of each parent rather than the total.
Keep in mind, too, that the date that FAFSA becomes available to fill out will be earlier this year. Some schools may be adjusting their deadline dates so check the websites again in the fall to make sure you have the most current information.
What if you haven’t filed your taxes when its time to fill out the form? Do you have to wait until you file them?
No, you can estimate your income and tax information using the previous year. If you google “estimating tax returns on fafsa” you will find a lot of helpful results. Once you file you taxes, however, you must update the information on your fafsa account.
Another thing that I have noticed many find confusing is eligibility to apply. If you are a U.S. citizen and have a high school diploma, odds are you can submit FAFSA. Your family’s income has nothing to do with you eligibility to apply. I believe everyone should apply, even saving a few hundred dollars on college education could be helpful!
If you haven’t filed your taxes by Oct 1 but will file by Oct 15 (isn’t that the last extension date?) I’d just wait the two weeks.
With the move to prior-prior year reporting for the 2017-2018 FAFSA (and Profile, as well), not having taxes done should rarely, if ever, be a factor anymore.
Your FAFSA for 2017-2018 uses the 2015 taxes. The 2017-2018 FAFSA will be available in October 2016. Your 2015 taxes should be completed for 2015 by October 2016.
Can you still choose to use prior year, instead of prior-prior?
No.