<p>Hi, I am a high school senior who has been filling out her FAFSA online.</p>
<p>I checked the deadlines for FAFSA and CSS Profile deadlines for all my colleges,
and most of them say both are needed to be submitted by sometime in Februrary. (Dates vary from school to school)
I am done with CSS profile, and have only two blanks left with my FAFSA--just need to find a document for those two little parts.
I plan on submitting these as soon as possible though, hopefully tomorrow.</p>
<p>However, I have been told by a few people and I have read on the FAFSA form that
"submit your application as early as possible, but no earlier than January 1, 2009." </p>
<p>Does this mean that I should've submitted all my FA forms as closest to 1/1/2009 as possible?
Are there any advantages for applicants who submit the forms earlier than the people who submit
a few days before the deadlines? More FA granted, etc...?</p>
<p>Also, another question - I've noticed that a few colleges require a "IDOC coversheet."
Does anyone have any idea what this is? I'm pretty lost with all these financial aid forms...</p>
<p>I'd really appreciate your help. Thank you and happy lunar new year!</p>
<p>There is no financial advantage to submitting the forms very early, except that, you are done! That's a good thing, isn't it? At least, this is true for most places. There may be some schools that DO give an advantage to those who file early, but, if so, they are the exception, not the rule. Anyhow, for the most part, you don't get more FA for doing it early. Schools have deadlines, and they want you to get the stuff in on time. IDOC has been talked about on another thread in this forum. There are a number of schools that use college board's IDOC service (I don't remember what the letters stand for) as a separate reporting system. Search for IDOC on this forum, and you'll get more info.</p>
<p>Some schools, such as University of Michigan, ask applicants to apply early for aid. This is in part because their MERIT programs can be "need informed." The earlier you apply, the better the chance for institutional aid (eg. grants from the school to cover shortfalls, etc.). Applying later in theory should not directly affect things such as the Pell grant (I think...)</p>
<p>But it is a simple matter to file now with highly accurate estimate and correct/confirm when the 2008 tax returns are complete.
Depending on the school to which you are applying, this might be your safest bet.
Cheers,
K</p>