First generation college applicant

Parents Forum
21

<p>ASO,</p>

<p>As far as completing the FAFSA goes, (this is the form required for all federal financial aid, such as Pell grants, workstudy and loans, and also for state grant money) you cannot fill out the form until January 1. However, you can apply online when January 1 comes. </p>

<p>At this point, you can get the pin number so you can sign the form electronically. Go to <a href="http://www.pin.ed.gov%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.pin.ed.gov&lt;/a> and enter the information necessary for you and for one of your parents. After you apply for your pin number, it will be emailed to you after a few days. Be sure to print it out or copy it off the Internet, and keep it in a safe place. It is hard to get the pin again if you lose it.</p>

<p>Ask your parents to start gathering tax information asap after the first of the year. If you wish to estimate the financial information so you can get the form completed before the 2005 taxes are completed, you CAN estimate, but you will have to go back and revise the form when 2005 data is complete.</p>

<p>If you have worked in 2005, you will need to include this information on the form.</p>

<p>The website for the FAFSA is <a href="http://www.fafsa.ed.gov%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.fafsa.ed.gov&lt;/a> This is the free form. Don't let anybody talk you into paying for doing the FAFSA. For a pre-application worksheet, go to <a href="http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before012.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before012.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>To look into scholarships, you might go to <a href="http://www.fastweb.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.fastweb.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>And to calculate what you might get for financial aid, you can do a calulator at <a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.finaid.org&lt;/a> among other sites.</p>

<p>Good luck with all your seeking!</p>

22

<p>Thank you! I did look at the FA forms, but I didn't think I could do anything with them until I file a FAFSA. Are you saying to fill out my UTSA FA form, send it in ASAP, and then just file the FAFSA Jan. 1st instead of doing both around the same time?</p>

23

<p>sybbie719--I'm taking the ACTs October 22nd. However, I just asked my teachers for recs, so I figured that I would give them about a month. So I can apply around when I take the ACTs, but not too long before.</p>

24

<p>Yes.
Because you will at least have your admission to this school under your belt freeing you up to work on other applications (if you so desire). </p>

<p>Find out from your GC as to whether or not all of your stuff has to be submitted together (that is usually handled through the GC's office) or if you can send your stuff in in bits and pieces (as some schools just open a file for you and take all of your stuff as it comes). </p>

<p>Submit your FAFSA on january 1. so you can get a decision from the financial aid office as soon as one is available.</p>

25

<p>aso,</p>

<p>Others probably know that answer, though I don't as I am not in TX. I have found that financial aid offices often have the nicest people in them, and you will probably be able to contact them directly to see what the best order of submission would be for the forms.</p>

26

<p>Thank you for the FAFSA information momofthree!</p>

27

<p>You are welcome!!</p>