<p>Or does it have to be done before or near after you apply ? Thank you.</p>
<p>If you indicated that you were going to apply for Financial Aid it is okay although it may delay or affect an award. If you applied and indicated you WOULD not apply for financial aid then you have to demonstrate a significant change in circumstances to be eligible for subsidized and grant aid. You can always get loans though.</p>
<p>Do your FAFSA as soon as possible. If you wait until you are accepted, the school might not have sufficient time to prepare your financial aid prior to May 1 when you have to make your college decision.</p>
<p>In addition, colleges have financial aid application DEADLINES…you should check your schools to find out what they are.</p>
<p>And lastly, there are some need based awards that are given on a first come/first served basis. These include federal work study, Perkins Loans, and SEOG (if your school has this). Schools get a limited amount of funding for these and once it’s gone…it’s gone.</p>
<p>Check your colleges for the required financial aid submissions and deadlines. Get this done ASAP.</p>
<p>So does someone have to indicate that they were going to apply for financial aid on an application to even start a FAFSA ?</p>
<p>Anyone can complete a FAFSA. It is used primarily to determine eligibility for federally funded loans and the Pell grant, and work study. </p>
<p>Some schools, however, use the FAFSA to determine your eligibility for their institutional money. If you said you were NOT applying for financial aid, these schools will likely not process your aid request. If you checked NO regarding applying for aid, contact each school and ask that they change this…if you are in fact applying for aid.</p>