What is your situation? Do you have a non-custodial parent? Do your parents own a business or take business deductions? Do they own multiple properties? Do they have a lot of home equity?
@LeastComplicated Do I not give my letters, test scores, transcripts, and FAFSA/CSS all at once? If not, is it different from college to college?
@mom2collegekids I live with both parents, married. My parents don’t own a business and do not own multiple properties. The mortgage to our isn’t fully paid yet but I’m pretty sure there’s not a lot left.
Also, how long does it take to apply/complete FAFSA/CSS? Is it something I can complete in a day or do I apply and wait for something in the mail?
You can complete the FAFSA in a day if you have all of the necessary tax information prepared. When you finish the FAFSA, you will receive an email either the same day or the next day with your EFC.
It will vary from school to school. Look at the website of any school you are interested in for instructions on how to apply for admission and financial aid. Pay particular attention to deadlines.
FAFSA and Profile are typically competed and submitted online. Once you have all the necessary material in front of you (tax returns, account statements, asset valuations, etc.), it will probably take several hours to complete the online forms.
Should I be applying to FAFSA multiple times or just once before I start applying to colleges? Also all this information I will give them through the Common App, right?
You apply for FAFSA once a year. The first time is the year you start applying to colleges, and then you fill one out for every year you are in college.
You will supply FAFSA information on fafsa.ed.gov.
It depends what you mean by “all this information.” FAFSA and CSS Profile are separate from the Common App. Follow the directions on the college’s website. The directions are usually easy to follow.
@WeLoveLyman does that include school after undergrad like med school? Also, what makes FAFSA official information? What prevents people from just lying?
Yes, it applies for postgrad as well. If anyone lies on the FAFSA, they will be caught. For example, my school requires the FAFSA, but they also require me to send a copy of my parents’ taxes. It doesn’t benefit anyone if you lie because when the government/school finds out, you’ll have to pay them back.
An article http://blog.credit.com/2015/07/what-happens-if-you-lie-on-your-fafsa-120659/
Ah, I see now. Is the FAFSA application any different if I don’t live in the US but I have an American citizenship?
If you are a US citizen, it should be the same. Have your parents been filing US taxes?
Both student and a parent need to fill out (and sign) the FAFSA. If your parents have been filing US taxes there is a way to pull tax info directly into the FAFSA.
You need several documents to fill out FAFSA (including tax returns for parents, student if applicable, bank statements for the day you file, house value, mortgage, and if you have any other assets they need to be reported there too). Also need to be reported in US $.
Look at a few websites to get some ideas about how the application process works.
Does your school typically have students go to college in the states? Your HS will have to send a transcript and counselor report, and you need two teachers to write recommendations. Recommendations can be uploaded.
Recommendations need to written in FAFSA or just in the college application? Also, my father isn’t an American citizen but he has a work permit and pays US and Canadian taxes; does this allow him to easily put his tax info into the FAFSA?
Some of it, like your income (and parent’s income), is verified by tax returns. Of course, you could have lied on your taxes.
Some of it you could just lie or leave off information. You do sign it that all info is correct under penalty of perjury or more scary, losing all future financial aid.
If your father has a US Social Security number, and files his US taxes every year, then you will link your FAFSA application to his tax file. He will be able to create his own PIN for the FAFSA application at the website as well. If he doesn’t have an SSN, and files his taxes with an ITIN, you won’t be able to link it as easily. You will need to print out the signature form and mail it in for him to get his PIN.
Sorry if I was unclear above. Recommendations are for the application. FAFSA is just for the family.
Primary home value and mortgage information is not reported on FAFSA; not all assets are reported on FAFSA.
This is not correct. The value of your primary residence and mortgage are NEVER reported on the FAFSA.
There are plenty of assets that are NOT reported on the FAFSA…things like cars, valuable art, jewelry, are assets you might own but the FAFSA doesn’t care about those.
The assets you need are things like bank accounts, 529 accounts, certificates of deposit, stock values in some cases, your share of any trust for which you are a beneficiary (depending how th trust is written)… things like that. Any equity in real estate that is NOT your primary residence is also required.
To the OP…you, the student, will complete the FAFSA. You will need your parents info. You will complete this adhering to the DEADLINES your colleges have on their website. I would strongly urge you to read every single financial aid website for the colleges you plan to apply to.
Look at the requirements for each school. They will vary so write them down, and don’t miss the deadlines at all. Submit as early as you can.
You want to get this done ASAP so that you will receive your financial aid awards in time to compare to make your college choice before May 1.
And do this now…you and one parent (the U.S. citizen one) will need a FSA ID to electronically sign your FAFSA. Get that…NOW. You can do this online at the FAFSA.gov website. Do NOT lose those FSA ID numbers as you will need them every year to renew your aid…and also for the Direct Loan if you take one.
Remember also, some colleges require the Profile or their own form in addition to the FAFSA. Schools will require you to link to the IRS Data Retrieval Tool OR provide a tax transcript.
For the 2019-2020 academic year, you will need 2017 tax returns to complete the FAFSA and Profile. Assets are reported as of the date you file the forms, and usually you can get that info online.
The FAFSA is a stand alone process you have to complete to apply for financial aid. It isn’t connected to the actual college application (Common App). But you do have to sent the FAFSA report to each college via the FAFSA website. The CSS is the same for the colleges that require it. You send it kind of like you’ll send your test scores, by going to the website and selecting a list of colleges that you want to send the reports to.
The NPC for each college should give you an idea of what your FA package will look like to avoid disappointments.
This can help guide you make your list of target schools.
Each school will have a checklist & due dates for required items for prospective students.
As another poster suggested, a spread sheet is a way to organize this information.