<p>topic. first time filling it out ever...</p>
<p>As I recall-- we started researching and preparing about a year ahead (in order to get our finances in the best possible position), then spent a couple weeks gathering info and making estimates, and actually completed the FAFSA over a weeks worth of late evenings.</p>
<p>The second year we knocked out in just a few hours.</p>
<p>A WEEKS WORTH OF LATE EVENINGS???? i thought that this was gonna be like a simple 30 minute application...</p>
<p>it depends on how simple or complex your parents finances are. if everyting is pretty straight forward and you have all of the information you need to sit down and file it can be done in about an hour. if your financial situation is complex, it will take longer especially if you need to gather information from a variety of sources</p>
<p>If you go to the FAFSA website, there is a FAFSA worksheet. You can complete that, and if you do, doing the FAFSA isn't all that hard. You MUST have all your information...either income taxes complete, or ALL (and I mean all) asset and income verifications (bank statements, pay stubs etc). I will say, it's much easier to complete once you have completed your taxes. It took us about two hours (but that included doing the arithmetic for the estimated incomes). Then once your taxes are done, amending the fafsa and resubmitting takes all of twenty minutes. I do know that this process is more complicated for those who are self employed...collecting the data is not as "simple" as having a final pay stub.</p>
<p>This is my 3rd year doing it, so it took probably 20 minutes this time. Once I finish my taxes, I'll go in and correct it.</p>