<p>I'm currently a junior in high school. I am planning to enroll in a 4-year college on Fall 2014.</p>
<p>January 1, 2014: 2014-2015 FAFSA comes out. My parents and I fill it out with estimates from paystubs and bank statements. I pick 10 colleges to send FAFSA to (I might not even have 10). For taxes, we check "Will File." We click Submit -- definitely click Submit by the earliest priority deadline of those 10 colleges.</p>
<p>Sometime after February: We get our W-2s and other tax information. We file our 2013 tax return. We immediately go in to FAFSA, amend the necessary information, keep the same 10 colleges, and hit Submit again.</p>
<p>Does that sound right? I'm new to all of this.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, it looks like you have a pretty good handle on how to apply for FA.</p>
<p>Depending on the school, you may also have to fill out the CSS Profile or other college specific forms (eg. Princeton has it’s own FA forms). If you apply EA/ED to a school that requires the Profile, it is available in Oct.</p>
<p>Schools may also have you send in copies of tax returns, usually via IDOC.</p>
<p>Many schools are now requesting/requiring that you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool in FAFSA. It will retrieve your tax data directly from the IRS. To use this tool, your Federal taxes must be processed. There are several current threads about this and the timing, so use the Search function for ‘retrieval’ to find them.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already, run the NPCs for the schools you are going to apply to, this will give you some idea of how much you might get. Remember, anytime you have financial circumstances past straight salary & assets (eg. rentals, small business, etc.), the estimate will be less accurate. Remember, FAFSA is only for Federal funds, Institutional FA is determined via the Profile, etc.; and the Profile often results in a higher calculated EFC as it includes the non-custodial parent, home equity, etc. Finally, while schools may all receive the same financial information on the Profile, the way they calculate need varies between schools, so your FA packages may vary a little or a lot.</p>
<p>I’m sure others will have things to add.</p>
<p>File your returns electronically. If you will need to use the data retrieval, and you and/or your parents owe taxes, then be prepared to pay those taxes electronically when you file the tax returns. That way the IRS will get the money faster, and the results will be released more quickly so that you can link your returns to the FAFSA.</p>
<p>^That reminds me that some members have reported delays in using the retrieval tool due to having taxes due the IRS. Since it’s early in the year, you and your parents might consider being sure that enough is being withheld from paychecks to have a refund due for 2013.</p>
<p>Here’s one thread about delays, the Search I recommended will pick up other relevant DRT threads:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1475515-data-retrieval-tool-delay.html?highlight=retrieval[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1475515-data-retrieval-tool-delay.html?highlight=retrieval</a></p>