<p>everyone has to fill one these to get any money at all, right?</p>
<p>and i'm a junior at the moment...</p>
<p>You cannot fill it out before January 1st of the year you are going to college. So for the 2009-2010 school year January 1 2009 is the earliest you can complete it.</p>
<p>In advance of that you and one parent need to each have a pin number. </p>
<p>The FAFSA form is at
FAFSA</a> - Free Application for Federal Student Aid
and it tells you how to get a pin.
do not make the mistake of going to fafsa.com which is a commercial site that charges a fee. There should be no fee.</p>
<p>If you want to read up a little on financial aid FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans has good information including a calculator where you can enter financial information and get an idea of your EFC. Also there is a thread pinned at the top of the page by thumper which has useful information.</p>