When should I make my FAFSA?

Paying for College
1

<p>I'm currently a sophomore in high school.</p>

2

<p>You can fill out the FAFSA starting on Jan 1 of your sr year, so you have 2 yrs to go!</p>

3

<p>i was talking to a college advisor when i was on a college tour. he said something about there being a requirement for the FAFSA junior year to qualify for something. he could have been talking about something else, but i was just curious. thanks!</p>

4

<p>I can’t imagine what he is talking about! Your financial aid for your first year of college is based on the tax year that ends December 31 of your senior year of high school. That FAFSA becomes available for completion and filing on January 1 of your senior year of high school.</p>

5

<p>What he most likely said was that your family income during your junior year is what is important for filing for financial aid. Since the FAFSA you will fill out in the January of your senior year will use the income that you had during the previous calendar year, the majority of that income was earned while you were a junior. Some parents who have the ability to do so manipulate their income and assets during that year in hopes of changing the outcome of the FAFSA. For example, if a stay-at-home mom has the urge to return to the workforce, their child’s junior year in high school may not be the best time to do that, as it ups the income.</p>

6

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<p>I’ll bet you anything that what he said was that there’s a requirement for the PSAT fall semester of junior year in order to qualify for merit scholarship!</p>

<p>All the acronyms start to run together like alphabet soup when you’re not used to them . . . ;)</p>

<p>And, yes, kaylarosolare, you should absolutely prep next summer so that you can get a good score on the PSAT in October. If you do well enough on that test, you can qualify for full tuition and full ride scholarships at dozens of schools . . . and you may not even need to worry about filling out FAFSA!</p>

7

<p>If you and your parents want to get an understanding of how fafsa works and how income and assets are treated, you can use this link to see the fafsa formula. The numbers and tables change a little each year.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/091913EFCFormulaGuide1415.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/091913EFCFormulaGuide1415.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>lol it wasn’t for the PSAT</p>

9

<p>FAFSA opens january of your senior year.</p>