I was told that the financial aid runs out and so you need to fill out the FAFSA asap, but how exactly does financial aid run out? Is it because if you send a FAFSA to a university later than others, they have already allocated all of their aid out?
There are some kinds of federally funded need based aid that have limited funds for each college campus. This includes federal work study. SEOG is also limited and usually goes to early filers who qualify. The pot of money does not last forever.
So for these types of aid…the early bird catches the worm.
The FAFSA became available to file for the 2019-2020 academic year on October 1. It uses 2017 tax return and tax year data.
Complete your FAFSA as early as possible…unless there is a good reason not to.
To some extent, this depends on the college and its aid policies. A number guarantee to meet full need for all who qualify. Try to learn what applies at your targets. We always completed aid apps before the deadline, never asap.
So, who told you money runs out? Was it a particular college? If so, then follow their advice.
@thumper1 So essentially what happens is that the federal government gives colleges money to provide as aid and the college allocate however they want with respect to deadlines?
There are a number of federal student aid programs that base eligibility on FAFSA numbers. For some of those programs, the federal government gives a finite amount to individual colleges to dispense. This is where getting FAFSA submitted early can be important, as the money can run out at any particular college. For other federal student aid programs, the money does not come through the colleges (although colleges may play a part in administration), and the timing of the FAFSA submission is less important.
Is SEOG another way of saying it is a work-study opportunity?
No, SEOG is a grant. It’s not the same as work study.
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/fseog
As noted by @BelknapPoint there are some federal aid things with limited funding.
There are others which are not limited. If you qualify for a Pell Grant, for example, it doesn’t matter when you file your FAFSA. That’s an entitlement program and you will get the money. (You have to file your FAFSA during your academic year to get this…you can’t file after that and expect to get it for the previous year).
@hyponova is there a reason why you are asking this question?
@thumper1 Not in particular lol. i already completed my FAFSA but i was just curious because I wanted to know whether the act of submitting itself was sufficient or if I actually had to send it to colleges, which I haven’t entirely done yet
Some states have limited funding that is first come, first served and use the FAFSA as the application. Some outside scholarship organizations require applicants to have filed a FAFSA to be eligible even for merit only aid.
Please clarify. Did you complete your FAFSA AND submit it to the colleges online?or did you JUST complete it.
If you completed and submitted, you are done. BUT do check your colleges because some have other financial aid application submission requirements. Make sure you do everything for each college and don’t miss the deadlines.
Did you think you needed to mail the FAFSA?
Did you and your parent electronically sign it using the FSA ID numbers you both have…and did you submit the form?
@thumper1 My parents and I have already completed, signed, and sent the FAFSA to the schools I want to go to, but I was just worried that if I added schools on my FAFSA form late then I wouldn’t recieve aid because I havent entirely thought out all the colleges I want to apply to yet.
You can add schools. It will be up to the schools what institutional aid you receive.
If you are entitled to the Pell Grant, you will still get it. And you will get the Direct Loan. These are guaranteed.
Any other aid will be up to the schools to decide upon.
I personally prefer to submit the FAFSA/Profile for returning students after I pay the Spring bill in Jan.
^^That’s fine if your student doesn’t get work study or SEOG. Some schools award those on a FIFO basis. My daughter didn’t get work study this year as the FA office said I filed the FAFSA too late; I filed it Nov 1, 2017. I think it was a mistake, but that was their position.
I didn’t mean to imply that everyone should do it in Jan. We are fortunate enough to be going to a meets full need school, so that is why I am ok to do it in Jan.