One thing that I was pretty confused about when I was getting ready for college was the

whole FAFSA thing.

For a refresher on FAFSA, check out the article I wrote called, “What is FAFSA ?”.  It just gives you the rundown on stuff you need to know about the FAFSA… worth a quick read.

Anyhow, the thing I was confused about the most with the whole FAFSA thing was… how does FAFSA turn into financial aid?

After 4 years of learning the ropes, I’ve learned a ton about FAFSA that I wish I would have known before I went off to college.

So, I created a little “Top 5″ list of the Top 10 Ways to NOT Get FAFSA aid.  On one of these, I learned the hard way and actually lost out on over $1,000 in my Sophomore year for scholarships.

Here we go:

The Top 5 Ways to NOT Get FAFSA Aid -

1. Don’t fill out the FAFSA application at all: This one sounds stupid, but one of my friends (Jake… you know who you are, lol) for some reason thought that he only had to fill out the FAFSA once… for ALL 4 YEARS OF COLLEGE.As you can imagine… come his sophomore year when he was looking at the Financial Aid that the college offered him… he about swallowed his tounge.  Long story short, Jake didn’t get his FAFSA in in time that year… and missed out a some great work study and student loan programs.  So, FILL OUT THE FAFSA EVERY YEAR!
2. Fill out the FAFSA application TOO LATE for your school: Every college has their own deadlines for when the FAFSA application needs to be in… in order to be considered for certain financial aid (scholarships, student loans, work study, etc.).  Some colleges need everything in by January each year… while others stretch it all the way back to March or April.  Check with your financial aid office to make sure… and get it in BEFORE the deadline.In fact, it’s always best to do the FAFSA application as soon as you can in January each year because some of the work study and scholarships/grants are gone once enough qualified people are accepted.  For instance, every year I had a foundation scholarship that I won for 4 years… but they had a deadline for something like March 20th (I may be making that date up for the FAFSA application to be in.  If I didn’t get it in by then… tough luck for me.  So, write in your calendar to get the FAFSA in early every year to give yourself the best chance for getting great FAFSA financial aid.
3. Being TOO GENEROUS on the income and assets portion: This one is a bit of a gray area.  You want to be sure to be honest on your application… you are telling the government that everything in it is true “to your knowledge”.  However, the FAFSA isn’t the place to go bragging about how rich you or your parents are.  Don’t inflate numbers to sound cool to the FAFSA people. Remember, the FAFSA helps determine your financial need for college.  If you inflate numbers for some reason… it’ll show that you have less of a financial need… and result in less grants, scholarships, student loans, work study… you get the idea.So, when doing your FAFSA, be honest… but be humble at the same time.  Do you think the FAFSA god’s will get all CSI on you to find every last bit of income or assets?  The odds are slim… but don’t tread into shark infested waters and completely lie on your application.  All I can say is… be honest and humble with your income and asset reporting… take that for what it’s worth.
4. Sending the FAFSA to the wrong colleges: This one is kind of a no brainer too.  But, I’ve seen it done.  I had a buddy on the baseball team with me (not the brightest fish in the pond) who didn’t think he’d end up at our college… so he didn’t have the FAFSA sent to our college. Anyhow, long story short… there was a big fiasco of having to redo some FAFSA stuff… get it sent to the college… get them to bend a few rules… etc.  So, moral here is to make sure that every college you apply to is on your list to have the FAFSA sent there.  This is done over at the FAFSA website in your account area… so check it out.
5. Have a huge investment account in your name: This is one that my fiance knows well.  Her parents did the right thing and saved up a bunch of money over the years for her in an investment account.  When we were freshmen, I think the account had something like $25,000 (give or take) in it.  Of course, FAFSA asks for these types of accounts… so you have to tell the “truth” and include them in the application. As you can imagine, this account really reduced the amount of financial aid available to her.  In reality, that account was set up to be available for her as starting money after college… she had great grades and actually had 100% of her school paid for with college scholarships also.  But, if she didn’t have great grades… FAFSA would look at this as money available to her to spend on college… which wasn’t what the account was initially set up for.So, I know of people who are clever in the way these types of accounts are set up.  It’s nothing illegal or shady… just smart asset protection.  One friend’s parents actually have the account in his grandma’s name… which she of course agreed to and has agreed to distribute it when he turns 25.  So, the parents add money to the fund over the years… it stays out of the students name and the parents name… and he doesn’t get the whack from FAFSA saying that the money is available for college.  Pretty smart. Of course, there are some tax issues involved here to work out between my buddy and his grandma… but in some cases it’s well worth it.

I know, these “Top 5″ tips aren’t rocket science… but I can guarantee you that there are thousands of college students every year that fall prey to one or more of these rules.  So, the main thing to remember about the FAFSA to ensure that you get great FAFSA financial aid is to apply early every year… and to be honest… but keep your assets and income as low as legally possible… this isn’t the place to brag about the $500 in under the table income you earned from mowing your grandma’s lawn.

Good luck and I’ll chat with you later!

The FAFSA is one confusing animal when you first get started in figuring out financial aid and scholarships for college.

For one, your FAFSA results can be a real pain the ass if it puts your parents contribution up
too high… but, if you get great results from your FAFSA application, it could mean that you will qualify for more scholarships from your college.

So, what is the FAFSA?

FAFSA stands for: (the definition of FAFSA)

Free Application for Federal Student Aid    (US Department of Education)

As it sounds, the FAFSA process helps determine how much federal financial aid you will be eligible for.  This could be in the form of loans, scholarships from the college, etc.

How does the FAFSA process work?

Well, the whole FAFSA process is pretty simple.

1. The application basically gathers financial information about you and your parents
2. Each school year you fill out or renew your application and update any changes to the financial situation (usually with the tax returns each year)
3. The application produces results that say how much the expected contribution should be from you/your parents based on your income and assets
4. You indicate which schools you want the FAFSA results sent to, and they are automatically sent after you complete the application each year
5. The financial aid offices at the colleges you are looking at receive the FAFSA results and the EFC (estimated financial contribution), and use that to determine your financial need for college

Really, it’s that simple.  The government needs a way to find out who the people with the most financial need are so they can provide those in more need… with more financial aid.

Are there deadlines for FAFSA?

There sure are.  This is where it got confusing for me sometimes.  Here’s the page directly on the FAFSA website to see their deadlines.

==> http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before003a.htm

A good rule of thumb is to do the FAFSA each year at the start of January to ensure that your application is in to the college in enough time to enable you to qualify for certain scholarships and financial aid.

So, write on your calendar for the next 4 years to do the FAFSA each January.

Do I need to fill out the FAFSA?

Unless you don’t plan on applying for any financial aid at all… you should complete the FAFSA.

Once again, the FAFSA is for federal student financial aid.  If you don’t intend to use an federal financial aid, don’t do the FAFSA.  This includes:

• Scholarships
• Student Loans
• College Work-Study
• Pell Grants
• Other Government Grants

If you have any intentions or desires at all to get any government grants, scholarships, etc. DO THE FAFSA.

How long does the FAFSA take?

The FAFSA is really pretty simple after you do it for the first time.  I would say that the first time I did the FAFSA it took a good 30 – 60 minutes to complete it.

The FAFSA website does allow you to save your application so you can come back to it, so don’t pull your hair out thinking you have to get it done in one sitting.  Your first time will be more to get the feel for the type of information they are asking for.  Then, you’ll save your application, gather the information, and come back later to finish it.

After the first year, all you have to do is renew your FAFSA application.  The first time you submit your FAFSA, you are given a PIN code (write this down and don’t lose it… you’ll need it every year!).  With this pin code and your password, you just log in to renew, update any information that has changed, and submit it.

Easy as that.

What documents do you need for the FAFSA application?

There is a whole list of documents needed for the FAFSA.  Here they are:

• Social security number
• Drivers license
• W-2 forms for you and your parents (or other guardian)
• Federal income tax returns for the year before for you and your parents
• Your untaxed income records
  • Social Security
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
  • Welfare
  • Veterans benefits records
• Your current bank statements
• Investment records, mortgage information, etc.

… and that’s about it.

Just gather up these documents and have them with you at the computer when you are filling out the FAFSA.

Where do I get FAFSA financial aid?

A lot of new students think FAFSA is the actual entity that sends you the money.  This is wrong.

FAFSA is just the application to determine your financial aid.  This application and the results are sent out to the colleges you apply to… the financial aid ends up coming through the college financial aid office.

How do I get started with the FAFSA and the FAFSA forms?

Head on over to the FAFSA website at:

• www.fafsa.ed.gov

There are pretty darn good directions there to follow.  If you have any questions shoot them my way!

Also, be sure to search for scholarships online too.  My favorites are:

• Fastweb   (this is my favorite.  I got the $4,000 scholarship from this site)
• FreeCollegeScholarships.net (great site too… have some scholarships Fastweb doesn’t have.