Preparing for the 2015 FAFSA

When high school seniors have completed their college applications it is time to sit back and relax, right? Not necessarily! If financial assistance will be important in attending college, there is more work to be done. Any monies coming from federal sources, like loans, Pell Grants and federal work study, require students to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Even for parents to take out a federal PLUS loan, the FAFSA must be completed. Most colleges require the FAFSA be filed before they will offer any institutional need-based aid as well. Every January 1st a new FAFSA is available for incoming and current college students. Each year the federal government makes changes, some years very few, other years more substantial, to the form. However even though we can expect a few changes to the 2015 form, the basics remain the same.

So while waiting for the form to go live, there is preparation that families can do to get a jump start on the FAFSA process. For many families they will be filling out the FAFSA for the first time and it can sound daunting. The federal Student Aid website does a great job of explaining the FAFSA and its process in online videos and with posted resources. Students and at least one parent will need to register for a Federal Student Aid PIN. While FAFSA filers can register for a PIN at the time of filing, it can take up to three days to authenticate so it makes the process easier to get the PIN in advance. This year the process will change to filers creating username and password logins, but not until April 25, so students and parents should still register for their PIN in order to complete the FAFSA.

Both the student and at least one parent will need to provide information for the form unless the student is considered independent. The FAFSA and StudentAid.gov website both provide the questions that will help a student figure out if they are considered an independent student or not.

The next step in preparation is gathering documents. Filers will need their social security card, driver’s license, alien registration number for non-US citizens, federal income tax records, wage statements, records of certain types of untaxed income, records of current value of certain assets and the name of one or more schools to receive application data. For more information on the documents needed, check out the Student Aid website.

After students and parents have registered for a FSA PIN and gathered the required documents the next step is to check the college and universities deadlines for filing the FAFSA. Missing a financial aid deadline can have severe consequences in being awarded financial aid. Families can’t start the FAFSA until January 1st and most colleges have deadlines in early February or March for FAFSA submission. Many families worry that they need to have their taxes filed before filing the FAFSA, which is not true. It does make it easier to complete the FAFSA as it now can link directly to IRS tax filing information, but families can still use wage estimates and submit the FAFSA. Once taxes are complete then you can go back into the FAFSA and make the necessary updates.

Bottom line for the FAFSA is prepare and file EARLY for best results!