Have you filled out your FAFSA for the 2014 year? Why not!?!? Did you know that the sooner you get it submitted, the better your chances are for receiving some form of free financial aid – you know – the kind you don’t have to pay back.
Here are some great pieces of information about your FAFSA that you may not know:
- Your parents do NOT have to have filed their income tax return BEFORE you fill out your FAFSA. You can use estimated numbers and then amend as necessary.
- If your family has some new circumstance that will impact their ability to help you this year despite having a higher income level last year, provide a letter outlining the new circumstances to your school’s financial aid office. For example, if the primary earner in your family was just laid off from work or became disabled, these circumstances are often considered when awarding aid.
- If your family is divorced, you only have to provide information about the family member with whom you lived the most last year.
- Don’t assume you or your family makes too much money for you to be eligible for student aid.
- If you live in a state with a lottery scholarship (like Tennessee) you must fill out the FAFSA to receive your lottery scholarship.
- You are never too old to fill out a FAFSA. Federal student aid does not consider your age.
- You MUST fill out a new FAFSA every year! Many higher education students lose many because they fail to file a FAFSA for their second year of school.
If you complete your FAFSA online, you will have your Student Aid Report (SAR) in 3-5 days and if you need help completing the form, you can call 1-800-4FED-AID or if you are hearing impaired the TTY line at 1-800-730-8913. Live chat and email are also available!
So – what are you waiting for – type http://www.fafsa.ed.gov and get started now!