Financial Aid

Financial Aid Fast Facts

Many states and colleges use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for non federal student aid funds that may have early deadlines or limited funding. Turning your FAFSA in early could earn you limited nonfederal aid funds that may not be available if you delay.
Completing your taxes early will help you get a jump on the FAFSA, but you don't need to complete your current year taxes in order to apply for federal student aid. You can use data from previous tax years to estimate figures needed to complete the FAFSA, but you'll need to correct these figures on the form later by going to the corrections page on the FAFSA website. If you know you will be late filing your taxes, it is better to complete your FAFSA with estimated information than to wait until your taxes have been filed.

If you apply online, your application will be processed faster and will likely be more accurate because the FAFSA website is designed to catch common errors. The Department of Education also provides a Pre-Application Worksheet that will help you collect and proofread the information for your application before you submit it.
When completing your application online, you can save and continue the FAFSA at any time and then sign your application electronically using a personal indentification number (PIN) which you can get from the Federal Student Aid PIN website @ www.pin.ed.gov.

Check the Help section of the FAFSA website or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). The Department of Education has also produced a PDF document to answer Frequently Asked Questions which can assist you during your application process.
Look for a free FAFSA event in your area to get professional assistance filling out the FAFSA. Financial aid administrators across the country participate in these free FAFSA events to help students and families fill out the form accurately.