The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) officially opened October 1st for the 2019-2020 academic year. The FAFSA is used by the federal government, states, colleges and other organizations to award financial aid; including free money like grants and scholarships as well as work-study and federal student loans.
The FAFSA must be completed every year and the deadlines vary by college. Keep reading for tips to help make the process simple and to learn what’s new this year.
New this year
As part of its efforts to modernize and improve the resources provided by federal student aid, the Department of Education rolled out its first iOS and Android mobile app called myStudentAid. The app provides students and families a new way to submit the FAFSA and improved functionality. Although the questions on the form are still the same, they will be grouped together differently, and the app will provide “hints” to help users answer the questions. Historically, only 3 out of 5 high school seniors file the FAFSA annually, leaving nearly 4 billion dollars of unused funds. The Department of Education hopes the new mobile app will increase the number of filings.
Getting Started
You should gather your tax forms before sitting down to start the FAFSA. Prior year taxes are used to complete the family financial information section of the FAFSA. For the 2019-2020 academic year, the FAFSA must be completed using the 2017 tax information. Since most families have these tax forms completed at the time of application, parents can opt to use the digital transfer from the IRS. Their Data Retrieval Tool can automatically populate the financial details of the tax return into the FAFSA. This is a great way to save time and avoid manual errors!
Timeline
It’s important to submit the FAFSA as soon as possible, especially for high school seniors. Early submission allows more time for schools to process incoming information and families can get a better idea of their financial aid eligibility earlier, allowing more time to weigh the decision ahead of the May 1st admissions deadlines.
When applying for early decisions, complete the FAFSA early as well since early decision is generally a binding admissions agreement unless the financial aid numbers come back and the college is an unaffordable option. Bottom line, it’s always better to complete the FAFSA early to stay ahead of the process.
Pay attention to institutional deadlines
Institutional funding is money reserved by colleges and universities to award aid to incoming and current students based on their own internal criteria and methodologies. Eligibility requirements and deadlines for school-awarded aid varies per college so it’s important to complete and submit the FAFSA, and any other financial aid forms the school may require, in advance of the deadlines.
Consider creating a CSS Profile
In addition to the FAFSA, 250 colleges and universities nationwide also require the College Scholarship Profile (CSS Profile) application. The CSS Profile application, which was made available on October 1st, is another financial aid application run by the College Board.
Dealing with uncertainty on the state level
Many states provide need-based grant programs to students based on data provided within the FAFSA. While the FAFSA and CSS Profile application became available on October 1st some states have not finalized their grant budget for the upcoming academic year. States with unfinished budgets will provide estimates, so be aware that some of the aid listed on the award letter may be subject to change once the final state budget is passed.
For additional questions on the FAFSA, please visit the Federal Student Aid website.