How and When to Apply for Financial Aid

The reality of college is that it’s not easy to pay for. While the price tag may look outrageous, you have to remember, that earning an education is what is going to set you up for your future career.  And second, that the high price of higher education is no secret. While the price of a college education may seem intimidating, just remember that there are several financial services that can help you pay for it. That’s why in addition to college applications, there’s the FAFSA.

You may have heard this word already, and if not, now is the first time of many. What does this mysterious term mean, and why does it matter so much? Is it a name? A place? If you don't know how how to apply for FAFSA, our professionals are here to help. 

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You read that correctly—it’s a student financial aid form you fill out to receive free money from the federal government to help pay for college. Got your attention now?

Kevin Towns, Director of Financial Aid at North Central College explains, "The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a universal tool that provides students access to the resources from the federal and state government, colleges, and private organizations. With the help of the tools included on the FAFSA and the support of financial aid professionals, college can become an affordable option for any student."

In other words, FAFSA can help both undergrad and graduate students pay for their studies.

Here’s a helpful guide on how and more importantly, when to apply for FAFSA. This guide will walk you through the different FAFSA steps so you know exactly what to expect when applying through the FAFSA or federal student aid website. By the end, you will have learned not to fear the FAFSA, but to use it so you can find out how to get into the college, especially the one of your dreams. FAFSA is your friend and, if you have financial eligibility, it’s your ticket to a student federal financial aid package, federal loans, and other funds. Let's dive into the FAFSA financial aid application process! 

1. Make a list of your top colleges 

You will need to share the results of your FAFSA form with the schools you want to go to, so before you do anything else, figure out which schools those are. Check out our guide on How to Apply For College for help on choosing a school. 

Part of the FAFSA form will be getting each college or university’s school code. Once you have them, don’t be shy. You can (and should) include every school you’re considering when applying for financial assistance. You can add up to 10 at a time, and there’s no penalty for including additional schools where you don’t end up applying. Colleges and universities won’t be informed of who else you include in your student aid request. So, how to add more than 10 schools to FAFSA? If you want to add more than 10 schools, you just call the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Information Center for help.

2. Gather the required information

The FAFSA helps determine eligibility, so it requires a whole lot of financial information to determine priority consideration. It’s best to track it all down first so you’re not stuck while you’re working on the form for your financial assistance. Here are the required documents you (and your parents) will need:

• A Social Security number
• An Alien Registration number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
• Federal income tax returns, W-2s, anything else indicating what money you’ve earned (If you or your parents have filed your taxes, the new IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) makes this a lot easier, as you can link up your tax returns with the form.)
• Bank statements and records of any investments
• Records of any untaxed income

3. Create your FAFSA ID

You and your parents will need to create FSA IDs so you can complete the form. Be sure to do this ahead of time.

You and your parents each have to have your own FSA ID or federal student aid ID unless you are an independent student. Your parents can’t create yours for you (But don’t worry, you’re free to help them with theirs). You will be asked if you want to give an email address or mobile phone number, you have to provide one. If you do give them an email address, make sure you and your parents have different emails and phone numbers on your accounts.

Be sure not to share your federal student aid ID with anyone, and keep it safe where you can find it. You’ll need it to renew your FAFSA each additional year.

Go to StudentAid.gov/fsaid to create your FSA ID.