- Welcome to the Rollins College Financial Aid Video Series,
where we break down the most asked questions about affording a college education.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a form that collects demographic and financial
information about students and their families to determine a student's level of financial need.
Colleges will use this information to then award you aid. There are a few reasons why you should
file the FAFSA before heading to college. Access to your perspective school. Some schools may
have their own institutional grants and they may use your FAFSA information to consider you as a
recipient. Also, if you filed a FAFSA, the school you are applying to will generate a financial aid
offer for you. Receiving a financial aid offer is beneficial so you may see an estimate of your
out-of-pocket costs for attending that school. This will help you start those conversations
with financial aid administrators at your perspective college. Access to need based aid.
There is a misconception that the Department of Education only offers loans through the FAFSA.
If your level of financial need is high, according to the information you provide on the form
and the federal formula for the Expected Family Contribution, you can receive need-based grants
and other self-help need based programs, such as work-study and subsidized loans,
where the Department of Education pays for the interest while you remain in school. Federal loans
offer better terms than private lenders. Even if you do not qualify for any need-based programs,
the student loans that you will be offered through the FAFSA will have flexibilities in terms that
are better than most private lenders. Some of these flexibilities include a low interest rate
and repayment that doesn't start until after you've graduated from school. In the end, I
hope you maximize your opportunity by filing your FAFSA. You never know what you are eligible for
until you file. Filing this form ensures that the schools you are applying to will consider you for
all avenues and types of financial aid, because they will have all the information they need.
Filing the FAFSA can be a smooth and positive experience if you were prepared with all the
information and documents you will need in front of you before starting the process.
Here are some must have items. An FSA ID. The very first step as a first-time
filer is to create your login information for the website of the Department of Education,
studentaid.gov. This is called an FSA ID, and it will serve as your username and password
to access the FAFSA every time you need to log in to make a correction or continue the application.
This login information will be unique to you, and it will stay with you for all
subsequent years you are in college. So be sure to remember it. Having an FSA ID will also give
you the opportunity to access your account via the myStudentAid mobile app. You will need your social
security card to create your FSA ID and fill out your FAFSA. Be careful to enter your name
and social security number on the FAFSA exactly as they appear on your social security card.
If you are a non-US citizen eligible for aid, you will need your Alien Registration Number.
The FAFSA will require that you enter your tax information from two years prior. So, for example,
if you're enrolling in college this upcoming fall, you will be asked to submit tax documents from
two years prior. The form will present you with the option to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool,
which will import your IRS information directly onto the FAFSA. If this option
does not work for you, you will need copies of the following, IRS form 1040, W-2s and 1099s,
and if you live in a US territory or you're a us citizen living abroad your foreign tax return as
applicable. Other financial information, this includes records of any untaxed income, cash,
savings and checking account balances and investments other than the home in which you live.
List of schools you are interested in, the FAFSA will give you the opportunity to enter up to 10
schools you are considering or applying to. Have this information ready so the schools you list
may receive your FAFSA after you submit it. If you have changes, you can log back in and adjust your
schools. You'll just need to ensure you re-submit. So the new schools receive a copy of the record.
If you're a dependent student, your parent or legal guardian will also need all of these items.
They will need to set up an FSA ID, have their social security number available,
and their tax returns as well as their untaxed income and asset information.
Many families choose not to file the FAFSA when they believe their income may be too high to
qualify for need based programs. However, we want to encourage students to file the FAFSA for their
first year of college, regardless of the family's income. Here's some reasons why. As part of their
admission process or scholarship eligibility, some schools may require that you filed the FAFSA.
Filing the FAFSA will start a conversation with the financial aid office of the schools you list
on the form. With the FAFSA on file, the financial aid administrators will be able to generate a
financial aid offer for you. Often, this will lead to forging relationships with them and
having conversations on the out-of-pocket costs you will incur if you attend that institution,.
Some schools can use this information to award any institutional grants they may
have for incoming students. Without a FAFSA you may not get the opportunity of being considered.
If you are thinking about borrowing, the federal loans you will be offered through the FAFSA
will have better terms for student borrowers than most private lenders. The bottom line is
you never know what you're eligible for until you file the FAFSA. Filing this form ensures
that schools you are applying to will consider you for all types of financial aid, because they will
have all the information they need. The Department of Education works constantly on making the FAFSA
easy to follow and to complete. In fact, they indicate most students can complete the FAFSA
in less than 30 minutes. Whether it takes you 30 minutes or more, filing the FAFSA does not
have to be a time consuming task. Here's what you can do to facilitate the process. Make sure
you have reliable access to the internet and the technology necessary, ensure you and your
parents have each created the login information known as FSA ID prior to starting the FAFSA,
prepare all the personal and financial information and documents needed before starting,
enlist the help of your parent, legal guardian, or high school counselor.
As a dependent student, you will need parental information. A counselor who is familiar with
the process can also help you understand terms you may not be familiar with. An important part
of making this process as smooth as possible is being prepared and having the information that is
needed, ready, and available. If you are unable to complete your FAFSA in one sitting, you can
save your progress and resume the application later by logging in again with your FSA ID.
If you have already submitted the FAFSA and noticed you have entered certain information
incorrectly, don't worry. You're able to make corrections to the record. In addition,
sometimes the financial aid office of the school you are applying to may contact you,
advising you to make corrections on the FAFSA. All you need to do is go back to the federal
student aid website at studentaid.gov and log in with your student FSA ID. Once you are there,
you can correct any of the questions. After correcting the information, ensure you click the
submit button so that new and corrected record is sent to the schools you have listed in the FAFSA.
If you save the corrections but fail to submit it, your prospective schools will not receive the
updated information. If you have filed the FAFSA, it is important that you try to limit the number
of corrections you enter to only those that will rectify incorrect information or as advised by
your perspective school. Keep in mind, the schools you have listed will receive an updated record
every time you resubmit the form. As they are using this information to generate your
financial aid offer receiving multiple FAFSA submissions can make this process difficult,
which may result in you receiving multiple financial aid offers from the same institution
and cause some confusion. We encourage you to discuss any questions you have on correcting
your FAFSA with the financial aid office at your prospective school. This will keep the lines of
communication open as they work on generating a financial aid offer for you. In many cases,
they will also be able to enter any corrections on your behalf as well, which can simplify the
process, watch our other financial aid videos to get all of your college aid questions answered.
And if you have any remaining questions, please reach out to our team at finaid@rollins.edu.