If applying for student aid You should get the PDF format FAFSAs or Free Application for Federal Student Aid – this will guide you through the whole application process. You can apply online or offline – each option has merits and demerits, but applying online has more merits and the demerits have remedies. These merits include:
· You will get the SAR or the Student Aid Report sooner than you would with the paper form or the PDF form.
· The accuracy of your FAFSA will be guaranteed since online FAFSA has built-in edit checks – these catch simple errors and errors brought about by the OCR process.
· Online FAFSA allows you to list as many as 10 colleges whereas paper FAFSA gives you space for only 4 colleges.
· You can get the online FAFSAs in black and white and in ether English and Spanish – everybody is catered for.
· Finally, you save the federal government money since you will reduce the processing costs.
The demerits of doing this are also significant. The greatest demerit is that there is a risk of identity theft and other cyber crimes. This is because some unscrupulous people are claiming to offer the FAFSA while all they want is your personal information and your credit card information. You should only fill the FAFSA on the web, as it is popularly known, through the official website which is www.fafsa.ed.gov. The website includes step-by-step instructions on how to complete the online FAFSA. On the website, you will be able to get ready to fill out the FAFSA! This is because you will get a worksheet asking the same questions as the FAFSA on the Web, meaning you will be able to practice for the real thing.
Many universities and colleges, especially the public ones, require the FAFSA. You should fill the FAFSA form while you are still in college. Once you have been admitted, you will be required to submit the FAFSA every year if you want federal aid. This is because free financial aid is not guaranteed and it is not renewed automatically every year. Note that there might be changes in the eligibility criteria – this determines your eligibility in that financial year.
For any technical questions on FAFSA on the Web, you can call toll free at 1-800-4-FED-AID or the TTY number 1-800-730-8913 for the hearing impaired individuals. These numbers can also be used by those who want paper FAFSAs.
Note that it is important to make inquiries at the financial aid office of the institutions you are considering regarding formalities to be completed since different institutions have different forms that need to be filled to be eligible for financial aid from the institution or the federal government.
With FAFSA, you will be eligible for Federal Pell Grants and Federal Work Study Programs. Student loans should be your last resort since ‘free’ in Free Application for Federal Student Aid is not just self advertising. Student loans have to be repaid and they accrue interest as soon as you cease to be enrolled for the course, or immediately after graduation in some cases.
