Apply for FAFSA

Answer 1

The FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is an application for federally funded financial assistance to pay for higher education either at a post secondary institution, college or similar school. The FAFSA is easy to apply for online via the Federal Student Aid website which is located at http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov.

Anyone who is planning on going to college, furthering their education at a post secondary school or a similar financial institution after high school should begin by applying for the FAFSA to determine their eligibility for federally funded financial assistance that could help them to pay the tuition, fees and related costs of their higher education. Applying for the FAFSA takes about thirty minutes from start to finish, and because the application can be completed electronically, the results are quickly sent over to the schools that a student has applied for to help them determine the amount of federal funding the student may qualify for.

A FAFSA is required in order to apply for student loans, PELL Grants, PLUS Loans and most other types of grants or loans that are provided through the state, the government or the school itself. In order to apply for a FAFSA, the student must have his or her tax information (ie. tax return or parent's tax return) in order to determine their eligibility for certain types of loans and grants.

Questions that are answered on the FAFSA will help the school to determine if a student is a dependent for financial aid purposes or an independent student for financial aid purposes. Whether a student is dependent or independent will have an impact on the types of loans and other financial aid options that are offered to them by the school.

There's an abundance of information relating to the FAFSA and federal aid funding online. Most schools have a financial aid office that can answer many of the questions a student or future student may have relating to financial assistance, the FAFSA and federal education funding. In addition to getting information from a school financial aid office or adviser, students are also encouraged to review the information that is provided by the Federal Student Aid website located at http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov.

Answer 2

The odds of having a successful life and career are known to increase with the earning of a college degree. One of the biggest challenges to a student is finding a way to pay for that education. The federal government has spent years trying to streamline college education and various methods to help students pay for it. The first step to discovering which programs one might qualify for is filling out the Federal Application For Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA.

The FAFSA is a form used to gather basic financial and background information about a student and is used by the federal government to help colleges determine eligibility for Stafford loans and Pell grants. It is also used by state governments to determine need for state run loan and grant programs. Filling out the FAFSA can be time consuming but the potential benefits far outweigh the investment in time and effort.

The FAFSA can be filled out easily online by visiting the government website for the program. The website can instantly verify the information and give a student an idea of roughly how much they might be eligible to receive from the government. However, the people at the Department of Education are well aware that not all citizens have easy access to the internet. It is still possible to obtain paper copies of the application and mail them directly to the DOE. These applications can be found in the student centers at every high school and in the Financial Aid Office of most major universities and colleges.

A student would be foolish not to fill out the FAFSA. It often results in money to pay for college that never has to be paid back. At worst it results in a loan that has a favorable interest rate and does not have to be paid back until well after that student has graduated from the college. The loans are further delayed if the student decides to pursue a Masters Program or a Doctorate Program. These loans are delayed until six months after the student has stopped furthering their education or has no further up the ladder they can move.