How To Fill Out the FAFSA

Learn how to make filling out the FAFSA easy and worth your time.

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. As the name implies, it’s an application for federal aid to help pay for post-secondary education. That aid includes grants, scholarships, work-study jobs, and loans. The goal of the FAFSA is to make it possible for students to afford schools that they normally wouldn’t. That means the funds are awarded based on need.

Unfortunately, many students who would qualify for money from FAFSA don’t even complete the application. The average amount awarded hovers around $3,900. Not bad for about a half-hour of work, right? Simply filling out the application is half the battle for most people.

The FAFSA requires you to prove your family’s financial situation using official documents. Make sure you have those all together before you begin so that you don’t have to start, stop, and track down last year’s tax returns. Here’s what you should have on hand:

• Your and your parent’s or guardian’s social security numbers
• A Federal Student Aid Identification Number or FSA ID for you and all your contributors such as a spouse, parents, or guardians (this is a login to create here.).
• Your driver’s license or another form of government-issued ID.
• Bank account statements and any other asset records.
• Records of untaxed income such as child support, disability benefits, and health savings accounts.
• The code for each school you want to apply to, found here.

Don't let the number of documents intimidate you—this is all standard stuff that your parents should have. If they don't, there are still ways to fill out the FAFSA. Learn more about your options here.

Once you complete and send your application off to your chosen schools, they’ll use a formula to figure out whether you’re eligible and how much you’ll be awarded. Schools do this by comparing the information in your FAFSA, specifically your SAI (more on that in a moment) with their Cost of Attendance (COA). COA is made up of three main factors: tuition, books, and room and board. Schools add these costs together to get an average of how much it costs to be a student at that school for a year.

Once they have that amount, they’ll compare it with your SAI, or Student Aid Index. Your SAI is how much need the government determined you will have based on income levels, savings, and other financial information in the FAFSA. If your EFC is low, you’re more likely to be awarded money to cover your COA.

1. Send your application to all the schools you’re considering. You can apply to up to 10 schools through the FAFSA website. You can even send an application to a school that hasn’t accepted you yet.

2. Fill out the FAFSA even if you don’t think you qualify. Your eligibility is determined by a combination of how much you make, how much your parents make and are expected to contribute, how much you have in savings, and the cost of the school you hope to attend. Because of this, even if your parents make six figures, you won’t automatically be disqualified from getting aid. Your FAFSA also allows you to qualify for other aid such as loans. If you aren’t awarded a grant or the aid you get doesn’t cover the full cost you need, your school can use your FAFSA to help you find low-interest federal loan options.

3. Don’t leave spaces blank. Blank spaces can lead to processing delays. Fill out as much as you can, and then use zeroes or choose “Not Applicable” to fill in fields that don’t apply to you.

4. Use what you have now first. If you have a chunk of savings for college, plan to use it up on tuition and books during your freshman year. “Spending down” your savings this year can help you qualify for more next year. But, of course, be wary of spending too much and leaving yourself in a bind. Don’t just spend for spending’s sake. Only do so if it makes sense.

5. Add supplementary letters. Does your financial situation look better on paper than in real life? If you’ve recently experienced a job loss, if your parents have lost a large asset, or if your circumstances have changed, attach a supplementary letter to your application. Colleges run the numbers, but many consider more than just the basic application when determining eligibility. You can always try to explain your situation better to increase your chances.

6. Appeal. If you received a grant you don’t think is fair or didn’t receive anything at all, you can negotiate! Contact your school’s financial aid office and ask for the steps to appeal. Be polite and grateful for what you received, but definitely try and clarify your financial position to negotiate for a better scholarship or more grants.

The FAFSA makes college more affordable for millions of students every year. Every school has grants and scholarships available to students. Taking your time and filling out the FAFSA before you start school could mean less in student loans and more in your bank account.