Its that time of year…time to start filling out the FAFSA in order to qualify for aid for next school year!

Before beginning your FAFSA, there are several pieces of information that would be helpful to have on hand. Don’t forget:

 

Driver’s license

Social security number

W-2 forms

Record of taxable earnings

Records that affected gross income

Parents federal income tax return for the previous year

Bank statements

 

The FAFSA can be confusing. Don’t forget to read all information thoroughly. To steer clear of confusion and delay, be sure to avoid some of these frequently made mistakes:

 

Leaving fields blank- remember to put ‘0’ or ‘not applicable’ when you can

Using unnecessary punctuation- especially when dealing with numbers, extra decimals can create confusion and miscalculation

Putting the wrong address- make sure you include your current permanent residence

Not putting the exact name on your social security card-the FAFSA requires your legal name; so make sure it matches to what is listed on your social security card

Forgetting to count yourself as a student- you must count yourself as a student attending college during that award year.

 

With all this in mind, hopefully the FAFSA can be a quicker and more efficient process to qualify for aid for the next school year!