FAFSA Application 2010-2011
Financial Aid for College?

The FAFSA application is easier to fill out this year, particularly for those who will qualify for a Pell grant.

Even applicants who will only be offered federal student loans should have a more user-friendly experience.

(And they can take comfort in the fact that only the federal government is offering college loans consolidation right now.)

You can go now to file your FAFSA here.

Or you can learn more about the application before you jump into it.

If you need some really basic information about the form, check out, "What does FAFSA stand for?" Otherwise, this page will give you a overview of the 2010-2011 form.

There are differences between the printable FAFSA and the online form. (Although they collect the same information, of course.)

If you are looking to renew FAFSA, use the online form with its prefilled information.

To fill out the 2010-2011 FAFSA application you will need your:

• social security number
• driver's license (if you have one)
• 2009 W-2's and records of all 2009 earnings
• (and spouse's, if married) 2009 federal tax return forms (if you haven't filed, you can estimate and make corrections later)
• parents' (if a dependent student) 2009 federal tax return forms
• 2009 untaxed income records- including veterans noneducation benefits, child support received, and worker's compensation
• bank statements, business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond and other investment records (as of the day you fill out the FAFSA- this is supposed to be a current snapshot of your finances)
• alien registration or permanent resident card if not a U.S. citizen

In the summer of 2010, the FAFSA online form will be able to retrieve your tax forms for you. Students are advised to file well before this, to meet their state FAFSA deadline.

There are seven parts to the FAFSA application:

1. Student demographics- These are the questions that would be classified as personal identification and they will be used to establish your basic eligibility for federal aid.

   The drug conviction question now only applies to returning students. If you indicate that you were convicted of the possession or sale of illegal drugs while you were receiving federal aid, your SAR will include this worksheet to be filled out:

   English

   Spanish

2. School selection- You are allowed to list up to ten. This part of the FAFSA form is often rushed through by students and not given the thought and research it deserves. Even if you're fairly sure about where you will go (and especially if you have no clue) list as many as you can. Go for all ten! It costs you nothing to indicate your interest- see what kind of nibbles you get. They will all send you some information, but you can compare their levels of interest to make a decision about which ones to apply to.

   Here is an updated school codes list

   Include at least one expensive school so that you can find out the maximum Pell grant amount you might qualify for.

   You can also indicate in this section whether or not you are interested in aid other than grants- such as loans, work-study, or the TEACH program.

3. Dependency status- If you answer "yes" to any of these questions:
   • birth date before January 1, 1987
   • married
   • working on an advanced degree
   • children or dependents you support
   • active duty or veteran
   • orphan, foster care or ward of the court
   • emancipated minor, in legal guardianship, or homeless

   you will be considered independent and you will not have to provide parental info.

   If you are dependent, but cannot provide parent information for one of the following reasons (and only these):

   • Your parents are incarcerated.
   • An abusive environment forced you to leave home.
   • Your parents whereabouts are unknown, you are unable to contact them and you have not been adopted.

   you will be allowed to submit your FAFSA, but you will not receive an EFC (expected family contribution) number until you follow up with the financial aid officer at your college. (This means aid might be delayed.)

   If your parents refuse to provide information or any financial support, you may still qualify for an unsubsidized Stafford loan, only.

4. Parent demographics- Key questions in this section are household size and number of college students in the household.

   It is important to realize that these dependents are not necessarily the same as tax exemptions, since the FAFSA application is looking for a picture of your household as of the day you fill out the form (and for your future college year). Tax exemptions refer to the previous year.

5. Financial information- The parent's information comes first. If income tax forms for 2009 were not yet filed, you will still have to indicate which form will be used and estimate earnings and income tax.

   There is a list of additional sources of earnings and untaxed income that you will need to supply dollar amounts for if they apply to you. (For purposes of FAFSA, deferred compensation counts as income.) This list is summarized on my Pell grant form page.

   The student's financial information comes next. Both parents and students are given the opportunity to skip questions about assets, but are warned that they may be asked by schools to provide it.

   If the financial info qualifies you for a Pell grant, you will be asked to provide academic information to see if you also qualify for a Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG).

6. Sign and submit- You (and your parent if you are a dependent student) will need to sign your FAFSA application, either now or later. (Your application can be processed without a signature, but no aid will be released without it.)

   You can print a signature page and mail it, but the quickest and easiest way is to apply for a FAFSA PIN.

7. Confirmation- FAFSA website changes have made this confirmation more secure. This year, your confirmation number will be randomly generated (instead of being made up of your social security number and first two letters of your last name).

   Of course, this also makes it more difficult to remember, so write it down and save it.

   Your (estimated) EFC number will also be displayed on this page.
   
   

   If you submitted your FAFSA application before April 2010, and your EFC was between 4618 and 5273, you would have been told that you do not qualify for a Pell grant. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 has made it possible for students with those EFC numbers and who are planning to attend schools with a Cost of Attendance equal to or greater than $5,550, to now qualify for an award.

   
   
   

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   If you need to make any FAFSA corrections, you will have to wait until you receive the SAR (student aid report) notification that your form has been processed. Then you can access your FAFSA application (using your PIN) to make them.
   
   If you run into any problems that are not solved by the FAFSA application's help boxes, you can get live assistance Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. ET; Saturdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET (except for federal holidays) at:

   800/4-FED-AID (800/433-3243); 319/337-5665;
   or
   TDD/TTY 800/730-8913

   If you do not complete the FAFSA application in one sitting (although it is supposed to take on average- 1 hour and 15 minutes) you can save your information. The system will store it for up to 45 days.

   
   
   
   

   The FAFSA application is easier to fill out online. The software will not let you make dumb mistakes, because if there is a conflict in the information you provide, the site will not let you continue until you resolve it.

   With the printed form, you will not find out about mistakes before mailing and processing. Your SAR will inform you about any errors that were found. Then you will have to make the corrections and mail the form again.
   
   
   

   
   
   
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