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Federal Student Aid
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ABCs of Financial Aid

STEP 1

Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov.  Students and parents need to apply for a PIN which will be used to "sign" the FAFSA at this same site.  Make sure that students visit the authentic FAFSA website.  

Listed below are some of the information and documents that will need to be gathered prior to applying:

  • Social Security Number, including parents or spouse depending on dependency status
  • Driver's License (if applicable)
  • The prior year W-2 forms and other records of earned income - student's, parents' or spouse's
  • Prior year Federal Tax Return - student's, parents' or spouse's
  • Prior year untaxed income such as Social Security, federal or state assistance, Veteran's benefits, etc.
  • Current bank statements -student's, parents' or spouse's
  • Other types of records containing business, mortgage, farm and/or investment information
  • Alien registration card/permanent resident card if you are not a U.S. Citizen

High school juniors can begin planning for obtaining financial assistance needs by visiting www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov.  Both of these sites are administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

Foster children and parents of foster children can find answers to questions about completing the FASFA in a helpful article on the the CollegeGoal Sunday.

Many sites offer to complete the FAFSA however; they often charge a fee despite the fact that the application is FREE.

STEP 2

When the student receives the Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Department of Education, the student will need to contact the college(s) of choice to make sure the a copy of the SAR is on file with the financial aid office.  The SAR contains the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) amount based on the income and debt information which the financial aid officer uses to put together an Award Letter.

STEP 3

The student needs to be on the lookout for the award letter(s) from the college(s) of choice via email or U.S. Mail.  The letter will contain specific instructions on how to accept the listed scholarships, grants or loans.  Following these instructions in a timely manner is imperative because occasionally financial aid offices will reallocate unclaimed institutional funds to other students demonstrating need.