The FAFSA Process
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid form is the first step in the financial aid process. Filling out this form makes you eligible for federal, state, and many times institutional need-based aid. This application is free at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Gather all necessary information: In order to expedite the process, pull together important information that you will need in order to fill out the FAFSA, such as: Social Security Number, driver’s license number, income tax returns, bank statements, and investment records.
Fill out the FAFSA and submit BEFORE March 10: The FAFSA should be filed after January 1 of the senior year and before the state or college deadline (whichever comes first) every spring in advance of attending college in the fall. Be sure you know the FAFSA deadline for each college you are planning to attend! The information submitted on the FAFSA goes to the U.S. Department of Education Federal Processor which generates an Expected Family Contribution. If insufficient information is provided and/or data are missing, the FAFSA will be rejected by the Federal Processor. The information submitted on the FAFSA must be complete in order for it to be processed. The student must list on the FAFSA all the college(s) s/he may want to attend. This information will be sent only to the colleges listed.
Evaluate financial aid awards from colleges: Once the colleges listed on the FAFSA receive the student’s final FAFSA information, they will process financial aid awards for the student. The process from filing the FAFSA to getting a financial aid award varies by institution. These awards typically include any federal, state, and institutional forms of financial aid, both need-based and merit-based. If the student believes s/he is eligible for federal or state funding not listed on the financial aid award, s/he should call the financial aid office. The student may receive several subsequent revised financial aid awards from the same college if they receive scholarships from private sources, or if there are changes in the federal or state funding formula.
Once the student decides which college s/he will attend, the student must accept or decline various components of the financial aid award. Typically, students will decline the loans if they are able to make up the difference from other sources. Be sure to pay attention to the stated deadlines by which the awards must be accepted (or declined).
No, untaxed social security benefits do not need to be included on the FAFSA.
Every year you are in college and before Indiana's March 10 deadline. Also, be sure to check with the individual colleges to see if they have different deadlines you must meet. Some colleges will have deadlines that are earlier than March 10.
Any person (other than parents) who is counted in the household and will be attending any term of the academic year, at least half time, in a program that leads to a college degree or certificate. The FAFSA filer is to be included.
Most colleges only require the student to file a FAFSA for need-based financial aid, but a few colleges also require the student to file a CSS/Profile or their own secondary institutional financial aid form. Check with the colleges to see what additional forms they may require, if any.
The CSS/Profile asks questions not included on the FAFSA, possibly including information from a non-custodial parent. The CSS/Profile can be filed as early as October 1 the year prior to attending college and should be filed no later than two weeks before the earliest priority filing date specified by the college. There is a fee for filing the CSS/Profile, but they provide a certain amount of need-based fee waivers based upon financial information provided in the form.
You can file the CSS Profile online by going to
www.collegeboard.com. Within the “Student Section” select “CSS/Profile” under “Pay for College.”
Be sure to print the confirmation page after you hit "submit." The college(s) you included on your FAFSA will have access to your information and will use it to prepare a financial aid award for you. This may be mailed, emailed or made available to you on your college account(s).
The FAFSA requires you to submit the information as reported on your federal tax forms and any other specific information regarding your family. If you have special circumstances, (e.g., a parent was employed last year but has since lost his/her job, your family is facing large medical expenses or a parent is now working a job at a greatly reduced salary, etc.) you need to appeal to the financial aid office at the college you plan to attend. The financial aid counselor can make a professional judgement and change the data that you have entered on the FAFSA, which could lower your Expected Family Contribution. You need to be prepared to document the changes and reasons for the professional judgement. Note: The financial aid counselor can also make changes to the data that could increase your Expected Family Contribution.
Estimates may, and can, be used to meet a college's and/or state deadline (for Indiana, the state deadline is March 10th). If you plan to file your taxes electronically you can transfer them directly from the IRS website using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (you must submit your taxes in advance of completing your FAFSA). All changes and corrections must be made by the state deadline, May 15th, and all tax filers will be required to go back into the FAFSA website to download tax returns prior to the state completion deadline.
- For students whose parents are married to each other, you report both parents' income and assets.
- For students whose legal parents are not married to each other and live together (biological and/or adoptive and regardless of gender) you will need to report income and asset information for both parents.
- If the legal parent you live with is remarried, you must include your stepparent's information as well.
- For students whose legal parents are divorced or separated and do not live together, you report the financial information for the parent you have lived with more for the past 12 months. If you did not live with either parent or lived equally with each, the parental information must be provided for the parent you received the most financial support from during the past 12 months or the parent you received the most support from the last time support was given.
No, the value of a primary residence is not included as a parent asset in the federal formula.
Yes, for a student who reports parental information (a dependent student), the 529 accounts are reported as parental investments, including all 529 accounts owned by the student and all 529 accounts owned by the parents for any member of the household. For a student who does not report parental information (independent students), the accounts owned by the student (and/or the student's spouse) are reported as student investments.
Yes, filing a FAFSA allows you to participate in federal loan programs, regardless of your financial situation. Also, no one can predict when your financial situation may change (parent(s) loss of a job, a death in the family, change in marital status, etc.), resulting in financial need.