FAFSA Season again

If you are a senior, or the parent of a senior, the single most important thing you can do right now to support your college journey is to complete the FAFSA.  That's the free application for federal student aid, and it's the gateway to almost any type of financial aid you're likely to receive.  To complete the FAFSA, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and follow the instructions to start a new FAFSA.

The FAFSA will ask about the student's and parent's income and assets, and will calculate an Expected Family Contribution (or EFC) based on the information you provide.  It's important to understand that the EFC is not necessarily what you will pay for college, but it is an important factor in determining your financial need.  Your financial need will be the difference between the cost of attendance (COA) at the school you attend and your EFC.

The information on the FAFSA determines your eligibility for federal grants such as the Pell Grant and state grants, including the Cal Grant and California Middle Class Scholarship in California.  State grants are available in many other states as well. Furthermore, most scholarships will require that you have filed a FAFSA, and will use that information to determine income-based eligibility.

Some important things to note about the FAFSA:

• Although the FAFSA will ask for information from your tax return, you do not have to wait until you have filed taxes before submitting the FAFSA.  You can use estimated income, then go back and make changes after you file your taxes.
• If you are a California resident, be sure to file the FAFSA before March 2.  This is the deadline for the state grants, including the Cal Grant and the California Middle Class Scholarship.
• If you are eligible for the Cal Grant, be sure to submit your GPA verification by March 2.  See your high school counselor for information on how to do this.
• If your parents are separated or divorced, you will only provide income information for the parent you live with most of the time, and their spouse, if they are remarried.  If you live with each parent 50% of the time, you should provide income information for the parent who provides most of your financial support.
• Make sure you are on the correct website - you want .gov NOT .com  There is a fafsa.com website that may charge you up to $100 to file this free application.  
• You need to complete the FAFSA each year.  You should file as soon as possible after January 1st of each year.

Once you have completed the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) which will include your EFC, along with a summary of information you entered in the FAFSA.  Check your SAR for accuracy, and follow the directions you'll receive with the SAR if you need to make corrections. 

Undocumented students in California who meet the requirements of AB540 should complete the Dream Act application.  It is similar to the FAFSA, but does not require a social security number.  The Dream Act assesses eligibility for the Cal Grant and California Middle Class Scholarship, and provides important information regarding eligibility for institution - based aid. 

Once you have finished your college applications, make sure your student aid report is sent to all colleges you have applied to.  You can list up to 10 colleges on the FAFSA, if you apply to a college after completing the FAFSA and did not have the information sent, contact the financial aid office at the college to make sure they receive the information from your FAFSA.  They will use this information to determine your eligibility for financial aid.

Eventually, you should receive a financial aid offer letter from each college you are accepted to.  Be sure to check your online portal for each college to make sure they are not missing any important information.  If you have questions about the offer, you should contact the school's financial aid office.  College Options, a community-based advising service in Northern California, has a tool for comparing offer letters, along with a wealth of general information on financial aid: http://www.collegeoptions.org/#!financial-aid/c8k2

If you play your cards correctly, you'll have a variety of options to choose from.  Now you just need to sit back and decide.