This year, the time for seniors and their families to think about financial aid is earlier than ever. Starting this year, the Free Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) opens on October 1. The deadline for California State grants (like the Cal Grant and the California Middle Class Scholarship) is still March 2, but students are encouraged to submit the FAFSA as early as possible, as some forms of aid are first come, first served.
Another change this year - when completing the FAFSA, students and their parents will use tax information from 2015 (Prior-prior year). This is good news - no need to estimate income information; assuming you filed 2015 taxes this past Spring, you can use the IRS data retrieval tool to pull the information directly from your taxes. More good news - this change should allow schools to determine financial aid packages earlier than in the past. Whether or not they provide you with information on your financial aid package any earlier remains to be seen.
Are you wondering whether you should apply for financial aid? The answer is YES! Many students and families mistakenly think they don't qualify for aid. With the rising cost of college, some aid is now available for families who previously did not qualify. California, for example, has recently implemented a program called the California Middle Class Scholarship, which provides some assistance to students with family income and assets up to $156,000 per year, provided the student is attending a school in the University of California or California State University system. Furthermore, many universities require completion of the FAFSA in order for students to be eligible for university grants and scholarships, even those that are primarily merit - based. So you have everything to gain and nothing to lose - complete the FAFSA!
Other reasons some students choose not to complete the FAFSA:
They don't want to take out loans. Guess what? You don't have to. The FAFSA will determine your eligibility for financial aid, including grants and scholarships, work study, and subsidized student loans. Once you receive your financial aid offer, you can accept what you want and decline the rest - you can collect any grants, scholarship, and work study eligibility and decline the loans if you so choose.
They don't know how to apply. Help is available! The application is online at https://fafsa.ed.gov/. The federal student aid commission has an FAQ page to help with questions, as well as telephone assistance and online chat to help. Your high school counselor should be able to help also if you have questions. Many high schools and community organizations in California organize in Cash for College workshops, where you can get help and file your FAFSA right then and there. Cash for College workshops are open to everyone, you do not have to be a student at that high school to attend. For information, or to find a Cash for College workshop near you, visit the Cash for College website.
However, wherever, whenever you choose to do it, file your FAFSA! And do it soon.
