ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
To qualify for federal financial aid, you must meet the following requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen
• Have a valid Social Security number (SSN)
• Certify that you will use federal funds for educational purposes only, and that you are not in default on other federal loans
• If you are male aged 18-25, you must register with selective services (You can do this at the same time you complete the FAFSA)
• No convictions for illegal drug possession or sale
• Have financial need, except when applying for loan programs (federal student loans are not awarded based on financial need)
• Demonstrate through one of the following means that you are qualified to enroll in postsecondary education (college, community college, certification): Earn a high school diploma or GED, or pass an approved-to-benefit (ATB) test, complete a home school program in a setting approved by your state and/or meet other standards established by state
• Be enrolled/accepted to an eligible program as a regular student earning a degree/certificate
• Meet satisfactory progress standards established by the college you are attending

HOW MUCH FINANCIAL AID ARE YOU ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE?

Use this free tool to calculate the amount of financial aid, including grants, you are eligible to receive. Calculate your family’s expected contribution using the government’s methodology. The tools also saves you time when completing the real Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

8 STEPS TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID

APPLICATION PROCESS OVERVIEW

The most important form in financial aid is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). FAFSA is the first of three (3) acronyms you’ll need to remember in the financial aid application process. The other two are SAR and EFC. The SAR is the Student Aid Report, the report the Education Department sends to you as a result of submitting the FAFSA. The SAR contains a number that represents your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC. Your EFC is used to determine your eligibility for federal financial aid.

COMPLETING THE FAFSA

The FAFSA must be completed every year that you attend college. After the initial submission, you must submit a renewal FAFSA every year until you graduate or leave college. The FAFSA can be completed online or on paper. Online is generally better because you will receive your SAR much sooner than if you use the mail. Shaving a few days off the cycle can be really helpful, especially if you apply very close to the deadline. Plus, it’s always better to know ASAP, so you can make other plans.

To complete and sign the FAFSA online, you will need to create an electronic PIN number. Then, you’ll need to gather some financial information, including income tax returns, W-2 forms and information on yours and your parents assets, in order to complete the FAFSA. A complete checklist is included on the FAFSA worksheet.

To get started, visit the FAFSA website. Then, use the FAFSA worksheet to make sure you have all of the information you will need to complete the online FAFSA.

Get more FAFSA help.

THE STUDENT AID REPORT (SAR)

The SAR usually arrives via email 3-5 days after you submit your FAFSA (7 days if you mail the paper form). The most important information on the SAR is the EFC, which can be found in the upper right hand corner of the paper version. The SAR is sent to you and all of the colleges you listed on the FAFSA. Colleges’ financial aid offices will use the information on the SAR to put together a financial aid package for you. For this reason, it is very important to make sure that all of your information is correct. You may make corrections online using your PIN, via phone at 1-800-4-FED-AID, or via mail.

YOUR EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC)

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is a measure of your family’s financial strength and is calculated according to a formula established by law. Your family’s income (taxed and untaxed), assets, and benefits (such as, unemployment or Social Security) are all considered in the formula. Also, considered are your family size and the number of family members who will attend college or career school during the year.

The information you reported on the FAFSA is used to calculate your EFC. The school uses the EFC to determine your federal student aid eligibility and financial aid award.

Note: Your EFC is not the amount that your family will have to pay for college nor is it the amount of federal student aid that you will receive. It is a number used by the school to calculate the amount that your family will be expected to pay for college and the amount of federal student aid you are eligible to receive.

YOUR FINANCIAL AID AWARD

The colleges you selected will put together financial aid packages for you based on your EFC. You will an award letter listing the loans, scholarships, grants and/or work study you are eligible to receive for that year of college. In some cases, your award will completely cover the cost of one year of college, leaving you and family to contribute $0. Typically, this occurs only with students whose families have very low incomes, or students who, because of their academic performance or athletic ability, receive scholarships.

In most other cases, the financial aid award will take care of only a portion of your total annual college costs. You and your family will be expected to contribute the difference between the total cost (tuition, room and board, fees) and your financial aid award.

Don’t worry if you did not get a “full-ride”, there are other financial aid options, including loans, grants, scholarships and the always popular J.O.B.