Federal financial aid opens October 1st of each year.  The financial aid form is called the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  NEVER pay to complete your FAFSA.  The FAFSA is FREE.  Make sure you go only to the website you see on the right of this page as other websites charge for this FREE application.  If you need money for college, you MUST complete a FAFSA.

 

The 2020/2021 FAFSA that will come online October 1st will be based on 2019 tax returns so please plan on filing your 2019 tax returns early so that you can complete your FAFSA as early as possible as federal money is on a first come first served basis.

 

The FAFSA will ask for information on both parent and student income and assets as well as which colleges/universities the student may attend (you can list up to 10 schools).  Once this information is entered, the FAFSA will give you an EFC (Expected Family Contribution).  Based on the income and assets reported, the EFC is what the government thinks your family can contribute that year toward college costs.  Your EFC will be sent to each school listed on the FAFSA so that, once the student has been admitted, the school's financial aid office can prepare a financial aid award letter.  To illustrate, if a schools' cost of attendance is $20,000 per year and your EFC is 5,000 then your financial need is $15,000.  The financial aid office is responsible to help you meet your need.  You might receive grants (money that does not have to be repaid), you might receive loans (subsidized loans given by FAFSA have better terms than non-subsidized loans), or you might receive work study (having a job on campus where your salary is part of your aid).  Although your EFC remains the same, the cost of attendance and sources of aid vary between schools so many students wait until they receive financial aid award letters from each school they are considering before deciding which school offers the best value. Since your family income may change every year, the FAFSA must be submitted EVERY year.