FAFSA Application MUSTS!
DO NOT file the FAFSA Application until you know if, what and how your answers will affect your chances for receiving grants and scholarships. It could cost you thousands!
Download the 2011-12 FAFSA Application
However, you can file the FAFSA application after you
follow these simple, but very important steps.
FAFSA Application Step 1: Get Your Financial Statements, Income and Other Data Together
Step 1 is get organized- Having the right information on-hand when you file the FAFSA form will help prevent a lot of worries. Among a score of other reasons, being as accurate as you can has a whole new meaning here. There are thousands of people who had the experience of misnomering a question on the FAFSA application and lost a lot of college money. It is foolish not to double-check your data with the proper information right in front of you. Besides, if you have to go looking for it while you are processing your form online, the site can “time out” making you lose your data. You’ll get a complete check list of what you will need in the FAFSA section of the Ultimate Guide to College Financial Aid. It is the First Step to the FAFSA application and paying as little as possible for college.
FAFSA Application Step 2: Know What Professional College Aid Consultants Know- This is where you save thousands.
Step 2 is the most important step- YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE RULES TO THE GAME if you don’t want to overpay like most people do. If you listen to your friends you are going to lose money. It is that simple. If you appreciate experience, knowledge and proven practice skills like a CPA, then this is for you. Myths and misconceptions will destroy your chances for aid and the generic information parents get from their High School College and FAFSA Night or at seminars is for people who couldn’t fill out a drivers license renewal correctly. You need to read chapters 10-12, pages 31-48 of the Ultimate Guide to College Financial Aid which you can get immediately here. This is information that you need if your FAFSA application is to get you what you deserve. These are the pages where you learn the secrets that professional college aid consultants charge $2,000 to do to lower your FAFSA EFC so you are eligible for more federal, state and university grants and scholarships. It’s step- by step insider information that’s easy to read, fast and to the point. Get your “Guide” now and follow along so you don’t lose what you are entitled to receive. It’s the FAFSA Application Bible for parents.
FAFSA Application Step 3: Apply for a Pin Number from the Government
If you plan on filing the FAFSA application online, both the student and one parent needs to apply for and receive their pin numbers from the Department of Education BEFORE the form can be submitted. Follow the easy steps to receive your pin numbers at the website: FAFSA.ed.gov. Your data will not be processed until you can electronically sign the form and this is only done by obtaining a Pin number from the Department of Education. You will keep this pin number for years so be sure to file it in a safe place. one last note- each student needs a Pin number but the parent can sign all of their children’s FAFSA forms using the one Pin number that they obtained for their eldest or first child that applied for financial aid.
FAFSA Application Step 4: Get Your Schools’ Code Numbers
The FAFSA application will ask for school code numbers. This is where some parents make a simple mistake that cost them. If you want to get college financial aid from the universities that you applied to, you will need to have each college’s specific school code number. For authenticity, this is best found published on the college’s website. Be sure NOT to copy the CSS profile number. You can double check this at the end of the form when you file your FAFSA.
FAFSA Application Step 5: Congratulations! You are ready for the FAFSA Application either online or paper form. For the online version, download your 2011-12 FAFSA Application and then Click on the Grad Cap to the left if your sure that you’ve got everything ready.
Now that you are ready, carefully follow the question-by-question directions in Chapter 9 on pages 31-39 of the Ultimate Guide To College Financial Aid and file your FAFSA application with confidence. The directions hand-hold you from beginning to end. When you finish, you will be so glad that you had the knowledge at your fingertips and the expertise by your side. This is one time you’ll be thanking yourself over and over for years to come. Be sure to get a-2011-12 FAFSA BEFORE you file online. It will be your worksheet and then…
Click HERE or on the graduation cap on the left to link to the FAFSA application if you wish to file online..
“Thanks for saving our retirement. We would have spent a whole lot more if we didn’t take that half hour that it took to learn exactly what we needed to do.”
Emily and Frank Logan
West Chester, PA