FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA)

Happy New Year, seniors! Welcome to 2014 – the year you will graduate high school and that many of you will begin college. WHOA. I bet you thought this year would never come, but here it is. Only a few short months away from some of the most important years of your life. I hope you’re as excited as I am for all of you!

Now, we’ve been taking baby steps to get to these big goals (NOT ENOUGH COLLEGE APPS COMPLETED RIGHT NOW! IT’S JANUARY, MY DARLINGS), but we’re on to the next step: the FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA).

No playing around here, this is something that needs to get done ASAP. A few reasons why you need to complete your FAFSA sooner rather than later:

• Some colleges have financial aid deadlines
• Some aid/grant money is first-come first-serve
• You need the FAFSA completed to be eligible for scholarships you apply for
• The sooner you complete the FAFSA, the sooner you can receive a financial aid award letter, which will help you determine your final school choice

We will be having another FAFSA workshop in late January - I will keep you updated on that information. In the meantime, you CAN start your FAFSA on your own. Here is some of the information you will  need in order to complete your application:

• Social Security number (parents and students) and driver’s license
• Last year’s tax returns and W2 forms
• Records of untaxed income like welfare and veterans benefits
• Current asset info, such as bank statements, brokerage statements, mortgage info

I will be reviewing how to fill out the FAFSA more in depth but these are the steps you need to take right now.

Visit www.pin.ed.gov NOW and get a PIN number. This is your Personal Identification Number, and you will need this number EVERY SINGLE TIME that you fill out the FAFSA. You will need this number when you start the FAFSA, when you have to log back in to change something, when you sign and submit your application, when you log back in to your FAFSA next school year and fill it out all over again... This is a VERY IMPORTANT number and when you make it you MUST remember it! Your parent will also have to make a PIN number and remember it. Your PIN number is your electronic signature for your Financial Aid application and it will not be processed and submitted unless you put in your correct number. 

Finally, you can begin your Financial Aid application at www.fafsa.ed.gov 

DO NOT USE ANY OTHER WEBSITE BUT WWW.FAFSA.ED.GOV 

Any website that CHARGES YOU MONEY to fill out your application is a SCAM

The first letter in FAFSA stands for FREEEEEE, so if you're asked to pay for anything, you're at the wrong website

www.FAFSA.ED.GOV

Now get to work!!

-Ms. Miller-Pecora

College Advisor

11th-12th Grade Counselor