FAFSA: To Do Or Not To Do?
May 12, 2009 by Tisa Silver
Filed under Finance
Students seeking financial assistance for college are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, aka the “FAFSA.” The FAFSA has been called long, difficult and confusing. Is it worth the trouble?
YES!
Photo by CarbonNYC, courtesy of flickr
Here are some common excuses for skipping the FAFSA and reasons why you should IGNORE the excuses:
Excuse #1: “I don’t need financial aid.”
You may not need it this year, but what about the next three or four? Things change and if a parent loses a job or suffers a medical emergency, you may find yourself in a new, less comfortable financial predicament.
You have to fill out the FAFSA in order to receive student financial aid and it is better to be prepared.
Excuse #2: “I won’t qualify for financial aid.”
Income is not the only factor that determines eligibility for financial aid!
Aside from the fact that the FAFSA is need to qualify for loans, many universities require a completed FAFSA in order for students to be considered for scholarships and other awards that are merit based as opposed to need based.
Excuse #3: “It’s too long and confusing.”
If you were going to lend someone thousands of dollars wouldn’t you ask a lot of questions? Completing the FAFSA requires information from several documents which can be confusing, but ideally you and/or your parent or guardian should already know where those documents are and what they contain. (View FAFSA’s “Documents Needed“)
Excuse #4: “I don’t want to owe the government anything.”
Who else would you rather owe? Rates and repayment terms on federal financial aid are usually better than anything you will find at a bank or another private source.
The bottom line: Do the FAFSA. The earlier you do it, the better. You can do the FAFSA on paper or on the Web.
Come back for tomorrow’s post on student loans!
