Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

By Mark Kantrowitz, Publisher of FinAid.org and FastWeb.com

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA, is used to apply for student aid from the federal and state government, as well as most public and private colleges. As the name of the form implies, there is no charge for submitting the FAFSA.

The FAFSA can be submitted online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The online form has built-in edit checks to catch errors and intelligent skip logic to avoid asking you irrelevant questions. It typically takes about an hour to complete the form, although it can sometimes take longer the first time you complete it, especially if you haven't gathered the documents you'll need to complete the form.

You will need a PIN to sign the form electronically. You can obtain a PIN at www.pin.ed.gov.

The FAFSA should be submitted as soon as possible after January 1. Do not wait until you have filed your federal income tax return or been admitted to college. It is ok to estimate your income based on your W-2 and 1099 statements and the last pay stub of the year. You will have an opportunity to correct any errors later. While you can qualify for federal student aid as late as June 30 of the following year or the last day of classes, whichever comes first, it is better to get the form in earlier. Some states and colleges have much earlier deadlines for their own aid funds, some as early as February or March.

If you need help completing the form, there are several sources of free help. The US Department of Education sponsors a toll-free hotline to answer questions about the FAFSA and federal student aid, 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). Several dozen states sponsor College Goal Sunday programs, where college financial aid administrators volunteer to provide free in-person help completing the form. You can also ask the financial aid administrator at a local college for help.

The FAFSA is used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is a harsh measure of your ability to pay. The EFC is subtracted from the college's cost of attendance to determine your financial need. (The cost of attendance includes tuition, fees, an allowance for room and board, books and supplies, transportation and other costs associated with enrollment in college.) The financial aid package is based on the financial need.

You should submit the FAFSA every year, even if you didn't qualify for aid last year. Financial aid rules change frequently enough that it is difficult to predict how much aid you'll get without applying.

The most common mistakes on the FAFSA include:

  • Errors involving the Social Security Number or name. Digit transpositions are common. Also, your name on the FAFSA must match your legal name as it appears on your Social Security Card, even if you use a different name now.
  • Errors involving total income tax or adjusted gross income. Some applicants report the adjusted gross income, the amount withheld or the taxes due in the answer to the question about tax liability. The FAFSA refers to specific lines on your federal income tax return. Use those figures instead of trying to use a shortcut.
  • Answer the question about type of income tax return carefully. If you were eligible to file an IRS Form 1040A or 1040EZ instead of IRS Form 1040, specify this on the FAFSA. This can make a big difference in the amount of financial aid you get.
  • If you are separated but not divorced, you should answer "Yes" to the question "As of today, are you married?"

Mark Kantrowitz is an expert on paying for college. He is publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com, the leading free web sites for information about student financial aid, student loans and scholarships.