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Knowing what to do once your Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) is all finished isn’t always clear. Do you sit and wait in apprehension? Do you call your school for help? How do you know what to do?
Having to navigate financial aid is hard enough if you don’t understand what materials you need. There are many different steps that you need to take in order to complete your financial aid package. The form can be misunderstood by the majority of students and sometimes even their parents.
There are many things that contribute to your financial aid package. First and foremost, the FAFSA is based on your parents income. In order to apply for the FAFSA, your parents or guardians have to submit their tax paperwork. Grantfords team is here to help you navigate any confusion surrounding financial aid and the college experience.
What is the FAFSA?
To apply for the FAFSA, your parents or guardians have to submit their tax paperwork. Understanding taxes is only the beginning of the financial aid process. It's crucial to fill out this form so you can discover your eligibility for aid. Filling out the FAFSA is free for all, and once you get the hang of it, it's really simple to figure out. The first time you do it is always the hardest, so that’s why we’re here to assist in any way possible to smooth out the process.
When you go to the Department of Education’s website, they offer you a step by step guide to filling out the FAFSA form. The FAFSA determines your eligibility for federal grants, work-study, and loans, and sends that info to the colleges of your choice.
After you receive your financial aid offer, you will be able to review it and, if necessary, adjust it. Each college will give you a different offer, so try to compare them to see which one is the best fit for you. Also, think about how your offer may change throughout the four years you attend. Once you've narrowed down your decision you'll inform them before the deadline, accepting the offer.
How to fill out the FAFSA and CSS Profile
Filling out the FAFSA is free for all, and once you get the hang of it, it's really simple to figure out. The first time you do it is always the hardest, so that’s why we’re here to assist in any way possible to smooth out the process. After your institution receives the information, they will determine how much financial aid, scholarships, loans and grants they will give you for that year. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool makes the process of filling out the FAFSA easier and almost instantaneous.
After you receive your financial aid offer, you will be able to review it and, if necessary, adjust it. Each college will give you a different offer, so try to compare them to see which one is the best fit for you. Also, think about how your offer may change throughout the four years you attend. Once you've narrowed down your decision you'll inform them before the deadline, accepting the offer.
In order to determine your eligibility for non-federal financial aid, you need to fill out the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile. Unlike the FAFSA, it provides your university with additional financial information in order to determine any additional needs. This tool helps individual colleges determine how much of their own personal scholarship dollars they want to award you. The CSS Profile is free to fill out for American families that make up to $100,000 per year, and costs up to $25 per year otherwise.
What happens after you submit?
If you submitted your FAFSA online, then The Department of Education will process your application within 3 to 5 days. If you submitted a paper FAFSA, your application will be processed within 7 to 10 days.
Once your application is processed, you will receive a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR), which summarizes the information you provided on your FAFSA. Once your FAFSA form is processed, your SAR is sent to the colleges that you listed on your FAFSA form. The colleges you listed are responsible for creating your award package and disbursing your financial aid.
Your SAR will include your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC determines your eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant, and the college uses the EFC to assess your eligibility for other federal and nonfederal student aid.
You should contact the financial aid office at the college you plan to attend to find out if there are additional requirements for receiving financial aid and to learn more about the process of applying for aid at that college. However, listing a college on your FAFSA isn’t always enough to receive aid at that college, as most colleges do not create award packages for every applicant who lists the college on a FAFSA.
Your schools will use the FAFSA to determine your aid
After your schools receive the FAFSA, they put your paperwork into processing through their financial aid office to determine your eligibility for assistance. Depending on how many schools you’ve applied for and sent your FAFSA to, you’ll receive financial aid letters and reports from each one that accepts you.
The FAFSA asks for information about income, assets and demographic factors, such as household size and number of children enrolled in college at the same time. This information is used to calculate the EFC, which determines eligibility for federal student aid. Colleges may also use information from your FAFSA to award private scholarships from their own funds, and your state may require the FAFSA to determine state-funded college aid. The amount of aid you receive is different for everyone who fills out the FAFSA and is determined by the factors listed above.
When is financial aid disbursed?
The type of aid that you’ve accepted will determine when your finances will disperse. Generally, your school will give you your grant or loan money in at least two payments called disbursements. Your anticipated disbursement date is the date that the school will expect to disburse Direct Loan funds. The actual disbursement date is the date the funds are made accessible to the borrower.
In most cases, your school must give you your grant or loan money at least once per semester or term. When you receive scholarships from outside the institution, they will typically show up on your account either ten days before the semester begins, or within the first 30 days of the term. If you have questions about your loans or aid being disbursed, don’t see any funds that should be there or have randomly received a bill from your school, contact your financial aid office and they should be able to assist you.
Need more advice?
Aren’t eligible for as much aid as you thought, or looking for free cash? The best bet you have of getting a scholarship is to go local. Think of your marching band, local rotary club, non-profit organizations, and so on. If you’re still unable to find any scholarships, go to your high school’s guidance office for tips, too.
Going through college applications, alongside figuring out your financial aid status can be a confusing and difficult process. Grantford's team hopes to provide students in both undergrad and graduate programs with resources to even the playing field.
Check out Grantford’s Recycled Essay Scholarship, our guides specifically aimed toward Black women pursuing higher education, as well as our article for graduate student scholarships. Grantford keeps students up to date with other financial aid, scholarship, and student loan advice – You can meet with us or view our various categories of resources, or read our blog. For annual updates, subscribe to our financial aid advice newsletter.
