The Federal Student Aid office has many resources for students looking to attend college. One resource they provide is the Financial Aid Roadmap. Your grade in school will determine what stage you are at on the road map. Unless you’re a high school senior, you’ll be in the “preparation” stage, but it is never too early to understand the process. Let’s go through it together.

The Financial Aid Roadmap

Before you apply for financial aid in the fall of your senior year of high school, there are a few things you and your guardians can do.

Preparation

Before you apply for financial aid in the fall of your senior year of high school, there are a few things you and your guardians can do.

• Begin saving early.
• Look for scholarships through your state or college as well as national and community organizations.
• Ask a guidance counselor or financial aid office for information on college funding programs in your state.

Complete the FAFSA

In October of your senior year, it will be time to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  Each October, the FAFSA becomes available for the next school year. It is best to fill it out as early as you can because some aid is first come, first served.

• Complete the FAFSA online at fafsa.gov. Make sure to fill out and submit the FAFSA each year you are in college.
• When you complete the FAFSA, you’ll need to provide personal and tax information. (We’ll talk more about exactly what you’ll need a little later!)
• Once you submit your FAFSA, you’ll receive your FAFSA Submission Summary. Your FAFSA Submission Summary summarizes the information on your FAFSA, so be sure to review it carefully and make corrections, if needed.

Did you know?

The FAFSA is the only way to apply for federal student aid. Any colleges you list on your application will use FAFSA information to evaluate your financial need and determine how much federal aid you are eligible to receive. Many colleges also use information from your FAFSA to provide their own financial aid.

Look at the Types of Aid You’ve Been Offered

The US Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid is the largest provider of financial aid. Depending on your level of need, you may be offered three kinds of financial aid.

• Grants: Grants are free money. It does not have to be repaid.
• Student loans: Like other loans, student loans must be repaid with interest.
• Work-study: Work-study jobs give you the opportunity to earn money to help pay for educational expenses.

Read your Award Letter from your Chosen School

After you’ve submitted your FAFSA and have been accepted to a college, you will receive award letters from each institution you’ve been accepted to. Award letters will show what each school will offer you, including:

• federal grants
• loans
• work-study
• state aid
• institutional aid

If you’ve been accepted to multiple schools, compare your award letters and decide which school is best for you.

Attend College or a Career School

You will be able to choose which awards you’d like to accept. For example, you may want to accept federal grants but not accept any loans. Your college or career school will have a financial aid office to help guide you along the way.

Enter the Workforce

Planning for your educational expenses sets the foundation for a bright future and success in the workforce. Once you leave school, you will need to repay any loans.

The FAFSA Application Process

According to a 2019 National Study conducted by Sallie Mae and Ipsos, on average families spent $26,226 on college and used a variety of sources of payment.

• 43% of a family’s cost is paid for through savings and income.
• 24% of a family’s cost is paid for through loans.
• 31% of a family’s cost is paid for through scholarships and grants.

Though you won’t fill out the FAFSA form until October of your senior year of high school, it is a good idea to understand what you’ll need. Remember, you’ll want to be prepared so you can complete the form as soon as possible and receive the best aid.

A StudentAid.gov Account

You’ll need to create a StudentAid.gov account to access and fill out the FAFSA. Your contributors will each need their own StudentAid.gov account too. A contributor is anyone (you, your spouse, your biological or adoptive parent, or your parent’s spouse) who is required to provide information on your FAFSA form.

As a student, you’ll be required to enter your Social Security number (SSN) to create a StudentAid.gov account. However, if you have any contributors who don’t have an SSN, they can still create a StudentAid.gov account to complete their section of your FAFSA form. Create your StudentAid.gov account now so you’re ready to complete the FAFSA form as soon as it launches.

Contributor Information

When you fill out the FAFSA form, you’ll answer questions that will determine who needs to be a contributor on your form. However, you may be able to identify your contributors now to get a head start on collecting the information you’ll need to invite them to your form.

Your Federal Income Tax Return

You and your contributors must provide consent and approval to have your federal tax information transferred directly from the IRS into your FAFSA form. Providing consent and approval is mandatory, even if you or your contributors don’t have an SSN, didn’t file a tax return, or filed a tax return outside the U.S.

You and your contributors should have your tax returns on hand when you fill out the FAFSA form. Even though your tax information will be transferred directly into the FAFSA form, you may still need your tax records to answer certain questions.

Records of Untaxed Income

You and your contributors may need to answer FAFSA questions about untaxed income, such as child support and interest income.

Records of Assets

The FAFSA form will ask you and your contributors questions about your assets, so make sure you have records of your savings and checking account balances, as well as the value of any investments, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate (excluding your primary residence).

A List of Schools You’re Interested in Attending

Be sure to add any colleges, career schools, or trade schools you’re considering, even if you haven’t applied or been accepted yet. You can list up to 20 schools.

Even if there’s only a slight chance you’ll apply to a school, list it on your FAFSA form. You can always remove a school later if you decide not to apply, but if you wait to add a school, you could miss out on financial aid.

After your FAFSA form is processed, the schools you list on the form will receive your FAFSA results electronically. They’ll use your FAFSA information to determine the types and amounts of financial aid you may receive.

If you add a school to your FAFSA form and later decide not to apply for admission, that’s okay! The school likely won’t offer you aid until you’ve been accepted anyway.

Sticker Shock!

Have you heard the term sticker shock? Sticker shock is a term used when someone looks at the price of something and finds it hard to believe! If you completed the activity How Much Will College Cost, did you have sticker shock at the cost of your three colleges?

Well, don’t be shocked yet!! Most students don’t pay the full price that you calculated. The real cost of college is sometimes called the net cost of college.  Let’s look at how the net cost of college differs from the sticker cost.

Sticker Cost: This is the college’s published cost of attendance. Most colleges charge different prices for in-state and out-of-state students.

Grants and Scholarships: Your FAFSA is used to determine how much financial aid and what types you are eligible for. The federal government provides grants, loans, and work-study. Remember, federal loans must be repaid! The institution you attend, community organizations, your high school or religious organizations may also offer you other scholarships or loans.

Net Cost: Once you get your report and know the total of your grants and scholarships from all sources— federal, state, other agencies, and your colleges—you can calculate the net cost of college. This is the price that you will pay with savings, loans, and other forms of payment. Calculate this by subtracting your financial aid amount from the sticker cost.