Everything you need to know about the 2016 FAFSA application
We all know how dull completing forms can be. But the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or聽, is one form that鈥檚 well worth your time.
Filling out the FAFSA can make you聽eligible for multiple types of financial aid 鈥� including grants, scholarships, loans and work-study 鈥� to聽fund some or all of your college education. You can file it聽at聽. Keep in mind that you should never have to pay to file this form.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about completing the FAFSA in 2016.
FAFSA deadlines
The 2016 FAFSA becomes available聽on Jan. 1, and has聽. Although聽the federal deadline isn鈥檛 until June 30, 2017, it鈥檚 best to submit the form聽as soon as possible. That鈥檚 because some forms of financial aid, including certain聽grants and scholarships, are聽first come, first served.
States and individual colleges also have their own FAFSA deadlines. Missing them聽could cost you thousands of dollars in financial aid.聽These deadlines vary and some聽fall as early as February. Check the cutoff date for financial aid applications at聽each college you鈥檙e considering, if you haven鈥檛 yet accepted an admissions offer. State deadlines are listed on the Federal Student Aid website and on the sidebar of the 2016-17 FAFSA application.
Tip: Mark all necessary FAFSA deadlines on your phone鈥檚 calendar and set a reminder for two weeks prior to ensure that you submit your materials on time.
Documents needed to complete the 2016 FAFSA
You might need the following documents for both you and your parents or guardians, if you鈥檙e a dependent, to complete your FAFSA. Some applicants won鈥檛 need all of these documents. To get a personalized list of the ones聽you鈥檒l need, head over to our聽.
- Your Social Security number
- Your Alien Registration Number (if you aren鈥檛 a U.S. citizen)
- Your most recent federal income tax returns, W-2s and other records of money earned (Note:聽, you can transfer your federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.)
- Bank statements and records of your investments (if applicable)
- Records of your untaxed income (if applicable)
- An FSA ID to sign electronically (If you don鈥檛 already have one, create one at聽.)
While completing the FAFSA, you鈥檒l be asked to enter the school codes for up to 10 schools where you plan to apply. To find these codes, search the form itself by entering the city, state and name of each school. You can also find the聽codes聽through聽the聽聽or on each聽school鈥檚 website.
Tip: The FAFSA asks聽about 100 questions and can take 20 minutes to three hours to fill out. If you gather all of the documents you need ahead of time, it will be much closer to the 20- or 30-minute mark.
Helpful resources
罢丑别听:聽Many people are eligible to use this tool, which is a great way to save time when filling out the FAFSA. Simply聽click 鈥淟ink to IRS鈥� when prompted to fill in your tax information in the financial information section of the FAFSA, and your data will appear on the form.
罢丑别听:聽This tool can help you and your family聽estimate how much federal financial aid you鈥檒l receive聽by聽gauging your expected family contribution, or EFC聽鈥� that is, the amount of聽money you or your family will be expected to put toward your college costs. It doesn鈥檛聽take into account institutional or outside aid, so聽it should be used as a benchmark, rather than a final聽number, when you鈥檙e figuring out聽college costs.
:聽This program offers students and their families free, in-person advice from knowledgeable volunteers, who are often financial aid professionals. College Goal Sunday events are held in dozens of states during prime FAFSA time.
Other important聽information
:聽Also known as your SAR, this report summarizes the information you provided on the FAFSA and basic federal student aid eligibility information. Depending on how you submit your FAFSA, you鈥檒l receive your SAR either online or in the mail. To learn more about the SAR, visit聽
Expected family contribution:聽Your SAR will also include聽your expected family contribution, or EFC. This is an estimate of the amount聽you and your family can pay toward your college costs and is determined by the information you provide on your FAFSA. It鈥檚 used to establish the amount of聽financial aid you can receive for the school year.
Tip: If you run into other unfamiliar terms while you鈥檙e filling out the FAFSA, check out our.
Filing options:聽You can submit the FAFSA online, print and mail a PDF, or request a paper form to complete by hand and mail. Most people file the FAFSA online, which speeds processing time 鈥� and the sooner your聽form is processed, the sooner you鈥檒l hear back about your financial aid. Completing the form online also makes corrections easier. And the online application lets聽you send聽your information to as many as聽10 schools, while the mail-in form lets you send it to only four.
Updating your FAFSA:聽There are four main instances in which聽you鈥檒l need to edit聽your FAFSA once you鈥檝e submitted it: You made a mistake on the form, your financial situation has changed, you鈥檝e received updated tax return information, or you want to add or delete a school. If you filed your FAFSA electronically, log back on to your fafsa.gov account and click 鈥渕ake FAFSA corrections.鈥� If you submitted your FAFSA via mail, you鈥檒l need to add the correction to your SAR, sign it and send it back to the provided address. If you鈥檙e already enrolled in college, ask聽your school鈥檚 financial aid office if it聽can make the correction for you.
Filing an appeal:聽Sometimes a major change in your financial situation isn鈥檛 reflected on your FAFSA 鈥� perhaps one of your聽parents became unemployed聽or died, or one of your immediate family members is dealing with mounting medical bills. If聽this happens, you can file an appeal with your college鈥檚 financial aid office, or the office at the college you鈥檇 like to attend. You can also contact that office if your financial aid award isn鈥檛 enough to cover your college costs. Financial aid offices are there to help and will do what they can to get you the money you need.
Renewing your FAFSA:聽You have to submit the FAFSA each school year that you want to receive financial aid. But once you鈥檝e submitted the form the first time, you can fill out a Renewal FAFSA in the following years. A Renewal FAFSA will pre-fill with information from past forms, so before you submit, review the form to make sure it鈥檚 up to date.聽If your financial situation has changed substantially, you can also聽start over from scratch.
CSS/Financial Aid Profile:聽This form, which is powered by the College Board, lets you apply for nonfederal financial aid at some 400 schools across the country. It costs聽$25, plus additional fees if you want to send it to more than one school. However, most schools don鈥檛 require it, so check with yours before filling it out.
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