As Sophomores and Juniors, you may hear your Senior friends talking about “FAFSA” a lot. You may figure, “no need to worry, I’ve got years before that.” Then, you wake up. Your parents are freaking out about your college applications, and senioritis is seriously kicking in.
According to https://fafsa.ed.gov/help.htm, “Completing and submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the single most important thing you can do to get assistance paying for college.”
You might ask yourself what in the world does this have to do with me?
However, if you are in high school, or are considering going to college or returning to college, this has everything to do with you!
Many students do not know how easy it can be to get money to help with college.
The FAFSA website mentioned above also goes over many fears or myths that students might think would stand in their way when it comes to receiving money for college. These may include thinking that you or your parents make too much money so you won’t qualify for aid, that you have to have good grades to receive aid, that you’re too old for financial aid, or even that the form is too difficult or complicated to fill out.
NONE of these are true!
We already went over why you need it, so let’s go over more specifically what it is.
It is merely a FREE application for federal student aid that can come in different forms including: federal grants, loans, and work-study.
See how easy it is to be walked through the application process and have all your questions answered. Visit the above mentioned website - https://fafsa.ed.gov/help.htm.
Also, be sure to check out this awesome website https://getschooled.com/fafsa-resources.
This website, Get Schooled, has tons of helpful tips and links from not only the experts, but also students like you.
Their topics include:
- Finding out which parent to use for the FAFSA
- Getting an estimate on your aid package
- All of the different types of aid that you might qualify for
- FAFSA tips from your peers
- FAFSA on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube
Go check it out! It’s not scary at all.