“I just got married; does that affect my FAFSA Application?”

-Sarah P., Salt Lake City, UT

Dear Sarah,

If you filed your application and then got married, it will not change your FAFSA application. If you have not yet submitted the form and recently got married, then you will need to indicate that you are now married and the month/year that it occurred in the appropriate section on the FAFSA.

This concept applies to all circumstances regarding your situation when you apply. Whether it be marriage, divorce, job loss, salary change, etc. The application collects the information about you (both personal and financial) that is accurate on the day that you apply. Even if all these circumstances change the following day, you would not need to update.

“What information should I have on hand to fill out my FAFSA Application?”

-Aaron B., Costa Mesa, CA

Aaron,

Fantastic question. The documents you need can sometimes seem overwhelming, or you may not even be sure where to get them. However, you can usually complete the application with the following documents and estimate certain answers when appropriate:

1. · Your most recent income tax return (and your parents’ return if you are a dependent)
2. · Your W2 from the past year (and your parents’ W2s if you are a dependent)
3. · Your current bank statements
4. · Your current investment records (if any)
5. · Records of any untaxed income you may have received
6. · Your Driver’s License (if you have one)
7. · Your Social Security Number
8. · If you are not a U.S. citizen: your alien registration or permanent resident card

As you can see there is specific information you will need before you can begin filling out the form. This is where the frustration for applicants can begin, especially if you are doing this on your own.

One way to simplify this issue is to have a professional advisor help you complete the form. It’s really similar to paying someone to help with your taxes. If you can provide the basic information (like a W2) they will know how to estimate the other information necessary to complete the application. The other added perk (which was my favorite part) was they explained to me in detail what the documents were and how to get them. I knew I had a 401K at my last company, but I had no idea how much I had paid into it but I knew it wasn’t a lot. It really helps to have an expert walk you through the process. Especially if you can be a little unorganized (like me) and lose these documents along the way.

I do want to mention that although having an expert to help you through it, if you are not aware of the types of income you received last year (but I imagine MOST people want to keep track of the money they earn) then this information will not magically appear on your form. The benefit of an advisor is really having someone to discuss the application with, and determine through a series of questions what forms you will need and then they help walk you through how you can get them.

Once you have these documents, you can complete the form with an advisor or own your own and submit it to the federal processor. Once you sign the form itself, you can expect a response (via email) within 3-5 of your general aid eligibility.

How to get the most federal FAFSA aid.

It can be really frustrating when you are trying to go to college, already nervous about leaving home and unsure whether or not you are not you even know what you are doing, and then find yourself in the midst of a battle with your financial aid office because you realize you don’t have enough money to cover your expenses the first semester.

The process of applying for financial aid is a necessary evil and we have all have to go through it if we are looking for help paying for college. The trick is knowing the right way to do it to be sure you are getting the most money that you are eligible for so you can hopefully walk away with a degree in your hand that won’t result in years worth of debt.

• Apply Early- Now this doesn’t mean the normal type of “early” you are used to (the day before a deadline) but rather MONTHS in advance, even as early as January 1st of the year you are attending college. So this does mean as a senior you will need to complete the FAFSA application in its entirety and submit it to the federal processor before your deadline. Yes, there are deadlines. There is a federal, state, and school deadline for each student. You should be calling your schools of choice and asking what their FAFSA application deadlines are, and you can check online for the state deadlines as well. How do you get the most aid you are eligible for? The sooner you do it, the better. Financial aid is first come first serve, so be the first in line!
• Get Help – If you are struggling with the FAFSA application, there is no reason to not get assistance. Don’t let the pages of personal and financial questions or the 70 page instruction guide overwhelm you. There are plenty of resources out there specifically to help you with this form. A high school guidance counselor can usually provide some basic information about the form or answer some of the simple questions you may have. For those of you looking to have professional assistance, there are plenty of paid advising companies and/or financial advisors that can walk you through completing the form. It is similar to paying someone to complete your taxes. It is one way you can be sure the form is filled out correctly before you even send it in. There are a lot of mixed feelings about using this type of service, since the application is free and there are definitely some scammers out there looking to take advantage of you. However, there are experts out there that do offer legitimate expertise on how to fill out the form correctly, and are not there to swindel you or encourage falsifying information on the form. I personally feel that this type of service can be greatly beneficial for some families, but not everyone needs to use it. It is also one way to be sure that your form is going to be filled out correctly before you send it out. If you leave it up to the government, you may not find out for weeks if you’ve screwed up your application which means a delay in processing the form. A correct form turned in early is the most effective way to maximize your eligibility for financial aid.
• Know your financial aid profile. Are you dependent? Do you have any income from last year? Do you have investments? Were you self employed? Did you receive any additional taxed or untaxed income last year? Do your parents pay for your cell phone or car? Do you know whether or not you need to include that on your FAFSA, or where it is even included? Is your mom remarried? Do you include your stepfather’s financial information? Become an expert on what you are obligated to report on your FAFSA, so you are not accidentally preventing yourself from receiving the financial aid you are truly eligible for by including the wrong information. If you aren’t sure about this, again, review the “Get Help” section above. Paid help is ideal and if that isn’t an option, seek out a guidance counselor at your school. The bottom line is if you want the most financial aid, you have to understand your own financial situation clearly and thoroughly so you are aware of what you are obligated to report and if/how this can affect your eligibility. The idea is to not falsely represent your financial information but correctly report exactly what you need to so you know you are getting the most aid you possibly can.
• Know what to include. This reiterates the above information, but it is so critical that it is important you understand the purpose of this helpful hint. Do you or your parents contribute to a 401K annually? There are two ways to report this information, one of which will maximize your eligibility for aid. Real estate investments are also tricky. Many people report the net worth of their home as part of their total net worth. That is not how you report this information. There is a correct way to include this information that will maximize your eligibility for aid. Again, this is not to suggest you should falsely represent this information. The CORRECT ways of reporting this information is how you can maximize your award amount. However, these are generally the same places many people make mistakes. This is why truly understanding this form is so important. We aren’t talking the difference of $25 or so, but literally thousands of dollars in federal aid. Knowing exactly what to include and where is a key to optimizing the results of your federal aid.
• Review for mistakes. Okay, so you just made it through the form after 5 long hours of researching and reading every fine line. Now, what do you need to do? Check your work. Go back through and make sure that every number is correct, that the spelling is right and that you didn’t leave anything blank. This is crucial. Even a simple mistake like misspelling your name or leaving a number off your phone contact information will put a hold on your FAFSA. So that means while you wait to get the paperwork to fix it, those other people in line behind you get to move foward while you wait and watch the money pass by.

As you can see from the information above, there is a lot that can go wrong before you get what is right about this form. Like most government forms, they are complicated, convaluted and difficult to navigate. However, they are not this way to trick you or intentionally keep you from receiving aid. It’s simply that for most students, this is the first time they are filling out a form like this and have never had to ask themselves what is the total net worth of their investment farms. Be patient, be proactive, and don’t be afraid to ask for help, professional or otherwise.