Financial Aid Season is Here

For all you parents of seniors, October 1st kicks off the financial aid season, and it's time to start thinking about how to get financial aid for college.

I would like you all to fill out the FAFSA this month, if possible. Some colleges use the data for merit scholarships as well, and have a set amount available. The sooner they have your FAFSA form, the betterHere are some important things to know to prepare for the FAFSA:

• FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA combines all of your relevant financial and household information into a formula that determines what types of government aid may be available to help you pay for college.

• For current seniors applying to college for the 2023-2024 school year, the family’s 2021 tax returns will be required for the FAFSA. For juniors, the 2022 tax returns will be required.

• It is the student’s FAFSA, not the parent’s. Parents will need to cosign the FAFSA, which requires them to create their own FSA ID.

• Students should begin the process by creating their Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID). This is their digital fingerprint associated with their name and email address. Here is the address to create the FSA ID: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

• After the student has created their FSA ID, their FAFSA can be started here.

• Immediately upon completion of the FAFSA, the student receives a Student Aid Report (SAR) that explains any financial aid that is received, as well as an Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is an important number that may be asked on scholarship applications, and is used to determine eligibility for free state and federal aid.

• When beginning the FAFSA, the best practice is to select the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT). This will automatically populate many of the FAFSA’s questions directly from the federal tax returns, making completion much simpler.

What are the deadlines?

For graduating seniors, the FAFSA opened 12/1/24, and closes on March 2, 2025. The March deadline is for California residents hoping to receive Cal Grants. Check the college websites for their FAFSA deadlines.

Should you file if you don't think you are eligible for aid?

Yes! If this is your first time through the college process, try not to rule out any options. Many scholarship programs require submission of the FAFSA as part of the application process, regardless of if financial need is part of their criteria. Financial aid is a yearly application process, so if after year one you didn’t use any federal aid or scholarships that required it, feel free to pass over the October 1st release date.

What financial assets are you required to provide?

The FAFSA takes into account any available cash that can be used to pay for college, from everyday checking and savings accounts to 529s, stocks and bonds, and mutual funds. Make sure you have the balances of all of these accounts ready to go. Any mortgage or retirement accounts are not included.

What is the CSS Profile?

Outside of federal financial aid, some schools offer money directly from institutional resources. The CSS Profile created and managed by The College Board, collects all the same information as the FAFSA, plus additional data such as debt and detailed income breakdowns. Unlike the FAFSA, not every school requires the CSS Profile. Always research if one of your top choice is a CSS Profile recipient before beginning the process! Make sure to check the colleges that require the CSS Profile for the list of schools currently requiring the CSS Profile for aid consideration.

How a Net Price Calculator Can Help You Pick a College

A college net price calculator is an online tool the federal government requires of all schools that offer federal aid, including student loans, grants and work-study.

The calculator asks students for financial, family, location, and income to estimate financial aid rewards. Even though a net price calculator can never give you a full picture of what a college will cost, there are some main advantages:

• it's a easy way to start comparing schools by cost

• it only takes about 10 minutes to get an estimate

• private schools often have more endowment money, so you may be inspired to apply to private colleges that you previously thought were out of reach

Bottom line: Don’t avoid any college because of the sticker price. It’s only the net price - the price after financial aid is subtracted, that counts.

Read more here: How to use a net price calculator