What To Know About The FAFSA Grant

If you are in need of financial assistance for your college education, getting a financial aid application through a federal program may be a smart option for you. You can apply for a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA grant. Managed through the Department of Education, this federal financial assistance program is available in four types namely grants, loans, scholarships and work-study.

A FAFSA grant is given to students based on their financial need while a scholarship is also given to deserving students who excel in academics, arts, athletics, music or other areas. On the other hand, students can avail of a FAFSA loan granted that they can pay it back at an interest. Meanwhile, they can also apply for a work-study grant in which they should be willing to render services on campus to pay for their education.

Applying for FAFSA grant can be intimidating and tedious, since you will have to complete all necessary paperwork for your application to be approved. Among the documents you will need to secure for your FAFSA application include your Social Security number; driver ‘s license; W-2 forms or other financial records, or parents’ W-2 forms if you are still a dependent; your Federal Income Tax Return for the previous year, including your spouse’s, if you are married or parent’s Federal income tax return also for the previous year if you are still a dependent; your untaxed income records for the previous year, which include records of veterans benefits, welfare, temporary assistance to needy families and Social Security; your bank statement for the previous year; your business and investment mortgage information for the previous year, including business and farm documents as well as bond, stock and other investment records; your alien registration card if you are not a US citizen.

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AFSA applications may be in paper or online. Processing of online FAFSA applications is usually done in about two to three weeks, while paper FAFSA applications takes about four to six weeks processing. For student loans, the Department of Education usually requires about one to four weeks for processing the said applications. The duration of time it takes to process the applications depends on various factors, which include the application backlog size, if the forms were correctly filled out and also if the necessary documents have been attached.

Applicants can start their FAFSA applications, both paper and online, starting the first of January. Keep in mind that you need to carefully and honestly fill out the forms in order for your FAFSA application to qualify and/or be approved, otherwise your application may be denied.

The deadline of filing for the FAFSA grant usually falls on the 2^nd day of March. Forms should be postmarked not later than the said date before the start of the school year upon filing for the application in order for it to be considered. However, you can still be considered for the FAFSA aid or other financial assistance programs in case you miss the March 2 deadline.

In determining your need for financial aid, the federal government uses information given on the FAFSA to measure your Cost of Attendance (COA), which covers tuition, miscellaneous fees, living expenses, books and others. FAFSA will then try to meet with the federal, state or institutional grants, academic, athletic or talent scholarships, work-study and other various loans.

Some students may find the idea of applying for a FAFSA grant intimidating, but this can help you get the financial assistance that you need to pay for your college education. Now that you already have a background on the FAFSA grant, it’s time to get working on that application and have a financially stress-free college education that you want.