The FAFSA Form - Not As Simple as it Seems

Originally designed to determine your eligibility for federal financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has seen significant changes over the years. Today almost all colleges use the FAFSA to determine financial aid eligibility for campus based funds, state aid, college scholarships, and low-interest loans.

With the amount of emphasis placed on the FAFSA for obtaining financial aid there is a huge gap between filling out the forms and filling out the forms correctly. Many of the FAFSA forms are submitted with errors or inconsistencies that can cause families to lose some or all of the financial aid they are entitled to.

The best chance you have in maximizing your ability to qualify for aid is to complete the FAFSA early in the process, submit without errors, and to be accurate. The FAFSA states:

If you are the parent or the student, by signing this application you agree, if asked, to provide information that will verify the accuracy of your completed form. This information may include U.S. or state income tax forms that you filed or are required to file.

It goes on to say:

If you purposely give false or misleading information, you may be fined up to $20,000, sent to prison, or both.

The Forms are Free, So it Must be Easy

Your income tax forms are free as well. Simply put, the Federal Government provides these forms. With that being said, there are laws governing the financial aid programs that can be just as confusing as tax law. If you are using an accountant to complete and file your taxes, you are doing so for a reason. The same reason would hold true with the FAFSA, you want to maximize your benefits and reduce your liability. Knowing all the complex rules that accompany the FAFSA and learning all the strategies to maximize your aid package requires not only time, but the ability to implement those strategies.

The FAFSA asks for assets and earnings, living arrangements, who is providing support and many others to help determine how much aid you may receive. The questions can be confusing, leaving no room for error and the necessity of planning effectively. You need to know how to plan effectively in your students sophomore, junior and senior year.

Maximize Your Financial Aid Eligibility

• File in a timely manner - January 1st of your child's senior year in high school is when you may begin.
• Make sure the FAFSA is consistent with all of your other financial aid forms.
• Take advantage of the legal strategies that are available to you through proper planning.
• Learn how schools value your assets and use that to your advantage
• Choose schools that offer more aid and more gift aid.

There are many different strategies to assist you in receiving more need based financial aid. Our College Planning Workshops familiarize families with the process. As an extension of the workshop we offer a free 1 hour consultation that personalizes the process to your situation. We develop strategies based on your situation. Please keep in mind that if you do not submit the FAFSA, accurately and on time, any strategy will not matter in qualifying for more aid. Learn how we may assist in completing the forms.