FAFSA TIME

Look at you, all responsible and checking the financial aid blog on your winter vacation! I bet I know why. It's because the FAFSA is here and the FAFSA is a massive pain in the butt, and you're here looking for advice. Well no worries, we've got ya covered. We're even breaking our update schedule to bring you information as quickly as possible - that's how much cover we're giving you!

So over the next few weeks keep checking back for advice, and feel free to comment with any questions. To start us off, here's one important change to the FAFSA, two tips, and four frequently asked questions!

THE CHANGE: THE FSA ID
You old timers might remember the PIN. Or remember not being able to remember your PIN (like me. Every year.) The good news is that you don't have to anymore, because the PIN no longer exists. If you filled out your FAFSA before May last year and you didn't have any problems we needed you to fix, you missed the exciting time in which the FSA ID replaced the PIN, and you'll need to apply for one before you can do your FAFSA. There will be a link to this on the FAFSA website, but you can also just skip that if you know you need to do one and go right here. It'll link your old PIN to your new FSA ID, and after a couple days you'll be all set to do your FAFSA. Any freshmen or returning students who filled out a FAFSA after May last year already have an FSA ID, and will just need to log in. If for whatever reason you need help with it, you'll have to call the FAFSA help hotline, at 1-800-4-FEDAID.

THE TIPS:
NEVER PAY FOR HELP ON THE FAFSA
The first "f" in FAFSA stands for free. There are a hundred billion companies out there who will offer to help you file your FAFSA for a fee, sometimes upwards of $100 - don't do this! If you need help, you can always bring your documents into our office and we'll help you through it. All you need to fill out the FAFSA is:
Your (and your parents' if applicable) social security number and birthdate
Your W2s or 1099s
Your Tax Return (including your Schedule C) - if you fill out the FAFSA after you've filed taxes, you can just use the handy IRS DATA RETRIEVAL tool provided on the application.
Your checking/savings/investment balances as of the day you plan to file
And that's it! If you have all of those, and you're having issues filling out the FAFSA, just bring in all the relevant information and we'll help you fill it out and keep that first "f" standing for free.

DO NOT INCLUDE SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION ON THE FAFSA
Unless you're reporting your scholarship to the IRS as income - and normally only post-graduate students need to do this - you do not have to put your scholarship information on the FAFSA. If you do, we will actually tell you to go and zero it out once we review it. So skip that step and just keep the field blank!

THE QUESTIONS
WHEN IS THE DEADLINE?
The priority deadline is February 15th. You can still do your FAFSA after this, but the earlier you do it - especially for Washington State residents - the more secure your financial aid will be. Certain funds run out, and doing it early secures your place in line, which leads us to our next question...

I HAVEN'T EVEN DONE TAXES YET, HOW CAN I POSSIBLY FILL THIS OUT!?
No worries! You can do it based on a very educated estimate. If you have a good idea of what your or your parents' income will be, or if your financial and home situation hasn't changed at all since last year, you can use that information to do basically a rough draft of the FAFSA, save it and send it to us, and then make any necessary changes after you've completed your taxes. Remember that your employer is legally obligated to give you a copy of your W2s by the end of January, so make sure you get in touch with them if they're not showing up in the mail!

WILL I BE SELECTED FOR VERIFICATION?
Who knows! Approximately one third of all FAFSAs are selected for verification, and if you've been selected before your chances of being selected again seem to be higher. You'll just have to fill out the FAFSA and wait and see! Very exciting.

HOW CAN I TELL IF YOU NEED MORE DOCUMENTS FROM ME?
By checking Compass! You freshmen might remember getting an estimate award letter where we bothered you for more documentation, but returning students don't get those because they have access to the wonderful world of Compass, where you can check the financial aid section for all our outstanding documents. Starting around March, keep your eyes peeled for those documents showing up.