The largest provider of financial aid is the federal government. According to peterson.com, each year our government distributes more than $86 billion in grants, loans, and work-study awards to millions of students.
It is a simple matter to determine if you qualify. One must simply complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA can be found online at www.fafsa.ed.org.
In an email interview, Cynthia Lang, associate director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, advises that the best way to get the greatest result with the FAFSA is to file by the March 10 priority date.
“Even if you have to estimate your tax information. Once taxes are complete you can go back in to the FAFSA and update the information,” Lang said. Lang also advises that if students are selected for verification they should provide verification documents as soon as they are requested. The sooner financial aid receives the documents, the sooner they can complete the process and award aid.
According to Lang, some of the more common mistakes the financial aid department sees are:
Students/parents using the wrong line from the tax form.
Not supplying the information from box 12 of the W2 form for questions 45a and 93a.
Dependent students including parents in the number in college. The question states “How many people in your parents’ household will be college students between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011? Always count yourself as a college student. Do not include your parents,”Lang said.
Peterson.com offers the following advice for getting the best results with your FAFSA
Always double check that your information is accurate and fill out the form completely.
Meet every deadline. It’s an even better idea to beat the deadline by as much as possible. Remember, certain types of aid are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Submitting your FAFSA online is the fastest way to get results. To do so, you just need to request a PIN (Personal Identification Number) from www.pin.ed.gov. Filing online can help you catch errors right away.
Provide accurate information, understand everything you’re signing, and comply with all deadlines.
For other scholarship and grant opportunities IUSB’s financial aid department recommends www.fastweb.com, a free search engine based on a profile the student completes.
“If you need help completing the FAFSA the Financial Aid staff as well as the Gateway mentors are always available,” said Lang. “If you have questions please contact our office either via email finaid@iusb.edu, by phone (574)520-4357, or stop in AI 157. We’re here to help in any way we can.”
Getting the most money possible
Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Updated: Sunday, February 28, 2010
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