Experts: File FAFSA soon, avoid errors
Students can access thousands in college aid
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid – also known as the FAFSA – rolled out Oct. 1 for students who plan to attend college next fall. This is one of the most important steps students and their families can take to secure money to pay for college since schools use it to determine eligibility for grants, scholarships, loans and work-study.
Students and their families should file their FAFSAs as soon as possible to get their share of the $150 billion in federal student aid, experts say. But they also caution that any mistakes could cost students thousands of dollars in financial aid.
Although the FAFSA is a crucial component of financial aid, 20% of undergraduate college students don’t have plans to complete it this year, according to a recent study from Student Loan Hero. It surveyed more than 1,000 undergraduate students from Sept. 9 to Sept. 20.
In fact, 85% of students didn’t know that the FAFSA determines eligibility for free aid like grants and work-study in addition to loans, the survey showed.
“Unfortunately, many students have misconceptions about the FAFSA, which could be costing them valuable financial support,” Student Loan Hero said in its report.
The FAFSA is a free financial aid form administered by the Department of Education that helps students qualify for loans and financial aid for college. Students must complete the FAFSA form to apply for a federal student loan.
Household data from the FAFSA – such as annual income and savings – is crunched by the Education Department to determine how much a family could pay toward college. Colleges also receive data from the FAFSA, which serves as the basis for their financial aid offers to applicants, as well as state agencies.
Here are mistakes to watch out for with the FAFSA, according to experts.
1. Skipping the FAFSA
Only two-thirds (68%) of families with prospective college-bound students in the 2020-21 academic year submitted the FAFSA, the lowest recorded since 2008, according to Sallie Mae’s annual How America Pays for College report.
The most common reason? Nearly half (44%) didn’t apply for the FAFSA because they didn’t think they would qualify for any financial aid, the study from Sallie Mae showed.
“While this reasoning is more prevalent among high-income families (58%), nearly 1 in 3 of low-income families (31%) and middle-income families (36%) share this perception,” Sallie Mae said in the report. “This appears to be largely a perception.”
One-third of them, meanwhile, didn’t apply because they either missed the deadline, found the application problematic or too complicated, or didn’t have time, data from Sallie Mae showed. Seven percent of nonfilers didn’t have time to submit, and 10% didn’t know about FAFSA.
Regardless of income, there are reasons to submit a FAFSA, experts say.
Any student who’s eligible can qualify for certain types of aid, including unsubsidized federal student loans. Those are loans made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. But eligibility isn’t based on financial need.
It’s also worth having your FAFSA submitted in case your financial circumstances change throughout the year.
2. Don’t wait to fill out your FAFSA
Submit your FAFSA as soon as possible, experts urge. Federal financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply as early as you can to maximize your financial aid.
About 42% of those who expect to file this year don’t plan on doing so as early as possible, according to Student Loan Hero. While these students will put themselves in the running for financial aid and loans, they could unknowingly reduce their aid by waiting, experts say.
The last day to fill out the FAFSA application for the 2022-2023 academic year is June 30, 2023.
But college and state financial aid deadlines vary, so be sure to check your state’s financial aid deadlines.
Also, apply for the FAFSA annually. You need to fill it out each year that you are or plan to be a student.
3. Avoid errors on your FAFSA
Double check the FAFSA form for errors before submitting it and be sure to include additional forms as needed.
Any mistakes like inaccurate Social Security and driver’s license numbers could slow your paperwork if it gets flagged for review from colleges or the Department of Education, experts say.
Most errors on the online FAFSA application can be corrected after submission, but a mistake with Social Security numbers may require you to submit a new application, experts say.
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IOWA Des Moines: Nearly two-thirds of the state’s Latino residents are not yet fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a national advocacy group says. Darryl Morin, president of Forward Latino, said it’s launching an ad campaign to counter the trend.
KANSAS Lawrence: Inmates with mental health issues are waiting months and sometimes years to get the medication and treatment they need to be deemed competent to aid in their own defenses because a state hospital is so overtaxed. KENTUCKY Louisville: Police, prosecutors and nurses who conduct sexual assault exams for the city are fighting a proposal that would require a doctor to review a portion of the procedures, arguing it’s unnecessary and could harm victims. LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The state’s prison system will again allow people to visit inmates, with visitation rolling out this month. MARYLAND Annapolis: The state is recommending people limit their consumption of certain fish in the Piscataway Creek, a Potomac tributary, citing PFAS contamination. MASSACHUSETTS Cambridge: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is grappling with calls to strip Francis Amasa Walker’s name from a building. MIT’s third president helped shape the nation’s hard-line policies toward Native Americans. MICHIGAN Lansing: Starting this month, 13 mental health and addiction clinics across the state will receive the same Medicaid funding as any other type of health center. MINNESOTA Hibbing: A public art tribute to Bob Dylan was unveiled Saturday outside Hibbing High School, where he was a 1959 grad. MISSISSIPPI Tupelo: A City Council member and a local Democratic leader have pleaded not guilty to a charge of violating a state law against raffles to encourage voting. MISSOURI St. Louis: Backers of a trolley line closed almost two years ago amid financial woes are hoping a board OKs a $1.26 million federal grant to help get it running again. MONTANA Browning: Funeral services for Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person are set for Friday morning, with other opportunities to pay respects to the longtime leader during the week. Old Person died of cancer Oct. 13. He was 92.
NEBRASKA Omaha: The state’s court system agreed Friday to release a nonprofit group’s analysis of state criminal justice data after the governor’s office refused to release the information.
NEVADA Reno: The Burning Man Project has announced that “Waking Dreams” will be official theme of the 2022 festival, to be the first official Burning Man event in three years. NEW HAMPSHIRE Hanover: New solar arrays are expected to generate enough electricity to meet nearly 100% of the town’s municipal needs through group metering. NEW JERSEY Asbury Park: Steven Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Richie Sambora, Steve Buscemi and more appeared Sunday at Asbury Lanes for an event benefiting Van Zandt’s TeachRock school curriculum, used in classrooms across the state and nation. NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: A coalition of outdoor recreation and conservation groups is pointing to an influx of federal stimulus money and a healthy state budget as funding sources for projects to protect and promote New Mexico’s natural resources.
NEW YORK New York: A man held at Rikers Island died shortly after a judge granted him emergency release, the man’s attorney said. The New York Post reports Victor Mercado, 64, was the 13th person to die in the city’s jail system in 2021. NORTH CAROLINA Corolla: The wild horses on the Outer Banks are in the midst of a fall feeding frenzy, and observers say persimmons are their overwhelming food of choice. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The tribal college on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks are working together on a project to digitally preserve Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara language and culture. OHIO Cincinnati: Veterinary technicians at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden have been busy over the past six weeks, working to give 80 animals of all sizes two rounds of COVID-19 vaccines.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Highprofile death row inmate Julius Jones and five others scheduled for execution could get a reprieve because of a federal appeals court decision Friday. OREGON Medford: Jackson County says it is so overwhelmed by an increase in illegal marijuana farms that it declared a state of emergency, appealing to the governor and the Legislature’s leaders for help. PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: A judge on Friday ordered the release of emails between suburban officials and the developer of a natural gas pipeline that was charged with environmental crimes related to construction of the multibillion-dollar project. Officials in Middletown Township have been refusing to produce the records for nearly a year.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: Gov. Daniel McKee signed a bill Monday that allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at Rhode Island’s three public colleges.
SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: The state has put up a portrait of Stephen Atkins Swails, a Reconstruction-era Black lawmaker, in Senate chambers. SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: A natural gas company planning to replace dozens of miles of pipeline has negotiated easements with all but four landowners affected by the project after suing some in federal court. TENNESSEE Nashville: The state is poised to spend about $900 million in tax revenues on incentives, infrastructure projects and more under an agreement with Ford Motor Co. to build an electric vehicle and battery plant near Memphis. The GOP-led General Assembly began the work Monday to approve the spending. TEXAS Terlingua: A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that Dallas removed from a city park and sold in an online auction is now on display at a golf resort in West Texas.
UTAH Farmington: In an effort to help save the shrinking Great Salt Lake, environmentalists are attempting to secure water rights for the lake, which is a terminal system. VERMONT Burlington: The incoming class of 2025 at the University of Vermont is the largest and academically best-prepared undergraduate group in its 230-year history, according to the school.
VIRGINIA Falls Church: After failing in its effort to draw new maps for General Assembly districts, the state’s new bipartisan redistricting commission is facing similar hurdles as it tries to set congressional lines. WASHINGTON Seattle: State transportation officials have closed five rest areas north of the city along Interstate 5 amid excessive trash, vandalism and a staffing shortage. WEST VIRGINIA Glen Jean: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is telling visitors they need to stop throwing rocks down cliffs, saying it could kill climbers and hikers. WISCONSIN Milwaukee: One in every 36 Black adults in the state is in prison – the highest rate in the nation, a new report finds.
WYOMING Casper: State lawmakers have voted to hold a rare special session next week to counter President Joe Biden’s proposal to require COVID-19 vaccines for certain workers.