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WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE FEDERAL STUDENT AID?

To receive federal student aid, you must meet certain requirements (See below); otherr requirements may apply. Contact your school's financial aid office for more information.  Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen. Have a valid Social Security Number (unless you're from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau). Be registered with Selective Service if you are male and 18 to 25 years of age (go to www.sss.gov for more information). Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate or pass an exam approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program at a school that participates in the federal student aid programs. Not have a drug conviction for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid (such as grants, loans, or work-study). Also: You must not owe a refund on a federal grant or be in default on a federal student loan. You must demonstrate financial need (except for unsubsidized Stafford Loans).

GENERAL INFORMATION

Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, has simplified the process of filling out the FAFSA. You can follow each of the THREE SECTIONS all of the way through for a comprehensive set of instructions. The three sections are:           BEFORE BEGINNING A FAFSA           FILLING OUT A FAFSA           FAFSA FOLLOW-UP Before reading the three sections, you may want to be aware of            APPLICATION DEADLINE and                CONTACTS FOR QUESTIONS AND ASSISTANCE WITH PROBLEMS.       SUBMITTING THE FAFSA FORM IS REQUIRED FOR MOST FINANCIAL AID. The FAFSA is free--you do not have to pay for the form or to submit it (except for postage). Step-by-step instructions are available in English and Spanish. If you do get stuck, you can get help at your school (high school or college). WHY THE FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL SUDENT AID (FAFSA) IS IMPORTANT. FAFSA is the form used for the awarding of federal student aid by virtually all two- and four-year colleges, universities, and career schools, and is also used for most state and college aid. Even federal loans that are unsubsidized and not need based (Stafford Loans with an interest rate of 6.8 and PLUS (Graduate) with an interest rate of 7.9 or 8.5) require submission of FAFSA. PLUS Loans for Parents may require FAFSA; this depends on the university.      PRIORITY DEADLINE FOR FAFSA. Typically, files of students who complete their FAFSA and supply the requested documentation to the financial aid offices by the priority deadline receive priority review for financial awards. This is important because many types of financial aid (particularly need-based aid are limited and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, the sooner your FAFSA is fully processed and released to your school's financial aid administrators, the better your chances of receiving consideration for the maximum amount of financial aid for which you are eligible and the better your chances of early notification of the size of your financial aid package. Early notification of the size of your financial aid package may enable you to make an early determination of your college choice. .         The fastest and easiest way TO COMPLETE THE FAFSA IS ONLINE, but there is also a paper form that you can get from your school or by calling toll free 800.4FED.AID; online submission is recommended. Both versions are available in English and Spanish.               To award their private dollars, most colleges use the FAFSA as well as additional applications, such as the College Board's CSS/Financial Aid Profile. Be sure to ask the financial aid office of each college that you are considering what forms are required to apply for private funds ahttp://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/sc-ym-0131-fafsa-20100126,0,7953899.storynd what are the various deadlines (some deadlines may even be before January 1).       To continue receiving financial aid, FAFSA must be submmitted each year.

STUDENTAID HELPS YOU COMPLETE THE FAFSA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS. Get the answers to some FAQ.  NAVIGATING THE FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID FORM (FAFSA)

SHOULD YOU PAY FOR HELP TO FILL OUT FAFSA? According to the federal government, the answer is NO. If you apply using  FAFSA ONLINE, you get online instructions for each question, and you can "chat" live online with a customer service representative. Another source of free help is the federal government's online guide,. Whether you apply online or use the paper FAFSA, you can get free help by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at           1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or TTY 1-800-730-8913, or by contacting the financial aid administrator at your college.  Kalman Chany, author of Paying for College without Going Broke, notes that many people fumble their chances for more aid by waiting to apply until after they've done their taxes or after their children have been accepted to a college. By that time, many work/study and other campus-based programs are tapped out. At virtually all schools, the earliest financial aid deadline falls before acceptance letters are even mailed out.

In figuring net worth, don't list exempt assets: If you read the instructions carefully, they'll tell you that the equity in your home and the money in qualified retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k) and 403(b) plans, are exempt from financial-aid calculations. When answering the questions about net worth on the FAFSA, exclude those accounts. If you don't, it could cost you a small fortune in aid. Also be careful to list assets only once. List information about cash on hand, which is usually the amount you hold in bank savings and checking accounts, on the line that asks for it but exclude this amount from the net worth figure to avoid double-counting. (Chany adds that you would be wise to pay off your credit cards with cash you have before filling out the aid form. That will save you interest, of course, and qualify you for more aid.) Divorced?: The form asks for income information from both parents, but divorced families generally need to provide that information for only the one the child lives with most of the year. It doesn't matter who claims the child as a dependent on tax returns, Chany said. If the student lives almost the same amount of time with both parents, Chany advised that he or she should spend an extra day or two with the poorer parent in the year applying for aid to be able to legitimately list that parent on the FAFSA and, thereby, qualify for the best scholarships and grants. From NAVIGATING THE FEDERAL FINANCIAL AIDA FORM, Kathy Kristof, Sun-Sentinel, Page 10b.

RELATED ITEMS

FINANCIAL AID WIZARD is a U.S. Department of Education website. This website "allows you to plan out, in 7 easy steps, your entire financial aid packages online! Notice we said 'packages' -- our wizard will help you find and calculate virtually everything you need for any and all schools you're interested in. It will show you the deadlines for filing financial aid applications for the colleges you select, walk you through scholarship searches, help you estimate your expected family contribution and federal aid, and provide you a tool to interpret and analyze your financial aid award letters.  In order to use the wizard to your maximum benefit, we recommend you go through the steps in order, starting with STEP 1, ESTIMATE COSTS."  HOW TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID uses a seven step procedure to take the reader from start to finish of the federal student aid application process.