Over the past few weeks our team has been writing about open enrollment, but did you know that it’s also FAFSA season? In case you’re wondering what FAFSA is, it stands for The Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Some of you reading this blog might be lucky enough to have both open enrollment and FAFSA apply to you. As of October 1, 2020 FAFSA applications can be completed for the 2021 - 2022 academic year.
As we’ve heard time and time again 2020 is a year of uncertainty and college planning is no exception. If you or your child are trying to decide whether or not college is in the plans for the 2021 - 2022 academic year you may want to consider filling out the FAFSA anyways. For those of you who aren’t sure if you’ll be going to college in 2021-2022 it’s okay to complete the FAFSA and then decide not to attend college.
When you are completing the FAFSA you are able to select up to 10 schools, of whom all will receive your information to help them generate financial aid packages. Did you know that you can include colleges that you haven’t even applied to yet? Because of that, be sure to include any schools that you are interested in attending. It’s important to complete the FAFSA early, as schools have limited financial aid to disperse among their students and/or offer to potential students. Once you receive your financial aid package from the colleges be sure to call the financial aid office and ask them if they have any additional aid that you could receive. They may not have any additional aid, but it’s worth asking. And don’t forget, even if you’re already in college and you plan on attending next year you need to complete the FAFSA for each and every academic year.
Last year I wrote the following blog about what FAFSA stands for and why you should complete the FAFSA “Uncork the FAFSA - College Planning”. If you haven’t completed the FAFSA before and you are a senior in high school or a college student be sure to read the article for additional information on why you want to complete the FAFSA.