Let’s start with the biggest mistake most people make on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — failing to fill out the form.
Sure, many FAFSA filings are kicked back because they’re missing a Social Security number, because the month and day of an applicant’s birth date are transposed or from using the wrong lines on the federal income tax return.
But the worst mistake? Leaving college financial-aid money on the table by not even applying for it through the FAFSA. Each year, millions of students make that mistake, financial-aid experts say.
The FAFSA, which students can start filing Oct. 1 for the 2021-22 school year, is the gateway for receiving aid from the government, including grants, work-study and student loans. Find it at www.studentaid.gov.
How do you explain the disconnect? According to a blog post by Mark Kantrowitz, president of SavingForCollege.com, “Some families don’t file because they think they are too wealthy to qualify” or because they’re concerned that applying for financial aid might affect their student’s admissions chances.
But, he noted, “if you don’t apply for financial aid as a freshman, these schools may refuse to consider you for the college’s own grants if you apply as an upperclassman, unless your family’s financial circumstances have changed.”
Other common errors that trip up filers:
While filling out the FAFSA can be confusing for anyone, it has actually gotten easier to file in recent years thanks to tweaks made by the Department of Education. This year, for example, more than a dozen changes were made to simplify the filing process.
For some schools, filing the FAFSA isn’t enough. To be considered for institutional aid and grants at about 400 colleges and universities, graduate schools and professional programs, families must also fill out the College Board’s CSS profile (http://cssprofile.collegeboard.org). The filing requirements can differ from the FAFSA, because the CSS profile finds non-federal aid sources.
One final recommendation: Don’t end your search for financial aid after finishing the FAFSA.
Check with your high school counselors, who can tell you about any local or national scholarships you might qualify for. There are many good scholarship databases online.
And look for funds on your own, starting with a summer job — in addition to a future college freshman being able to make some money before leaving for school, some employers may also offer scholarships. The same with a parent’s employer, a church or a synagogue.
Millions of dollars in scholarship money often go unused — such a shame, since every dollar that doesn’t come out of your pocket helps.
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