I have been in school for 5 years, gone through 2 colleges, and every year when the time comes around, I wonder where the financial aid is. I fill out the FAFSA and I am always frustrated by the annoying application process, and results of little financial aid. However you have to fill out a FAFSA to get federal financial aid and most college aid. Have no fear, over the years I have earned more and more from filing a FAFSA, and have found some important things I think will help. Here are some tips for filling out the FAFSA.

Fill out the right FAFSA

There are 4 sites that claim to be the FAFSA application online. They aren’t. You need to go to the .gov site which I have linked to at the bottom of the page. You will know it is the correct site because it is run by the department of education, hence “federal” financial aid. Never pay for FAFSA! The department of education does not charge to fill out the FAFSA, however these other sites will claim they will get you more aid for $70 bucks etc…

Before beginning the FAFSA make it easy on yourself by grabbing the documents you need. Things like your Social Security card, drivers license, income tax returns (parents if dependent), and maybe a bank statement (only for investments, if you are broke like me you don’t need it).

Once you have everything ready you will want to get a FAFSA pin. You don’t have to, but you will have to mail in your FAFSA signature page which is annoying. When you get it, don’t forget your pin! I did a few times, and it usually takes more than 24 hours for them to send you a new one via email.

State Deadlines for FAFSA

The information you fill out online is sent to you and your school. Your school reviews it to see if you qualify for any school financial aid, work study, etc… What they get is called an ISIR and it’s sent to state agencies that award state-need based aid/grants as well. One thing I learned is the earlier you fill out the FAFSA the better. Many state funded programs and your college give aid on a first come first serve basis. If you fill out the FAFSA a week before school starts you won’t get much financial aid. The first day you can submit the FAFSA is January 1st. There are also important state deadlines that are listed here on the FAFSA website.

Tips to filling out the FAFSA application

The FAFSA application is a government document, so you can’t lie about your taxes, income etc. However there are a couple ways you can maximize the most out of your FAFSA application:

1. Claim yourself as an independent – You need to talk to your parents about this, and see if they will take a big hit if you are claimed as an independent on their taxes. It may not be beneficial for you to do this, but my senior year, it helped immensely and I got a ton of financial aid.
2. Estimate your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) – This will help in knowing how much money you will need for college before submitting the FAFSA and for the school to get back to you. I had to get alternative loans a few times. Once I started doing this first, it wasn’t a shock and you know how much to take out for loans etc…

3. Get the best financial aid package – I know with my family, my parent’s income looks a lot better on paper than it does in my Dad’s wallet, which is not good when it comes to filling out the FAFSA. The more your parents make the higher the EFC and lower the aid. Your aid package can be adjusted for appropriate circumstances, like large out of pocket expenses, multiple siblings in college etc… Talk to the college they can help you out and even adjust your FAFSA.

I hope some of these things helped from my past. Just thinking about the FAFSA gives me the chills. You only have to do it a few times and it is well worth it to get some of your education paid for. Remember my tips and those deadlines and you will do great. Now go fill out the FAFSA form online here.

The newly acquired status of a ‘collegiate’ can give vulnerable young minds an instant high.

For the first time in their lives, the dependence on parents for financial support takes a back seat. And what comes to the fore are some confident under-grads (and some overconfident too!) taking important financial decisions without giving much thought.

Most often than not, they end up committing not just small mistakes, but big blunders that could have been easily avoided had they acted a little bit diligently and with slightly better knowledge about the functioning of financial institutions in the US.

Here are the top 5 specific financial mistakes committed by students and how to avoid or correct them.

Mistake #1 Lack of Budgeting or Lack of Common Sense!

Budget is not a four letter word.

Many undergrads just don’t have a financial clue when they enter college! With no financial planning and budgeting, they try to weather a hurricane. Expenditure and income imbalance leads to chaos, and ultimately results in deep in debt undergrads. With peer pressure at its peak, the students generally don’t think twice to spend mind-boggling amounts on leisure activities. Though, leisure is not bad per se, but leisure without financial planning is definitely bad.

Solutions

1. Prepare a Monthly Budget Worksheet on the very first day of your college. It’s a simple worksheet prepared on a plain paper. Divide the page into 2 columns – Income and Expenses. List expected sources of income and expenditure under the relevant headings. And keep filling them throughout the month as and when you earn money or make some expenses. At the end of the month, (Total of Income Column – Total of Expenditure Column) will give you Monthly Net Income (or Monthly Net Loss if expenditure is more than income).
2. Regularly monitor your bills throughout the month (and not just add up the expense at the end of the month) and compare them with your budget to keep everything under check.
3. Keep your monthly debt obligation below 10% of your Monthly Net Income (after taxes). For example, if your net income is $1000 a month, your monthly loan payments shouldn’t be more than $100.

Mistake #2 Not Investing

Investing as a student is one the best actions you can take to secure your financial future. Getting starting trading stocks with a free online broker like Zecco. $0 trades with a few thousand dollar min. account balance. You can’t beat that price.

Start investing early!