Free Application for Federal Student Aid: What You Need to Know About the FAFSA

The FAFSA is the starting point of almost every kind of student financial aid in the United States. After working for three years in various departments of student financial aid offices, I've put together some tips to help you get the most aid possible and to minimize mistakes which can delay the processing of your application.

1. Fill it out as soon as you can. The FAFSA for the next school year usually comes out in January. So if you're applying for school in Fall of '08, you need to get your hands on the FAFSA or apply on-line in January of '08. The deadline at most schools is March 1st, but it can't hurt to get in early. A lot of financial aid at colleges is distributed on a first come, first served basis to those who are eligible.

2. You don't need to have your taxes done before you fill out the FAFSA. You can estimate using the tax forms or figuring your taxes on-line, and then file an updated FAFSA later when you get your W-2s and other documents such as mortgage interest statements. Just be sure that you are very accurate in your estimation, or you could end up believing you're going to get aid that you turn out not to be eligible for later on.

3. Be as accurate as you can. Follow the directions exactly if you're doing the paper application. Many times FAFSAs are rejected because the person missed an important field or they entered their social security number incorrectly. Your college's student financial aid advisers can't give you aid until your FAFSA goes through the federal system. The more mistakes you have, the longer it will take for your aid to get what they call "packaged", meaning you could lose out on some "first come first served" aid.

4. If you're a male, be sure that you have registered for Selective Service. If you're over the age of 18, male and you have not registered for Selective Service, your FAFSA will be rejected. You will then have to either show proof that you have registered, that you're in the military currently or that you are exempt from registering, which will cause a delay.