Tips on Filling Out the FAFSA Report for Your College-Bound Child

If you have a senior in high school this year who is looking forward to attending college, you are about to experience the joy of filling out a 'FAFSA' report. 'FAFSA' stands for 'Free Application for Federal Student Aid'. Filling out this report is a must if you want a chance for your child to qualify for any sort of federal aid, from grants to loans.

And filling out this report is no fun.

First of all, the report can be filled out beginning on January 1^st of the year that your child will attend college. My personal recommendation is that you get right to it, and get it over with. It has to be done, and putting it off does not help anyone. Finishing the report will give you a good idea of what sort of help your child can expect from the federal government, and that will let you know how much money your child will have to come up with from other sources.

If your high school offers some sort of FAFSA workshop, it would be a good idea to attend and learn what you can about filling out this application.

Find out what the priority deadlines are for the colleges that your child intends to apply at. For many colleges, money is handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis so it is a good idea to get this information in quickly. And if your child is a male and at least 18 years-old, he must be registered with Selective Services before submitting the FAFSA.

The information that you should gather before beginning the application is - the student's driver's license and social security card, your income tax return for that year or as close of an estimate as possible, any W2's and other records of income earned, current bank statements - both of yourself and your child, records of any type of untaxed income such as welfare benefits or social security income. You will also need records of stocks, bonds and any other investments, current mortgage information, and if you own a business or a farm you will also need those records. Be sure to have this information at hand, because you can not fill this application out without them.