Benefits of Submitting FAFSA Early
College and Graduate Admissions Insights Provided By admissiondecisions.com
Welcome back! Keeping with the theme for month of financial aid, today’s post is about the FAFSA.
The Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a federal form used by colleges and states to determine the given need for a given student. That financial aid can be in the forms of loans, grants, scholarships, or work-study.
Usually, families will submit their first FAFSA in the spring after they have submitted their college applications. Those dates vary, but the deadline to submit a FAFSA is June 30th.
While you can submit your FAFSA at any point, you should submit the FAFSA as early as possible, which can be as early as October. Here are some quick reasons to submit the FAFSA as quickly as possible:
1. Financial Aid Can Run Out
Little known fact: there is limited financial aid provided by most schools and states can provide. For some schools, that means that financial aid is awarded on a first come, first serve basis. If you submit in the Spring, that could mean you miss out on financial aid that you would otherwise receive.
The earlier you submit, the more likely you are to ensure you receive the best offer you can.
2. Greater Likelihood of Receiving Grants
According to Saving For College, those who submit the FAFSA in the first three months of it being open (October through December) on average receive twice as much grant funding as those who submit the FAFSA later.
Grants do not need to be repaid, so receiving more financial aid in the form of grants can be the difference in a financial aid package that may not require repayment vs. one that includes loans.
3. Improves Opportunities for College Decisions
The sooner you submit your FAFSA, the sooner you can begin receiving college financial aid letters. Colleges use the FAFSA as an input into their financial aid offers.
The later you submit the FAFSA, the longer you will have to wait to receive the financial aid offer. And the sooner you have all of your financial aid offers, the easier it will be to compare offers from different colleges.
Don’t think you need all of your documentation either. You can submit estimates with a FAFSA and modify the estimates with real data later on. Just be careful: the greater the variation, the more likely there is to be a change in the final financial aid package.
4. Determine Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Once you have submitted the FAFSA, you will receive the Student Aid Request (SAR). The SAR provides a lot of the basic financial information to help you plan, including:
Eligibility for Federal Grants and Loans (e.g., Pell Grant)
Expected Family Contribution
Existing Federal Loans (if applicable)
The EFC will present you an index that shows your eligibility for federal aid. This can help you with understanding the level of financial aid you are eligible for and help your family prepare for the contribution you may be expected to pay.
Remember, EFC is NOT what your family is guaranteed to pay. Colleges may not meet the full demonstrated need. If you need more information on this, take a look at our previous post on Need Blind Admissions:
5. Apply for Scholarships Faster
Some scholarships require FAFSA completion to be considered. The sooner you complete the FAFSA, the sooner you can be considered for other scholarships.
This is helpful in two ways. First, for most families, scholarship applications are completed as they are discovered. The last thing you want to do is miss scholarship consideration because you have not completed the FAFSA. Secondly, the EFC helps to give a preview of what the expected family contribution may be. If you believe your family may struggle with covering the EFC, you can begin looking for scholarships that will assist you sooner to help plan for covering the cost.
Conclusion:
There is no incentive not to complete the FAFSA early. Do it as soon as possible so you can make sure you are receiving the best financial aid package you will get and help make the right decision.
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