Tips for parents filing the FAFSA
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Simply put, parents should always file a FAFSA, because they never know what aid their child could qualify for — or end up needing. “As a parent, you can fill out and submit the full FAFSA on your child’s behalf. There shouldn’t be any steps that a parent couldn’t complete,” Muzzy said.
A parent can get in by entering your (the student's) identifiers on the “Login” screen and never needs to use your account username and password. When everyone is finished with their parts of the FAFSA® form, be sure to select “Submit My FAFSA® Now” at the bottom of the “Signature Status” page.
You can check the application status online or by phone at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, you can check the status after it has been processed (seven to ten days from date mailed). After your child's application is processed, he or she will receive the Student Aid Report (SAR).
For more information or to create your own FSA ID, go to StudentAid.gov/fsaid. If your parent does not have a Social Security Number, he or she will not be able to get an FSA ID. In that case your parent will print, sign, and mail in a paper signature page.
“As a parent, you can fill out and submit the full FAFSA on your child's behalf. There shouldn't be any steps that a parent couldn't complete,” Muzzy said. Or you can just complete the sections you're responsible for as a parent: your parent demographic information and financial information.
Visit the Help Center. You can also contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 or visit our “Contact Us” page for additional options.
To check the status of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, do the following:Log in to fafsa.gov.Your FAFSA status can be found on the “My FAFSA” page, which displays immediately after you log in if you've already started or completed a FAFSA form.
The FSA ID is a username and password combination you use to log in to U.S. Department of Education (ED) online systems. The FSA ID is your legal signature and shouldn't be created or used by anyone other than you—not even your parent, your child, a school official, or a loan company representative.
If you have no contact with your parents and don't know where they live, or you've left home due to an abusive situation, fill out the FAFSA form and then immediately get in touch with the financial aid office at the college or career school you plan to attend. The financial aid staff will tell you what to do next.
Submit the FAFSA form without signatures. Your child's application will be partially processed, and he or she will receive a Student Aid Report within three to five days. To complete the FAFSA form, you can return later to fafsa.gov to sign it electronically.
If your parents are separated or divorced, the custodial parent is responsible for filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The custodial parent for federal student aid purposes is the parent with whom you lived the most during the past 12 months.
Even if your family earns a substantial income, you are still encouraged to apply for federal aid. Many opportunities exist in the world of college funding, even if it seems as though your parents make too much money for financial aid.
“Parent 1” and “Parent 2” refer to the order that parents are listed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. For example, if the mother's information was provided first on the “Personal Information for Parent” page, the mother would be considered “Parent 1.”
If you are starting the FAFSA form on behalf of your child, choose the option on the bottom, “I am a parent, preparer, or student from a Freely Associated State.”. Select the option that says “I am a parent, preparer, or student from a Freely Associated State” on the FAFSA application homepage. Enter your child’s name, Social Security number, ...
Choose which FAFSA form you’d like to complete. 2020–21 FAFSA® form if your child will be attending college between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. 2021–22 FAFSA® form if your child will be attending college between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.
Both: If your child will be attending college during both time periods and hasn’t completed the 2020–21 FAFSA® form yet, complete that first, wait until it processes (one to three days), then go back in and complete the 2021–22 FAFSA® form after.
Start the FAFSA® form at StudentAid.gov. Go to StudentAid.gov and select “Apply for Aid” then “Complete the FAFSA® Form” along the top of the page. Select “Start Here” under “New to the FAFSA® Process?”. Once on the log in page, you will see two options.
If your child is determined to be a dependent student, he or she will be required to report information about you. If your child is determined to be an independent student, you can skip the questions about providing parent information (unless otherwise noted by the school).
Even if your child doesn’t live with you, supports himself or herself, and files taxes separate ly from you, he or she may still be considered a dependent student for federal student aid purposes.
It doesn’t hurt to add more schools; colleges can’t see the other schools that have been added. In fact, you don’t even have to remove schools if your child later decides not to apply or attend. If your child doesn’t end up applying or getting accepted to a school, the school can just disregard his or her FAFSA® form.