Yous'll have a better adventure at receiving money for higher if you avoid several common mistakes when filling out yourFree Awarding for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA®) course, such equally non completing information technology on time, not filling it out correctly, or forgetting to sign and submit.

1

Nosotros hear all kinds of reasons for not completing the FAFSA class: "The FAFSA form is also hard." "It takes too long to complete the form." "I'll never qualify anyway, so why does information technology affair?" Information technologydoes matter. For one, contrary to popular belief, you lotmay qualify for federal pupil assistance considering it doesn't accept an income cut-off. It takes into account factors like the size of your family and your yr in schoolhouse. Also, the FAFSA form is non only the application for the Federal Pell Grant. It's also the application for Federal Piece of work-Written report funds, federal student loans, and fifty-fifty scholarships and grants offered by your state, school, or a individual organization.

If you lot want to get the most financial aid possible, fill out the FAFSA grade right away. Many states have limited funds, so they may have early FAFSA deadlines.

The FAFSA class doesn't take besides much time to complete, and it includes help text for each question. Be sure to sign and submit!

You could potentially miss out on thousands of dollars to help you pay for higher if y'all don't complete the FAFSA form on time.

ii

You should fill out the FAFSA form as before long as possible, but y'all should DEFINITELY fill it out before your earliest FAFSA deadline. Each country and school sets its own deadline, and some are very early.

List of FAFSA state deadlines with a color coded map of the United States signifying deadline ranges
Be sure to consummate the FAFSA form earlier your land deadline.

iii

It's important to go a StudentAid.gov business relationship username and password (FSA ID) before filling out the FAFSA form. Why? When y'all register for an FSA ID, you may need to wait upwardly to three days before you can use it to sign your FAFSA grade electronically. You AND your parent (if you're considered a dependent student) will each need your own divide FSA IDs to sign the FAFSA class online or on the mobile app. Practise NOT share your FSA IDs with each other! Doing so could crusade problems or delays with your financial help. Don't wait!

iv

When y'all begin your FAFSA form, you will need  to identify yourself as one of the post-obit:

  1. I am the student
  2. I am a parent
  3. I am a preparer

If yous're the educatee, you should choose the first choice. Why? When y'all practise, some of your personal information (name, Social Security number [SSN], date of nativity, etc.) will automatically load into your application.  This will preclude you from running into a common error that occurs when your verified FSA ID information doesn't lucifer the information on your FAFSA form. As well, you won't have to enter your FSA ID again if y'all transfer your tax information from the IRS or sign your FAFSA grade electronically.

Screenshot of FAFSA form login page to select whether you are student or parent
When you fill out the FAFSA form, select whether you are student or a parent.

5

One of most difficult parts nearly filling out the FAFSA form is entering the fiscal information. But thank you to a partnership with the IRS, students and parents who are eligible tin automatically transfer necessary 2020 taxation information into the 2022–23 FAFSA form using the IRS DRT. It's the fastest, virtually accurate manner to enter your tax return information into the FAFSA form, and so if y'all're given the selection to "LINK TO IRS" button, take reward of it!

Screenshot of a FAFSA form page with a button linking to the IRS DRT.
he FAFSA grade can automatically populate your information using the IRS DRT.

vi

When it comes to completing the FAFSA form, you'll want to read each definition and each question carefully; sometimes the FAFSA form is looking for very specific information that may not be obvious.

Here are some items that have very specific (but non necessarily intuitive) definitions according to the FAFSA form:

  • Legal guardianship
    To decide your dependency condition, the FAFSA form asks, "Does someone other than your parent or stepparent have legal guardianship of you, as determined by a court in your country of legal residence?" Many students incorrectly answer "yeah" here. For this question, the definition of legal guardianship does non include your parents—even if they were appointed by a courtroom to be your guardians. Also, yous cannot be your own legal guardian.
  • Parents
    The FAFSA form hasvery specific guidelinesalmost which parent's data to report.Spoiler alert: It has nothing to do with who claims you lot on their taxes. The FAFSA form may inquire, "Every bit of today, what is the marital status of your parents?" You can use this guide to assist you figure out which parent to report on the FAFSA class.
Infographic to help readers think through determining who is the parent when completing a FAFSA form.
Larn how to determine who is the parent when completing a FAFSA form.
  • Number of family members (household size)
    The FAFSA form has a specific definition regarding how y'all should make up one's mind your family size. Read the instructions carefully. Many students incorrectly written report this number, especially when the pupil doesn't physically live with their parent.
  • Number of family unit members in college
    Enter the number of people in your (or your parents') household who volition attend higher at the same time as you. Don't forget to include yourself, but don't include your parents in this number, fifty-fifty if they're in college. This number should never be greater than your number of family members.
  • Net worth of investments
    We've outlined some specific items that should and shouldn't be included every bit investments on the FAFSA course. For example, a college savings plan like a 529 business relationship is considered an investment* while the value of the habitation in which you reside and the value of your retirement accounts are not.
  • Taxable college grants and scholarships
    For this question, you report only college grant and scholarship amountsreported to the IRS as income. That ways you should not utilize the amount listed on your 1098-T; you should report the amount listed on your tax return. Practise not use the number in the adjusted gross income (AGI) field.  Here are the tax line numbers y'all should reference when asked this question. If y'all didn't file taxes, you should enter zero.

* If you're a dependent student, you lot should report the value of whatever college savings accounts as a parent asset and not a student asset.

7

Hither are some examples of mutual errors we see when people complete the FAFSA® grade:

  • Confusing parent information with student information
    Nosotros know many parents volition fill out the FAFSA form for their children, only remember, it is the pupil'south application. When the FAFSA form says "you" or "your," information technology's referring to the student, so make certain to enter your (the student's) information. If the form is asking for your parent's information, it volition specify that in the question.
  • Entering information that doesn't match your FSA ID data
    Later on you create an FSA ID, the Social Security Assistants receives and verifies your information (name, SSN, date of nascency). If yous enter a dissimilar proper name, SSN, and/or date of birth on the FAFSA form, you'll receive an error message. This is often the issue of either a typo or mixing upwardly student data and parent data. Avoid delays by triple-checking the data you lot entered.  If you lot see an error indicating that the data is not matching, learn how yous can resolve the error.
  • Amount of your income tax
    The FAFSA form is asking for your assessed income tax liability, not the corporeality of income tax withheld and not your adjusted gross income. We know this can be complicated. To avoid this mutual error, either transfer your revenue enhancement information to the FAFSA course using the IRS DRT or  find out which tax line number you should refer to when answering this question. (Note: It will depend on which IRS course you filed.)

8

  • Parent information
    Fifty-fifty if you fully back up yourself, pay your own bills, and file your own taxes, you may even so be considered a dependent student for federal student help purposes. If so, you lot must provide parent data on your FAFSA® form. Dependency guidelines for the FAFSA grade are determined by the U.S. Congress. They are different from the IRS dependency guidelines. Find out whether you need to provide parent information by answering these questions. If you lot're considered a dependent educatee and don't provide parent data, nosotros may non process your FAFSA form and/or you lot may qualify for unsubsidized loans only.
Infographic to help readers think through determining who is the parent when completing a FAFSA form.
Learn how to determine who is the parent when completing a FAFSA class.
  • Boosted financial information
    If you follow our recommendation and use the IRS DRT, most of the financial information required on the FAFSA form volition be filled in automatically for yous. Notwithstanding, the IRS DRT doesn't populate everything; some numbers, including many items in the "Additional Financial Information" section, must be manually entered. If yous used the IRS DRT, yous'll see that some boxes in that section are prechecked and the fields prefilled with "Transferred from the IRS." Nevertheless, other items, such as "Payments to revenue enhancement-deferred pension and retirement savings plans" and others, cannot transfer from the IRS. Yous must review manually each particular in the list, select the box if it applies to you, and enter the appropriate corporeality past referencing your relevant financial records. In the case of payments to tax-deferred alimony and retirement savings plans, yous can find that information on your Due west-2 form.
Screenshot of the Student Financials page of the FAFSA form.
Exist sure to report all required information in the FAFSA form.

9

Unless you're applying to simply one college or already know where yous're going to school, you should include more than than 1. Colleges can't run into the other schools y'all've added, so you should add ALL colleges you are considering to your FAFSA® class, even if yous aren't sure whether yous'll apply or be accepted. You can add up to ten schools at a fourth dimension. If y'all're applying to more than x schools,  follow these steps.

Information technology doesn't injure your application to add together more schools. In fact, you don't even take to remove schools in which you decide not to apply. If you don't end up applying or getting accepted to a schoolhouse, the schoolhouse tin can simply condone your FAFSA form. However, yous can remove schools at any time to make room for new schools.

Note: If you're a resident of certain states, the order in which yous listing the schools on your FAFSA grade might matter. Discover out whether your country has a requirement for the lodge you lot list schools on your FAFSA course.

ten

So many students respond every unmarried question asked just fail to sign the FAFSA® form with their FSA ID and submit the form. This happens for many reasons—maybe y'all forgot your FSA ID or your parent isn't with you to sign with the parent FSA ID—then your application is left incomplete.

Screenshot of the Sign and Submit page of the FAFSA form.
Don't forget to sign and submit the FAFSA form.

Don't let this happen to you.

  • If you don't know your FSA ID, select "Forgot My Username" and/or "Forgot My Countersign."
  • If you don't have an FSA ID,  create one.

If you're not able to sign with your FSA ID, take advantage of the pick to mail a signature page. If you would like confirmation of your FAFSA form submission, you can check your condition immediately after y'all submit your FAFSA form online.