FAFSA -- Too Important to Take for Granted
Do you want financial aid? FAFSA is essential -- a true "must do" (www.fafsa.ed.gov). Succeed Where It Counts, LLC (www.succeedwhereitcounts.com) considers The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA ) the gateway to every type of financial aid.
FAFSA is also a form. It is web-based, and filled with boxes requesting information you may not have at your fingertips. Here's what SWIC recommends:
- At www.fafsa.ed.gov create an account.
- Get started on the form, and SAVE IT -- do not submit it.
- Make a note of the questions for which you did not have accurate information.
- Gather the information and return to the FAFSA form.
- Complete the form, and read the "Help and Hints" explanations for every question. Make certain the information you input is the information being asked for.
FAFSA is not due until January of your student's senior year in high school. However, seeing the FAFSA format earlier should be helpful for avoiding mistakes -- mistakes that will cost you money! Just remember, hit "SAVE" and not "submit" until after January 1st.
At Succeed Where It Counts,LLC (www.succeedwhereitcounts.com), we ask our parents to complete two dry runs on the financial aid request. SWIC uses a web-based platform that includes a "College Affordability Shaper." That's where we catch most mistakes about a family's financials. Then SWIC takes our parents to FAFSA.ed.gov and assists them through the steps bulleted above.
An error on any submitted FAFSA can really upset the apple cart for a student when it comes to financial aid. The errors can be, and most will be corrected. However a loss of financial aid will be a virtual certainty, at least for the freshman year.
Succeed Where It Counts, LLC (704:819-6267 - www.succeedwhereitcounts.com) works with families and their students to find "The Right College, at The Right Price, and to Graduate on Time with The Right Degree." SWIC's focus is the Lake Norman (NC) area; and accepts clients living in the mid-Atlantic states, too. 704:819-6267.
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