1. Be aware of the financial aid priority date of the colleges that you are applying. ICAN has the financial aid priority dates for Iowa colleges on the ICAN website: www.icansucceed.org/fafsadate. For out-of-state colleges, consult the college website in the financial aid section of the college website or call the college. If you are looking at multiple colleges, use the earliest financial aid priority date.
2. Bring the 2018 tax return and W-2s to your FAFSA appointment at ICAN. Yes, we can possibly import taxes using the data retrieval tool (DRT), but sometimes the DRT does not work or it cannot be used based on the filing status of the parents. W-2s are used to divide income from work for parents who earn income through wages, and we use W-2s for payments to tax deferred retirement savings that is required on the FAFSA. We need the tax return and the W-2s.
3. Create the federal student aid IDs for both the parent and the student at home before you come to a FAFSA appointment. Especially for students, it is much easier to do it at home rather than interrupting class during a high school day to verify a cell number or an email address. Be sure to write down the user name, password, and the emailed used for each FSA ID and bring it to your appointment. See icansucceed.org for helpful directions on making an FSA ID.
4. Understand that you will only receive a financial aid package from those colleges in which you have applied and been accepted. Just putting a college on a FAFSA is not applying to the college.
5. After you have completed the FAFSA and submitted it, you can add additional colleges after your FAFSA has processed which usually takes 3-5 days. Login to the FAFSA with the FSA ID for the student. Click on Make Corrections. Put in a save key. Then go to school selection section and add or delete colleges. Be sure to go to the Sign and Submit section of the FAFSA and submit. Your amended FAFSA will then process and go out the new college with your FAFSA information.
Go to our terrific website www.icansucceed.org and under Quick Links, you will find a great list of what you need to bring to your FAFSA appointment. Be sure to go through the list before you come for your appointment.
Steve - ICAN Council Bluffs Center
