Seniors: It’s time to
start preparing to file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA). The FAFSA application went live
on October 1 for the 2019-2020 school year, which will be your Freshman year of
college. You don’t have to know exactly
where you’re going to college to file the FAFSA, as you can submit the
application to up to 10 colleges/universities per submission. If for some reason you want to apply for Financial
Aid at more than 10 schools, you will need to submit the FAFSA, wait 3-5
business days for it to process, and then log back in and do a correction to
your FAFSA removing some or all of the 10 schools you initially submitted it
to, adding the new school codes, and resubmit.
Keep in mind you will also need to apply to each school if you want to
see a Financial Aid Award Letter from those schools.
In preparation for filing the FAFSA, you and one of your
parents will each want to create a username and a password, called an FSA
ID. A common misconception is that an
FSA ID is a number. This is not the
case. The FSA ID is a username and a password. These FSA IDs serve as electronic signatures,
allowing you and your parent to each sign the FAFSA electronically. I realize this username and password process
sounds very simple and easy. But, you
would be surprised at how many people come through our offices that struggle
with the process of creating and/or remembering what their usernames and
passwords are. I strongly encourage you
to take your time and write everything down when you create them, and most
importantly, get organized and keep that information in a safe place where
you’ll remember where to find it in the future.
You can find more helpful tips and information about FSA IDs by clicking
here.
Lastly, download
our checklist of what you’ll need to file your 2019-2020 FAFSA. And remember, you don’t have to go through
this process alone! We would be happy to
assist you through the process. We help
thousands of Iowans file their FAFSAs each year. You can work with an experienced professional
to trust that simple mistakes won’t happen, which could be very costly in
determining what Financial Aid you will be eligible for. In fact, here’s an email I received just this
week: “I can’t thank you enough for the time
you spent with me last week completing my daughters FAFSA application! As I
stated, I was in tears and hopeless with the many technical issues I
experienced. I also had reached out to the FAFSA line 3 times and received poor
service.”
Scheduling an appointment is easy!
Give us a call at 877-272-4692, or schedule online at www.icansucceed.org/apt. We hope to see you soon!
Shea - ICAN Hiawatha Center
