First - for those who don't know, the FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and it's the first step in applying for financial aid to help cover the costs of your education and training after high school. It's incredibly important.
The FAFSA determines your eligibility for federal aid, state of Iowa aid, institutional aid from the college or university, and even private scholarships.
If you want help paying for college the FAFSA is your first step and you can get started at www.fafsa.gov.
To file the FAFSA you need a few things:
- 2017 taxes and W2s for both the student and parents.
- Asset information (checking and savings account balances and investments)
- You can download a complete list of what you need at www.icansucceed.org/whattobring.
- FSA ID - a unique username and password for the student and one parent. You can setup your FSA ID at www.fsaid.ed.gov. To learn more about the FSA ID process you can visit www.icansucceed.org/fsaid.
If you get into the form and decide you really would like help there is plenty available.
- ICAN Locations. We have ICAN offices available to help across the state.
- In Northwest Iowa we have offices in Sioux City and Orange City, and will be holding some office hours in Sheldon as well.
- In Southwest Iowa we hvae an office in Council Bluffs.
- In Central Iowa we have office hours in Ankeny and Des Moines.
- In Northeast Iowa we have office hours in Waterloo.
- In East Central Iowa we have office hours in Cedar Rapids (Hiawatha) and Coralville.
- In Eastern Iowa we have office hours in Davenport.
- Schedule an appointment by visiting www.icansucceed.org/apt or call 877-272-4692.
- FAFSA Ready Iowa. If our office locations are just out of reach we have partnered with community organizations, high schools, and colleges across Iowa to host more than 60 FAFSA Completion Events at 43 locations in 34 cities as part of our FAFSA Ready Iowa initiative. Visit www.icansucceed.org/fafsareadyiaevents for a complete list of event dates and times. No appointment is needed at these events, just show up with you documents and get professional assistance in completing the FAFSA.
The last thing you need to determine is when you should file your FAFSA. There isn't a specific deadline for the FAFSA, but there are recommended priority dates for each college so that you receive the maximum aid for which you qualify. Find out the priority dates for each of the schools you are considering applying to and get your FAFSA completed by the earliest priority date. For a complete list of priority dates in Iowa visit www.icansucceed.org/prioirty.
That's the run down on the FAFSA form. If you have questions or need help don't hesitate to reach out. ICAN helps file more than 6,000 FAFSA forms each year - we are here to help!
Good luck and happy FAFSA season!
Brittania - ICAN Hiawatha Center
