Completing the FAFSA for college aid

It will soon be time for college-bound students and their parents to fill out the FAFSA. The Free Application For Federal Student Aid is where every family who receives federal and state aid must begin. Once a family fills out the forms, the federal government does an analysis and establishes an Estimated Family Contribution or EFC. The EFC is the number that college financial aid offices use to determine what kind of aid students are eligible for and can receive.

The FAFSA forms will be available online January 1. To receive financial aid, this form needs to be completed each year a student attends college. It is important that you meet the deadlines for the colleges that a student is applying to or attends. The earlier the FAFSA is complete, the better chances a student may have at securing different kinds of financial aid. The FAFSA form itself can be accessed at: www.fafsa.ed.gov

IMPORTANT CHANGE FOR JUNIORS
Beginning next year, the FAFSA will be available on October 1. Instead of using income information from the prior year, the FAFSA will use income information from the prior-prior year. For example, for the 2017-2018 school year, the FAFSA will require income information from 2015.

It is strongly recommended that parents of 11th and 12th grade students attend the Financial Aid Night at CPCS in January. More details to follow!

Useful tips for reporting parent info on the FAFSA.