The newest FAFSA uses financial information from a family’s 2019 taxes. Most people are able to make use of a “shortcut” offered on the FAFSA, which is the I.R.S. Data Retrieval Tool. As long as you have already filed your 2019 taxes, you can check off that you want the FAFSA to link into your previously filed taxes and automatically fill in the numbers on all of the financial questions.
A great characteristic of the online FAFSA is that, just a moment or two after it is submitted, it indicates a family’s EFC (estimated family contribution). This is the number that is sent to all of the colleges to which a student plans to apply, letting the schools know what the government believes the family can afford to contribute to the student’s college education. Colleges then make up their financial aid offers based on this figure, typically offering students a combination of loans, grants (which do not get paid back), and work-study opportunities.
It is wise for parents to check “yes” to the question that asks whether they would like their child to be eligible for work-study, which is employment offered by the college. No one will force a student to take on a job. But if an ideal opportunity should arise, such as to do research for a professor, only students already approved for work-study can be approved.
The major drawback for many families this year is that the FAFSA uses data from a family’s 2019 tax year. Due to COVID-19, many families have been negatively impacted economically in 2020 with job losses, catastrophic medical bills, and other financial factors. If this is the case, families still need to file a FAFSA, the sooner the better, but they should follow up by contacting the financial aid office at each college to which their child is filing an application. Colleges can then institute a “professional judgment” review, taking into account a family’s current financial situation and determining a student’s aid package accordingly.
Filing a FAFSA soon after October 1st is extremely beneficial to students in all income brackets. It allows them to receive their financial aid packages in time to compare the costs and weigh their options well in advance of the May 1st deadline date to accept a college offer.
Susan Alaimo is the founder of Collegebound Review. For the past 25 years, Collegebound Review's Ivy League educated tutors have prepared students for the PSAT®, SAT®, ACT®, Subject Tests®, AP courses, and all high school subjects. Visit www.CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362
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