Financial Aid can be an intimidating part of applying for college classes, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you understand the process, it isn’t very difficult to initiate and can be pretty straight forward for most students. As an older college student, I first applied in 1998, I can honestly say that the process is light-years ahead of where it was in the stone ages. Over the next few weeks, I will help you figure out how to apply for the Pell Grant, scholarships, and if needed student loans. The starting point for Pell grants, and student loans begins with the most intimidating part, filling out the FAFSA.
What is the FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA is the gateway to securing financial aid. In order to fill out this form you’ll need your social security number as well as any tax statements so that you can report your income, and or your parents’ income if you are a dependent. The form is long, but relatively easy to fill out, and it can all be done online vs on paper like it was in 1998 when I first did it. Once this form is completed, it will be sent digitally to your school and you will get a message from the financial aid office on the status of your aid. Any aid you receive is on a first come first served basis, so it is important to make sure to submit your form prior to any deadlines, and also make any updates to your finances each year.
What are the deadlines
According to student aid.gov the submission deadline for aid this year is June 30th 2023, and the deadline for the state of Florida is May 15th, 2023. Make sure to keep up with those dates, because once again, financial aid is first come first served. The last thing you want to do is gamble with any potential resources that could help you fund your education.
How do students feel about the process
Yacub Battle, a digital media student had this to say about the process “I moved here in November, and I was in class in January.” He was able to relocate from Jacksonville Fl, and both submit and receive aid in time to start this semester. When asked about the difficulty of the application process, he said “It was actually really easy”. I must say that I agree, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be hiccups in the process, and that’s why we have a financial aid office. I will dive into how they can assist you as we dig deeper into the process over the next couple of weeks.
