Essential Guide to Completing Your FAFSA for Maximum Student Aid (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: The first stop in your financial aid journey is preparing to complete and submit your free application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form. The FAFSA form is used to qualify for Federal Student Aid. The information you provide on the form may also be used to apply for student aid from states, colleges, and career or trade schools. Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest source of student aid and includes grants, federal work-study funds, and federal student loans. Start planning early. Use the Federal Student Aid estimator to help you and your family plan how you'll fund your education. It allows you to see how much Federal Student Aid you may be eligible to receive. Here is what you need to know about the FAFSA form. To maximize your student aid, it's important to complete your FAFSA form as soon as possible. There are three FAFSA deadlines, one set by your school, one set by your state, and the Federal deadline. Mark your calendars for the earliest deadline so that you don't miss out on the chance to receive student aid. On the online FAFSA form, you can list up to 20 schools, and those schools will use the information you provide on the form and your student aid index to calculate how much and what types of student aid they will offer you. When you're ready to start your FAFSA form, make sure you choose the form that matches the academic year when you will need student aid. If you're unsure, you can reach out to the Financial Aid Office at your school. Don't forget that you'll need to complete and submit a FAFSA form for each year you plan to attend school to be eligible for student aid. To continue preparing for the FAFSA form, check out our next video in this playlist to understand who FAFSA form contributors are and what is expected of them. And remember, for additional information and answers to your questions, visit studentaid.gov.