Hello again!
It’s me, Becs. And I’m going to be totally honest.
I don’t remember ever filling out my FAFSA. BAD, Becs.
The only explanation I can think of is that I’m super lucky and have a parent who’s really good at financial stuff and did it for me. (Thanks again, Dad!)
So when I started working at the University of Northern Colorado and actually took a good look at the FAFSA, I freaked out a little bit. Like, I would rather floss my teeth for six hours.
But I’ve since calmed down and taken another look. And it’s not actually that bad. (For a preview without logging in, check out the PDF version.) You need to know your address, your Social Security number (in most cases), your marital status, etc. The tricky part is your parent tax information, which is simple when you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
And to make it extra clear, the U.S. Department of Education published a blog with a step-by-step explanation of the process.
But WHYYYY do you have to fill it out in the first place?
Because that’s how schools figure out who needs how much help, and by knowing how much money your family has, it helps them triage how to divvy up the money they have available for students. When you fill out your FAFSA, you actually choose colleges and universities to send it to. (You don’t need to know exactly where you’re going yet.) Those places will use your FAFSA to figure out how much grant and loan money they can offer you. If you need more help, contact the Financial Aid office at one of the colleges or universities you’re applying to — they should be happy to help.
Good luck, friends. Seriously, don’t freak out. And if you want to, call us (970-351-4862)!
