Can anyone explain FAFSA to me?

Question

and when should I apply for it? I am a sophomore in High school now.

Answer 1

I know you got some answers already but I think this one might be easier to understand.

FAFSA = application for financial aid. Financial aid is money that will help you pay for college tuition, books, fees, and living expenses (food, rent, etc..).

You apply for FAFSA in Jan. of your Senior year.
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov

It is a simple application that assesses your families financial situation. The less money your family has the more money you can get by filling out the FAFSA. You will have to answer several questions about your income and your families income (kinda like a tax return). You'll also have to fill out info that says where you are going to live while in college, what colleges you are hoping to attend, etc...

When you apply with FAFSA you will be applying for two types of money.
1. Loans - money given to you that you will have to pay back in payment plans after you graduate (especially helpful for low income people/families).
2. Grants - money available that can be given to you that you will never have to pay back
When you fill out the FAFSA you are automatically applying for this money. You will eventually recieve a paper telling you how much money your family is suppposed to pay (for some people this is nothing) and how much money in loans and grants you can recieve. You then get to choose what loans you want (all, a couple, none). You will of course accept grants because it's free money.

For extra financial help you can start applying for scholarships.
You don't have to pay these back either but it is a different application process, you have to apply for each scholarship separately.
Go to http://www.fastweb.com
You can also google
scholarships + woman
scholarships + latino
etc..
Also schools have their own scholarships.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

The FAFSA is the federal application that a student must complete to receive federal, state, or institutional aid. This form has to be completed each academic year by the student, in order to be eligible to receive financial aid. FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program) Federally funded educational loan programs, including Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, and Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).

Heres a website to help you fafsa.ed.gov/

Answer 3

hi,
a FAFSA form is one you get from a bank..called a "college kit". Once you are in your Senior year and have chosen a college or 2 you wish to apply to... you get this form and fill it out and send it to the financial aid office of the #1 college of your choice. within the form, you will have filled out all about yourself and your finances, your plans for study, your parents finances. and the form application will result in all available financial sources you qualify for. from the government and your state, and a loan amount you can request. you do this for each year of college. repayment begins 6 months after you graduate from college. then you might want to look into consolidation of all your loans... and have one payment, instead of 4. i hope this explained the FAFSA form! :)

Answer 4

Filling out a FAFSA is something you ought to do. you will possibly be able to desire to pass to thier internet site, you and your mothers and dads might desire to notice for a pin. provide it some days to get the pins after which you start up off your FAFSA. It qualifys you no longer in straight forward terms for stuff like Cal grant a or B, yet in addition enables you to get loans might desire to you desire to. Cal delivers you do no longer might desire to pay back in case you qualify. Filling out the FAFSA takes awhile, you will desire you mothers and dads 1040 (earnings tax return) and your in case you labored a job. you will might desire to appreciate the two of their Social secure practices numbers and complete birthdates. that's going to ask you questions relating to the college you will, in the adventure that your mothers and dads went to college and if so did they graduate or purely take some classes, what city you have been born in and alot of alternative questions. Then on the tip you and your mothers and dads will use your pin to electronically sign it and deliver it in to the dep. of preparation. It takes awhile to technique and you will possibly be able to create an account and keep your progression in case you won't be able to do it unexpectedly. be sure you keep each website at the same time as you pass. Its something you ought to fill out no count if or no longer you desire to get loans.

Answer 5

You should apply seriously in January of the year you want to go to school in the Fall.