What exatly are the steps for filling out and submitting a FAFSA?

Answer 1

1a) Acquire a PIN (www.pin.ed.gov). If you are a dependent (not: married, 24 years old, veteran or in the active military, grad student, orphan or ward of the court, have children or have other dependents) then get a PIN for the parent you have lived with more in the past 12 months.
1b, before of after 1a) Complete, at least to a rough draft stage, your taxes. If dependent, complete parent taxes.
2) Log into www.fafsa.ed.gov and answer the questions. Having the PIN and the completed taxes will be really helpful. At the end select which schools (up to 6) you want to send it to. Submit with PIN as signature.
3) A few days later, the feds will email you a confirmation of processing. Log in and confirm the data is correct. Your schools should receive it around that time, and depending on how antiquated their database is, should load it between minutes and a week.
4) Consult your schools' financial aid websites, or email the financial aid offices, to find out what they do next.

Answer 2

As a Financial Aid Advisor at a major university, I can tell you that AronK's answer is spot on.

I would add to that a couple of points 1) you should consult with your school's FAO (financial aid office) on any questions you have about intertpretation of questions 2) you should check with your FAO about 2 weeks after submitting the FAFSA to see if they require any documents or forms for verification. Not doing so early on can create delays. 3) Submit early every year and

4) also apply for scholarships every year you are in school, both nationally, and by consulting free search services, like fastweb.

5) never use a pay service to help complete your FAFSA or search for scholarships. FAA's are better equipped to help with both areas, and such services are universally panned as scams or just useless by Financial Aid professionals.

Answer 3

Or, you could just follow the instruction on the fafsa website.

Answer 4

its very easy. ask a guidance teacher at school