FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

Filing out your FAFSA is like filling out an application at a bank before you get approved for the loan. Just because you got the award letter or the pre approval doesn’t mean that you are done and money will be sent to your school. If you got awarded a Stafford loan you need to find a lender and provide them with a Master Promissory Note before you receive anything. A FAFSA is just an application you fill out to determine how much aid you are eligible for. It is not a loan.

Furthermore, the money you get awarded from a FAFSA is all Federal aid and is determined by your school. This is not free money and you have to pay it back. You can find more information regarding this application at FAFSA Online. After reviewing that website you may want to check out Stafford Loan . If you are looking for a loan that you do not have to pay back you would want to ask your school what type of scholarship programs they offer and ask about Pell Grants. The previous loans are need based and are usually awarded on a first come first serve basis. You can also check out Scholarship Points

So… you are 23, independent, living on your own, and you decide that it’s time you got a college degree. Pretty cool idea! BUT….you need to know an important detail (one that I think is seriously outdated…). The Federal Government does not look at you as an independent being. Even if you support yourself and live on your own, until you are 24 or older, the government bases your eligibility for grants and student loans on your parents’ income! I know it seems bizarre, but that is how it is. There are some exceptions: you’re a U.S. armed forces member, you are married, you have a child, or you are legally emancipated from your parents. Whoa, crazy right? Don’t get down though. You need your parents’ information to fill out the FAFSA, but you do not need them to cosign on Federal Loans. Your parents’ will have no liability for your loans. And unless they make A LOT of money, chances are you will be eligible for a student loan.