FAFSA Form Guide: 2009-2010 FAFSA Application Step 5-6

Steps #5 and #6 of the FAFSA Online Guide to the FAFSA Form tutorial follow. If you have not read through steps 1-4, we suggest you start with step #1. If you are ready to file your FAFSA form or Renewal FAFSA form online, then please click here.

Step #5: Information for the Independent Student

• Questions 96-103 only apply to students who answered Yes to any question in Step #3.
• If you did not answer yes to any question in Step #3, it's okay to leave this section blank!

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• Question 96: This is an incredibly important question. The number of people in your household determines how much of your income will be protected, meaning that you will be expected to contribute less towards the cost of education as the size of the household increases. This number includes you, your siblings, and any other dependents who get more than half their support from your parents (grandparent, cousin, friend, for example).
• Question 97: How many people in your household will be half time or more college students beginning in the fall semester? Always count yourself as a student. The number of household members in college directly impacts how much aid you get. The greater number of students in school, the less you as an indpendent student and support provider is expected to pay for any one student's education.
• Questions 98-102: If anyone in your household received benefits from the programs listed, indicate it here. This question impacts some calculations of your expected family contribution (EFC); receiving any of these programs' benefits may qualify you for an automatic zero EFC, meaning you won't be expected to pay for college out of pocket.
• Question 103:A new question on the FAFSA, this one can be confusing. A dislocated worker is someone who meets ONE or more of the following:
  • Lost their job or been laid off.
  • Is receiving unemployment benefits and is unlikely to return to a previous occupation. (like a telephone switchboard operator, for example)
  • Is self employed but is unemployed due to economic conditions or natural disaster.
  • Is a displaced homemaker - someone who previously provided unpaid services to the family, like a stay at home parent, is no longer supported by a partner, and is having trouble finding a job.
• A dislocated worker is NOT:
  • Someone who quit.
  • Someone who got fired for cause.
  • Someone who just doesn't want to work

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Step #6: Where to send FAFSA information

• Questions 104 a,c,e,g: You are given up to four schools to send your FAFSA to. If you want to send more than that, you'll need to do the rest online. Indicate which schools you, the student, plan to attend and where you plan to live while attending school.
  • To get the six-digit school code, use our FAFSA School Codes Search Directory.
  • This should be a list of the top schools you plan to attend. If you don't have a lot of schools, add backup schools to the list. If you have more schools you are planning to attend than there are spaces, fill in your top choices.
  • Be aware that the FAFSA school directory provided by the government may have a different name for a college than its common, generally accepted name - for example, Massachusetts Bay Community College as the government name but MassBay Community College for everyone who works and goes to school there.
• Questions 104 b,d,f,h: The housing plan you choose plays a small role in computing the cost of college, as living with a parent is calculated to have a dramatically lower cost of attendance than living on campus.
• Question 105: Put the day you file the FAFSA here.
• Question 106: Sign the FAFSA. Have a parent sign it, too.

Finally: Read, Sign, Date your FAFSA

• You'd think it goes without saying, but a lot of people also forget to sign and date the FAFSA in questions 105-106. Don't forget.
• The earliest date a FAFSA can be dated is January 1 of the year for which you are applying for school. If you file earlier than that date, you will get a "FAFSA rejected" notice - not a good thing.

This completes the FAFSA walkthrough! You've seen the secrets, you've read the steps you need to complete it, and if you printed out your worksheets and filled them out as you went along, you're well positioned to complete your FAFSA online as soon as the doors open for the coming school year.

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