If your student is planning to go to college next year, there are some important steps in the financial aid process that your family needs to complete. The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) became available on October 1st -- which means you can file the FAFSA now! Every college or university has their own deadline for the FAFSA -- some as early as December 1st -- so check out www.ICANsucceed.org/priority to find the priority dates for the schools you are applying to. You will use your tax information from 2016 to file the FAFSA for the 2018-19 school year. The FAFSA is solely based off of 2016 taxes, so you won’t have to update the FAFSA with 2017 taxes. Visit www.fafsa.gov to file the form.

 

Before filing the FAFSA, students and one parent are required to apply for a Federal Student Aid Identification (FSA ID). This takes only a few minutes to apply for, but could take 2-3 days for processing. Go to: studentaid.gov/fsaid to apply for a FSA ID.

 

If you have questions about paying for college, or would like free help filing your FAFSA, the Iowa College Access Network offers free resources for college planning and financial aid. You can visit their website, www.ICANsucceed.org, to schedule an appointment, or call their toll free number, 877-272-4692 to talk to an 
advisor.

 

In addition, I have recently become certified as a FAFSA Counselor. If you would like individual help filing the FAFSA, please contact me. I am also willing to host a FAFSA help night, if there is enough interest. There are other certified FAFSA counselors in the area who are willing to come in and help as well. Please let me know if you would be interested in an individual session or a group help night.