Student Aid Application as Easy as 1 2 3

High school students heading for college will want to complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid as early as possible in their senior year of high school. The Federal government is still the nation's most important source of college funding, laying out 80 billion dollars of student aid per annum as grants, work-study wage or loans. If you're interested in sharing in a piece of the Federal education pie, you'll want to file your FAFSA application promptly.

Often described as being difficult to understand and hard to complete, the FAFSA application process by no means deserves this unfavorable rap. The less than stellar reputation may in part be attributable to fee-for-service providers that are in business to help college-bound high school juniors and seniors complete the application. The Federal government has made the application easy to complete online by offering extensive online help that guides applicants through the application process. Unlike third-party companies, the government never charges an application or processing fee. The FAFSA application is free for all, just as it should be.

Step One in the FAFSA application process is to apply for a PIN, or personal identification number. Your PIN makes it possible to apply for student aid online, a process the government has streamlined and made as easy as possible. Your PIN also makes it possible to sign your FAFSA application online and access and correct your Student Aid Report. The SAR is the report you'll receive once your FAFSA application has been processed. It contains important information about you financial need, which ultimately determines the amount of aid you may receive.

You'll need to get your PIN as soon as possible at pin.ed.gov before beginning Step Two of the application process. In this step, you'll actually complete and file your FAFSA application at FAFSA on the Web, the popular name for the website maintained at fafsa.ed.gov. The government has designed this site to offer step-by-step instructions as you answer each question in the FAFSA application. The online process also catches any potential mistakes you make and prompts you to correct them. Filing at FAFSA on the Web is also the fastest way to get into and through the Federal application process. Most FAFSA applications are processed within just a few days of their filing date.

In Step Three of the application process, you'll receive your SAR, or Student Aid Report, approximately three to five days after filing your FAFSA application online, or in seven to ten days if you filed by mail. In addition to compiling the information contained in your FAFSA application, the report also determines your financial need, which is calculated by subtracting your Expected Family Contribution, the amount your family is estimated to be able to contribute to funding your college education, from the cost of attending a particular college or university. Review your SAR for any errors. Once it's complete, submit it to the financial aid office of the college or colleges you�re interested in attending. A financial aid officer will contact you about the type and amount of aid the college or university is able and prepared to provide.

The three-step FAFSA application process isn't difficult to understand or complete, but it is more involved than can be covered in a brief article like this. Fortunately, the government has prepared a comprehensive 60-page document that fully explains and guides you through the FAFSA process. Called "Funding Education Beyond High School", the document is available in PDF format from studentaid.ed.gov.