Today, October 1, the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) goes live. Here are the three most egregious FAFSA mistakes a family can make, all which are easy to avoid.
1. Not filing the form.
Every family with a student applying to college should file a FAFSA unless you (1) can painlessly write a check to cover the full cost of attendance for college next year, and (2) can somehow be absolutely certain that nothing in the future (job loss, unexpected medical costs, the decision to attend a more expensive college, etc.) will change your ability to fulfill #1.
2. Filing the form too late.
Please don’t procrastinate or wait to see where you’re admitted to file the FAFSA. Need-based financial aid is often offered on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s no need to cancel all of your weekend plans and pull sequential all-nighters to submit this form in the next 24-48 hours. But this is also not the kind of thing you want to wait to address until the impending deadline spurs you to action. You may not enjoy completing forms like this one (I certainly don’t). But you’ll enjoy the feeling of knowing you’ve filed a completed FAFSA in plenty of time to avail yourself of aid.
3. Paying to file the form.
If you type “FAFSA” into a search engine, you’ll find several sites that look deceptively like the actual FAFSA but actually charge you for access. Don’t fall for it. There’s only one legitimate FAFSA form, and you should never pay to file it (the “F” in FAFSA stands for “Free!”). Just access the correct form by visiting https://fafsa.ed.gov directly.
It’s rare that mistakes can be so potentially costly and simultaneously so easy to avoid. So now, I have a favor to ask. Please forward this post to someone with a college applicant in the house. You could potentially be doing them a huge financial favor at no cost to you.