In years past, students had to wait until January 1 to sign up for FAFSA student aid. But this year, it can be done three months earlier, starting this Saturday, October 1.
It gives you more time to think about your aid, think about where that money is going to come from, if you're going to take out loans, if you're going to work during school things like that. I think it's a good idea overall.
First, what is FAFSA? It is a form that can be prepared annually by current and prospective college students to determine their eligibility for student financial aid. Now, students have more time to gather the information they need and submit it so they can find out what help they can get to pay for college.
Another major change: Parents and students will be required to report income from the tax year two years ago. So students starting in 2017 report the 2015 tax year.
It was really an initiative to make it easier on families. There's a big push by Congress to give more information to students so that they can make a more informed choice of where they want to go to school.
When it comes to reporting your marital status and your assets, parents, you report your current status for all of that.
The one thing you should check is, while the start date is moved up, this could impact when your deadline is. You should reach out to your college to see if this has changed.
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