What is FAFSA?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used for awarding federal student aid. All students must submit the FAFSA in order to receive financial aid. The application can be completed online or by paper application at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
When Should I File?
Filing early means potential for more money. You can start filing for the FAFSA during your senior year of high school starting on January 1st. The priority deadline is March 2nd. Most FAFSA is based on a first-come, first-serve basis. Complete the application within the first part of January to be first in line for free money.
What do I Need?
To complete the application, you will need to use your W-2 from the previous year, and then update your application as soon as your most current W-2 arrives. If you are worried about forgetting to update your application, you can wait on your W-2 form and then file your FAFSA
You can list up to 10 colleges on your FAFSA, which is used to determine the Cost of Attendance (COA). To do this you will need to get the school codes of the places you are interested in. When applying, use SAGU’s Federal School Code which is: 003616.
Regardless of you parent’s income, file your FAFSA. Your parents may make a good living; you should still file for FASFA! You may be able to receive some kind of federal financial aid. Also, if you are pursuing scholarships, most schools require you to complete FAFSA.
What do I do after I submit my FAFSA?
SAGU will receive your FAFSA within two business days after you submit it. Sometimes the FAFSA will require SAGU to collect documents from you so we can verify that your FAFSA information is correct and to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. Make sure to turn in any required documents ASAP. You can find needed documents on our forms page. After all required forms are received, the Financial Aid will award your financial aid based upon your Cost of Attendance and financial need. Once you've submitted your application, the federal aid processing center uses a congressionally mandated formula to determine your expected family contribution (EFC). EFC is the amount you and your family are expected to contribution toward college expenses in a given year.