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Although the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the CSS Profile application don't become available until October 1st, there are some things you can do now to make the process easier when it's time to apply for aid!
Understand the steps to apply.
Each school may have slightly different requirements and deadlines to apply for financial aid, so be sure to do your research! At the University of Denver, we require the FAFSA, the CSS Profile, and other documentation. Learn more on our website.
Create your FSA ID.
An FSA ID gives you access to all of Federal Student Aid's online systems and serves as your legal signature for the FAFSA. You and your student should each have your own FSA ID. It can take up to three days for the Social Security Administration to verify your information, so it's a good idea to complete this task now. Create your FSA ID online at https://fsaid.ed.gov.
Gather your financial documents.
Having your and your student's financial documents on hand will make the application process much easier. Useful documents include:
- 2016 income tax returns
- 2016 W-2 forms
- 2016 records of untaxed income and benefits
- Records of savings, stocks, bonds, trusts and other investments
- Business assets, if applicable
- Current bank statements and mortgage information
It's also helpful to have your student's social security number and driver's license readily available when you fill out financial aid applications.
Consider ordering your 2016 tax return transcript.
The aid application process at DU requires parents who are unable to complete the FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to submit a copy of their 2016 tax return transcript. (We'll talk more about the IRS Data Retrieval Tool in the next Financial Aid 101 email.) Since it can be time consuming, it's a good idea to order your 2016 tax return transcript from the IRS now, just in case you can't use the Data Retrieval Tool when the FAFSA becomes available. Review our how-to guide for step-by-step instructions.
Apply for private scholarships.
Although this isn't a required part of the DU financial aid application, we highly encourage students to research and apply for as many private scholarships as they can. It's free money! Now is a great time to start looking, as many scholarship providers have fall and winter application deadlines. Encourage your student to get started with our scholarship search page.
That's it for this week! Want to review past Financial Aid 101 emails? Check out the archives.
Next email on October 1st: Application Tips and Using IRS Data Retrieval
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