Happy New Year!! January 1st marks the beginning of FAFSA season. You can now file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov to see what you qualify for in terms of aid for the 2016-17 school year. Be sure to use the fafsa.ed.gov website because it is free. There are other websites that are similar but they charge you. You should file as soon as possible even though you do not have your 2015 tax information; just use your 2014 tax return. In many colleges aid is filled on a first-come-first-serve basis so do not delay.
Financial Aid priority deadlines are fast-approaching at many colleges and universities across the country. Frank Palmasani, writing for College Countdown, posted a useful article detailing the seven most common mistakes people make when filing the FAFSA form. The most common mistakes include listing income in the wrong area, double listing income, listing non-required assets, waiting until the income tax forms have been filed, and not listing all dependents. If you need help with the form, be sure to watch the video at the end of the article. [read more]