The Coaching Educator’s founding member, Rebecca M. Carroll, gives 5 tips and a link on “How to fill out the FAFSA.” Mistakes on this form can cost you in the long run.

• Best practice when filling out the FAFSA is for parents and students to fill the form out together. Students are not familiar with their parent’s tax forms and assets and can make errors that create financial aid to be held up or rescinded. https://fafsa.ed.gov
• Contrary to popular belief, the FAFSA form does not have to be filled out in October. Each college has their own “priority deadline” that they suggest for receiving maximum scholarships, loans, grants, and parent plus loans. Check your college list and review the deadlines. If you are an Idaho student, here is a great resource for you to check out. https://nextsteps.idaho.gov/fafsa-news/
• If your parents are divorced and remarried, the biological parent and your stepparent that resides with you will be expected to fill the forms out for a student identified as a “dependent.” Only one parent needs to sign the FAFSA with an electronic pin. Sign up for your pin here. https://fsaid.ed.gov/
• If your parents were not divorced in 2017, follow the prompts for downloading the appropriate tax forms for that year.
• The FAFSA needs to be filled out every year in order to receive your financial aid award. This includes scholarships as well as the opportunity to take out Federal Student Loans. You can find more on scholarships and how to earn them at https://thecoachingeducator.com/the-coaching-educator-blog/

For a step by step demonstration of how to fill out the FAFSA, go to our YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/thecoachingeducator/

You can find weekly tips and admissions advice. You can also watch, “How to fill out the FAFSA.”

Written by Rebecca M. Carroll, M.Ed.