Getting Started

If an applicant uses the Web, it’s recommended that he or she review the Before Beginning a FAFSA section of FAFSA on the Web. In addition, the applicant should refer to the Special Announcments found in the left column of the web site. If the paper FAFSA is completed, instructions and worksheets are included in the form booklet. Applicants should complete the FAFSA (electronic or paper version) as soon after January 1st as possible, but no earlier than January 1, 2008.

Before completing the FAFSA on the Web, the applicant should download and complete the 2008-09 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet. The Worksheet allows the applicant to read and complete the questions before entering information online. The questions are listed in the same order as they appear on the Web site.

For the quickest results, encourage students to apply online. Students and parents can apply for a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from within the FAFSA on the Web site. A PIN is issued by the U.S. Department of Education and can be obtained anytime prior to the completion of the FAFSA. The PIN serves as an electronic signature to be used on the FAFSA. Click here, to learn about and apply for a PIN.

If the applicant does not sign the on-line application electronically with a PIN, the applicant and their parents, if applicable, will need to print out, sign and mail in a signature page with the proper signatures included within seven days. Applications that are missing an electronic signature will be held 14 days before a rejected Student Aid Report (SAR) is sent to the applicant for the appropriate signatures. Not submitting a signature page will increase the time it takes to:

• Process the FAFSA application; and
• Transmit the application data to the schools listed on the FAFSA.

The following records should be available to help the applicant and parent(s), if applicable, answer questions on the FAFSA:

• Social Security card;
• Driver’s license;
• Alien Registration Receipt Card (if applicable);
• W-2 Forms and other records of money earned;
• Income tax return or estimated figures (student and spouse, if applicable, and parents of dependent student);
• Records of untaxed income including Social Security, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, welfare, and veterans benefits;
• Records of child support paid;
• Records of taxable earnings from Federal Work-Study or other need-based work programs;
• Records of student grant, scholarship, and fellowship aid, including AmeriCorps awards, that was included in the applicant’s, or parent’s, Adjusted Gross Income;
• Stock, bond, and other investment records;
• Business and farm records; and
• Current bank statements.