FAFSA – Making a Requirement for Financial Aid Manageable

By Becky Gunn, LWT Financial Aid Administrator

FAFSA…those five letters are so intimidating! Unfortunately, many people freeze at the mere mention of the FAFSA, but you don’t have to as long as you have some basic information in front you to help you fill in the correct answers. Honestly, the hardest part about filling out the FAFSA is creating your FSA ID login and password…and then remembering said login and password! Here are a few tips and tricks to help make filling out the FAFSA easier for you and your parent/child.

  1. Create your FSA ID Login and Password before you start your FAFSA

While not required by the Department of Education (DOE), start by creating your FSA ID login and password – this will pay off down the road. If you are a dependent student, your Parent should also create an FSA ID.

  1. Use the IRS Direct Retrieval Tool (DRT) – If you and/or your parent(s) are eligible to use it,

the IRS DRT will import all your tax information into the FAFSA for you! To use the DRT properly, you will have to know: your “Filing Status” on your taxes (i.e. Single, Married Filing Jointly, etc.); the type of Tax Form you used to file your taxes (i.e. 1040, 1040-EZ, etc.); and the address that you used to file your taxes for the particular year being retrieved. The tax/income information you will need will always be two years prior. (e.g.2019-2020 FAFSA is asking for 2017 tax/income information). If you don’t use the DRT, there are more steps for you to take, so make things simple and use it.

  1. SIGN YOUR FAFSA, SIGN YOUR FAFSA, SIGN YOUR FAFSA

So many student’s FAFSAs are rejected due to the students themselves and/or their parent(s) not signing the FAFSA at the end.

  1. Don’t Procrastinate. The DOE will randomly choose people for “Verification”, which involves an extra step where students (and their parent(s) if they are a dependent student), will have to fill out extra paperwork to prove their tax information is correct, along with a few other items. So, take the time, make sure all information is correct when doing the FAFSA the first time. This way if you are chosen for verification the process won’t take very long! You don’t want to jeopardize your enrollment at your desired school because you waited too long.

I hope this has helped…happy FAFSA filling out!

If you are interested in enrolling at Lynnes Welding Training, contact me and I get can help get you started on your FAFSA journey!

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