The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA is currently open for the 2017-18 school year. It became available on Oct. 1 whereas in past years FAFSA opened Jan. 1.
One other critical change to the FAFSA this year is students or parents have to use their 2015 tax information. This is the same tax year as filed for the FAFSA in the 2016-17 school year. It was changed to make the process less complicated because in past years, people had to estimate their taxes when they first filled out the FAFSA and then correct it after they filed their taxes, Office of Financial Aid training coordinator Chandra Owen said.
Owen stressed the importance of using taxes from 2015 because if any other taxes are used, then the applicant will be flagged for verification and the aid processes will be slowed down.
Owen said the main reason the FAFSA opened early was because of the high school students applying to colleges.
“Students typically would do it in February and get their award letters in March," Owen said. "New students have to decide on colleges by May 1, which is not a lot of time to decide. Now they can get award letters earlier so they can compare financial aid offers and have more time to make a decision.”
Even though the FAFSA was mainly opened for students applying to college, the change is still important to college students who are re-applying for aid. According to the MSU Office of Financial Aid website, students should complete the FAFSA as soon as possible each year. At MSU, aid is given on a first come, first serve basis. Although the FAFSA closes on March 1, it is best to not procrastinate and submit the FAFSA as soon as possible.
For students who need help to fill out the FAFSA, the Office of Financial Aid at MSU provides some tools. They offer walk-in appointments from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday in Student Services. Students can also call 517-353-5940.
“The biggest mistake we see is the wrong social security number and then it slows down the process." Owen said. "Another mistake is parents accidentally putting their income in the student’s section.”
The website for the Office of Financial Aid at MSU also has information including tips for completing the FAFSA, eligibility for using the FAFSA and how to determine whether to file as a dependent or independent. The website also provides the school code for MSU, which is 002290.
Another tool to help students and parents with filling out the FAFSA is the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. It transfers income information directly from the IRS to the FAFSA application, and this reduces the likelihood of having to provide verification later on, Owen said. If a student is flagged and has to verify their information, they have to fill out a verification form and submit tax information, which slows down the process.
According to the FAFSA website, there are three methods to filing a FAFSA: applying online — which the FAFSA website recommends — completing a PDF FAFSA and mailing it in or requesting a paper FAFSA by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID.
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