Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Guest blogger Summer Collins – Financial Aid Advisor

Have you ever wondered what FAFSA stands for? Well it is the free application for federal student aid. That is how many of our students are able to receive assistance for school here. As many of us may know, financial aid is always changing. In the upcoming fiscal year there are several anticipated changes but, it is not subject to change until July 1, 2012. It varies from interest rates, new regulations, and the ability to benefit test. Also, tax season is over which leads to the new regulation for the 12-13 FAFSA. It requires students to complete the IRS Data Retrieval tool. If students have not done so they should as soon as possible. If students are not able to use this tool they must request an IRS tax transcript because we cannot have tax forms in a financial aid file. In addition to the 12-13 FAFSA subsidized loans are anticipated to change. The interest rate is going up to 6.8%. It is also anticipated that as of July 1, 2012 students who have taken the ability to benefit test will not be able to receive financial aid any longer. Students without high school diplomas will have to obtain a GED or high school diploma to get federal assistance. If you would like more information on financial aid grants and student loans I strongly recommend making a PIN number or FSA ID used for many financial aid purposes at www.pin.ed.gov. After you have completed making a PIN number and It has become active complete Entrance Counseling at www.studentloans.gov. This will give you a better understanding about student loans and grants.