The FAFSA

It is that time of year again. This is almost the same as filing for your taxes. I think filling out the FAFSA is like a prelude to what is going to come when you file out your taxes. The process does not have to take long but you know that you have to accurately fill in all of the information correctly. I am not looking forward to filling it out. This is the third time I have had to fill it out in my scholastic career and it does not get any less boring and tedious.
I don't think I realized how much information I had to input to receive financial aid until I heard stories about the FAFSA from upperclass high schools students my sophomore year. I was thinking in my head- "Can this application as bad as people say it is?" I found out the hard way that it was. I remember when I first had to fill out all of the information. My parents and I had to compile all of this information that they never would have took out otherwise. Since my parents were not computer savvy, I had to input all of the information. Some of the information seemed to be talking to me in a foreign language- I had to consult with Cleveland Scholarship Program representatives to help me so I would not mess up my first time. It was a crazy progress with the deadline and everything.
When I finally submitted the FAFSA, I thought that the SAR was going to be much higher. I was happy because this meant that I was going to be considered for scholarships and loans instead of having to pay out of pocket (which was not going to happen in big amounts of money). I did not work at the time and I was depending solely on my parents. I was fortunate to get the scholarships I did- I had about four at the time granted to me. I knew that the information I had put was legitimate and I did not have to worry about it for the next year.
Now I got one of those flyers in the mail from Ohio Wesleyan, telling me that I have to do the FAFSA before March 1. That was kind of a bummer considering I got in on New Year's Eve. My financial aid situation is something I have to constantly worry about (like most students who attend or will attend Ohio Wesleyan). $40,000 a year is NO JOKE. Filing the FAFSA correctly and on time is key if you want to get all of the money you can muster out of the government and state resources. I do not want to lose the scholarships I have earned nor do I want to lose the grants or the loans for next year. People who are viewing this blog, do you know what I am going to do after I finish writing today? I am going to visit the FAFSA site and start working of the portions that I can today. Then, I am going to wait until the paperwork comes back from my employer and have that sent to me so I can have an accurate account of what I am putting down on-line so I can get my results back with accuracy in my SAR.
I highly stress that if you are a parent or a student looking to attend college, especially a school like Ohio Wesleyan, that you go the FAFSA early just so you have the information and the language of the FAFSA down. Do not submit it but save the information for a later date. This is what I had to do upon learning the process. Then, try to retrieve the required information for the FAFSA to get the most accurate information so both the parent and the student know that they are not getting screwed out of their SAR. You can always go back and adjust the information if there are any changes but the sooner you get the information in, the better chances you will be able to see that financial aid and the quicker you can make a decision as to where you want to go to college. The FAFSA is boring and tedious but it is very important for acquiring financial aid. I have become a veteran of this so I thought that this is the time to tell you about the FAFSA and its process.