| Fall marks the beginning of school, a change of seasons, and most important for families with college bound students – FAFSA time. The FAFSA (known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the financial aid form that students must complete to become eligible for any federal college financial aid programs, including federal student loans and work study. Many states used it to distribute state-based financial aid. The majority of colleges require it for any institutional awards as well.
The FAFSA is available to be filled out starting October 1st of each year. For some, filling out the FAFSA is quick and easy, but depending on your financial situation and level of comfort, the FAFSA make cause you angst.
This year we’ve partnered with Luanne Lee, a college funding specialist, with over 10 years of experience working with families to help them figure out how to pay for college. We are offering a two-part webinar on Everything You Need To Know About The FAFSA. The webinars will be Sundays, September 17th and October 8th, both at 8:30pm EST. REGISTER NOW.
In the webinars we’ll review everything you need to know to fill out the FAFSA, as well as understanding how EFC is calculated – and we’ll answer personal questions too!
Here’s a sampling of some of the topics we’ll be reviewing and more….
1) Which assets should you include on FAFSA and which should you not?
2) What’s EFC and how does the information on the FAFSA impact what your EFC will be?
3) If I’m divorced, who’s information needs to be reported?
4) Do you know how to make sure your student is eligible for work-study?
5) Does everyone need to fill out the FAFSA?
6) Have you used the correct name? (I’m serious about this. You wouldn’t believe how many people have issues with their FAFSA because they entered an incorrect name on the application.)
7) Do I still have time to move assets around before filling?
8) My student’s grandparents have a 529 for him, do I need to report that?
9) What do I need if I’m asked to verifiy my FAFSA?
10) Is the IRS Data Retrieval Tool safe to use and what new precautions have been put in place?
Why is there a fee for the webinar?
I’m sure some of you are thinking why are we charging for this webinar when the FAFSA is free to file and there are free resources. The price of this webinar series is extremely reasonable ($9.99 – the same cost of a sub/hoagie and a drink). For those that want to do it themselves, we have a list of free resources for you to use (see below).
If you’re a member of our Paying For College 101 group, this topic has come up before and many have responded that tax returns are free to file too, but sometimes people need help or they want help. If you have a very simple family situation with no complications, you probably don’t need this webinar and you can do it all yourself. If you want to be more educated on all the topics mentioned above (and more) and you want information from a vetted professional who charges an hourly rate of $150+, then this is a good deal. |
I’d like to share an opportunity from my friends at CollegeMoneySearch.com. They are holding a two-part FAFSA webinar to educate parents on everything they need to know about FAFSA. Full details are below:
2 Comments
Brittany Kenny · September 28, 2017 at 2:31 pm
We would like to register for the Webinar, but we missed the first one. Is there a place on the web to find some information or at least question asked in the first session?
Wendy Nelson · September 29, 2017 at 8:05 pm
Hi Brittany,
Great question! In talking to Debbie, I do know she is planning to publish a recorded version and you can sign up for the second webinar separately too. A great place to go is Debbie & Michelle’s Paying for College 101 Facebook group.
Wendy
Comments are closed.