The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to calculate the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC), what you and/or your family could contribute to your education. The school uses this number to determine the amount of federal aid you qualify for. Federal aid includes grants and loans, as well as work study.
***You will need a PIN to complete the FAFSA. Before filing, go to http://www.pin.ed.gov/ to create your PIN. It will take a few days for the PIN to be linked with your social security information, so be sure to sign up for one early.***
The FAFSA becomes available January 1st of every year. For example, the 2012-13 FAFSA, which covers Summer Quarter 2012 through Spring Quarter 2013, was posted January 1, 2012.
Use http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ to complete the FAFSA. The first F in FAFSA stands for free. There are a lot of sites out there that will charge you to complete the form; do not use those sites. The FAFSA site guides you through each step. If you would like someone to help you complete the form, there are FAFSA workshops available every other Thursday from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. in W403. The next dates are March 8th and March 22nd. If you are a TRiO student, you can schedule an appointment to complete the FAFSA with a TRiO advisor. Call 425.739.8249 or email tien.do@lwtech.edu.
Complete the FAFSA as close to January 1st as possible. In order to qualify for as much federal financial aid as possible for you, complete the FAFSA asap. Also, work study offers are first-come, first-served and based on the date you filed the FAFSA. In order to file early, you will use estimates of your income based on your taxes from the prior year. For example, to file early for the 2012-13 FAFSA, use your taxes from 2010. Please note: Once your current taxes are filed, you will need to go back to the FAFSA and update it with the new tax information (so for the 2012-13 FAFSA, you will update when you 2011 taxes are filed).
The FAFSA is based on your/your parents' previous year's taxes. For example, the 2012-13 FAFSA uses your 2011 tax information. When your taxes have been filed and processed by the IRS, you can link your FAFSA to the information and it will be automatically loaded. Students 24-years-old or younger must file using their parents' tax information.
If you have any questions about the FAFSA, post them here as Comments or attend one of the FAFSA workshops (information above).
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