The FAFSA: an acronym that every student who has undergone the postsecondary educational process dreads from year to year.
Those five extremely daunting letters determine numerous factors of students’ education after high school, and the process of applying is known to be strenuous.
However, the process can be expeditious and quite simple as long as students have all the necessary resources on hand. The most important thing to keep in mind is that, while the Federal Student Aid office takes all students into consideration when distributing funds, the FAFSA works as a “first-come, first-serve” application for depleting funds, according to the Federal Student Aid site.
Although Pacific University’s deadline to complete the application is June 30, 2020, some states like Oregon ask that students complete the application as soon as possible in order to gain access to the amount of aid allowed to the state.
In other words, there’s a limited amount of funding up for grabs for the 2019-2020 filing period, which begins distribution as quickly as students begin to file. This year’s application opened online as of Oct. 1, so there’s no better time to file than right now.
Students will need their social security number, their parent’s social security number, their driver’s license number, federal tax information — which can typically be found on the IRS W-2 form — and information on untaxed income and banking accounts. If a student gathers all of the necessary documentation, the FAFSA takes approximately 55 minutes to complete and opens the door for countless scholarships, grants and other financial aid opportunities.
Additional filing tips and resources, as well as the application itself, can be found at studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa. Help can also be found on Pacific’s campus via the Financial Aid Office located on the second floor of Marsh Hall.
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