For many families, it is time to apply for financial aid for college...many institutions maintain financial aid deadlines for Early Action/Early Decision/Restrictive Early Action applicants as early as November 1st.
Below is a very basic set of steps for applying for financial aid below that contains links to the most important websites. This list was emailed to parents & students of senior families by Mr. Makris this week. Always consult the financial aid pages of the colleges to which you'll apply for more details.
BASIC STEPS AND LINKS TO APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID
- STEP 1:Gather important documents (Federal Tax Return form 1040, W2s, bank statements, etc), student and parent social security numbers, and alien registration # (if applicable)
- STEP 2:Get your FSA IDs (one for a parent, one for the student) at ed.gov
- STEP 3:Complete the 2019-2020 FAFSA at gov and make sure to complete IRS Data Retrieval within, if eligible
- STEP 4:Apply for New York State’s TAP by following on screen prompts upon FAFSA completion or visiting hesc.ny.gov
- STEP 5:Complete the College Board’s 2019-2020 CSS Profile (if applicable) at collegeboard.org
- STEP 6:Review (and correct, if needed) FAFSA Student Aid Report with Expected Family Contribution
- STEP 7:If applicable, complete any required institutional financial aid forms
- STEP 8:Send tax information to private colleges via IDOC (if requested)
- STEP 9: Once you know where you are going to college, log in to your account at hesc.ny.gov and make sure that your TAP application reflects the school that you will attend in the fall (NY State only)
