I not only want you to be aware of cost saving measures as you being the financial aid application, I want you to be aware that time is money when it comes to college financial aid. What this means is that applying and responding to communication promptly and accurately will increase your consideration for the best possible aid package. In short, the early birds get the worms. In that light, I suggest the following process as you approach the FAFSA application:

1. Do not pay anyone to apply for you. The fafsa is a FREE application. It is designed to be completed by parents and students without a third party. Free help is always available from on the FAFSA website. If you doubt that there are plenty of people out there ready to take your money to complete a free application for you, simply put the word FAFSA in your favorite search engine and see what hits you get.

2. Apply for a PIN. Your PIN is an electronic access code number that serves as your personal identifier. With your PIN you can

• Apply for aid using FAFSA on the Web
• Sign your application electronically - a completely paperless process
• Make online corrections to your application
• Access your Student Aid Report, which is essentially the summary of all the data you entered on the FAFSA
• Electronically sign your Master Promissory Note for your federal student loans
• Your parent’s PIN will enable them to complete your FAFSA application with an electronic signature
• Access your entire financial aid history online including your student loan borrowing history

Applying for your and your parent’s PIN before you actually begin your application will ensure that you will both have your Department of Education PINs by the time you are ready to sign and submit your completed FAFSA. You can get a PIN other ways, also. If you apply with a paper FAFSA you will be mailed a PIN or emailed a secure link to your PIN if you provide an email address. Paper FAFSAs are signed on paper with a wet signature. FAFSA on the Web applications can be signed either with a PIN or with a wet signature on a printed signature page.

3. Gather your Documents - You will need to know, have access to or have in your hands the following data:

Your and your parents’ social security numbers, if they have them - The applicant is required to have a Social Security number. Your parent (if you are dependent) does not need to have one, but if he or she has one he or she needs to provide it. If your parent does not have a Social Security number, please enter 000-00-0000 in the field, other wise the application will not be valid. If your parents are divorced or separated, provide the Social Security number of the parent with whom you reside most of the year, or who provides more than 50% of your support. If your parent is remarried, step-parent information is required on the FAFSA. Non-married partners, domestic partners and fiances do not provide information on the FAFSA.

• Your Driver’s License
• Most recent tax year’s W-2 forms and other records of money earned during the previous calendar year by you and your parent(s) (If you are dependent)
• Your and your spouse’s (if you’re married) most recent tax year’s IRS 1040 form if you filed
• Your parent(s) most recent tax year’s IRS form 1040, if you are dependent
• All untaxed income records for you and your spouse or parent if you are dependent
• Most recent bank statements
• Most recent investment value information
• Your alien registration number or permanent resident card if you are not a U.S. citizen

None of the above mentioned documents should be mailed with your FAFSA or otherwise sent to FAFSA. At a later date, your institution may request certain documents.

Therefore it is wise to keep them in a file for later retrieval. Other information you’ll need on hand to complete the FAFSA is basic demographic data. You’ll need your complete legal name, address, email address, birth date, etc. Although these may seem like simple questions to which you have the answers on the tip of your tongue, remember that a simple transposed number can (and frequently does) render an application invalid and getting federal student loans won’t happen. Carefully enter the most mundane information, paying extra attention to your date of birth, social security number and legal name. Remember, it takes time to correct a FAFSA. You want time to be working for you, not against you in this process.

Tags: department of education pin | department of education pin | federal student loans | student aid report | student aid report | fafsa application | fafsa application | student loan | student loan | students | fafsa

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