What Applications Do We Complete to Apply for Financial Aid?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA is the financial aid application form to complete in order to be considered for virtually any type of assistance, including need-based grants, educational loans or work-study programs. The FAFSA is first sent to a federal processor which enters your information into a federal database (called the Central Processing System or CPS). Your college's financial aid administrators will then be able to retrieve or download your FAFSA application information electronically through a government software program designed for colleges called EDExpress, required by the U.S. Department of Education of all schools who participate in the federal aid programs.
A colored Student Aid Report (SAR) Acknowledgement will be sent to the applicant by the Federal Student Aid Programs within two weeks after the FAFSA is submitted. The FAFSA consists of 8 pages with 146 items, including 3 worksheets with 45 items, a supplemental form, and a postcard. It takes most families at least one to two hours to complete the FAFSA.
The FAFSA-by-Phone is the fastest and easiest way to apply using FAFSA.com's experts. Or you may complete the FAFSA yourself at no charge through the electronic version of the application, called the FAFSA on the Web. However, you must navigate between 43 and 54 screens and depending on your Internet access speed, it may take between one and two hours to complete the online FAFSA version. The FAFSA on the Web program requires a compatible web browser and one must have a printer configured or PIN numbers (for student and one parent, if dependent). FAFSA.com's experts electronically complete the FAFSA for you without the hassle and frustration. This is only one of the many reasons to subscribe to FAFSA.com.
College Financial Aid Application or Form - In addition to the FAFSA, which is required by all colleges, some schools also require the completion of an additional institutional financial aid application or form. And some private colleges require the PROFILE financial aid application administered by the College Scholarship Service (CSS). Check with an experienced financial aid administrator at your college to determine if they require any other financial aid applications in addition to the FAFSA. Some colleges also require an institutional financial aid application or form.

Federal Stafford Loan or Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) Applications - For most students who receive a financial aid award from their college, part of their aid package will include either the subsidized or unsubsidized Federal Stafford/Direct Loan. Your school's financial aid administrators will normally mail you a financial aid award letter or notification after correctly submitting a FAFSA application. Within your award letter will normally be more details about the school's loan processing procedures.
If your school participates in the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDSLP), you will not need to select a private lender as the school receives the funds directly from the U.S. Treasury and Department of Education, similar to other federal aid they administer (i.e., Perkins Loans, Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Work-Study, etc.). If your school participates in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), you will need to select a bank or other lender that participates in the Stafford Loan program.
Most schools now utilize electronic loan processing software while other schools still require the completion of the paper Federal Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note. Contact your school's financial aid administrator or lender for more details about their loan processing procedures.
The CSS PROFILE Financial Aid Application - Some private or independent colleges also require students and parents complete the PROFILE Financial Aid Application administered by the College Scholarship Service (CSS) in order to be considered for need-based financial aid controlled or sponsored by the school (non-federal or state aid).
If you are interested in applying for federal aid programs only, including the student (Stafford) or parent (PLUS) loans, you are not required to complete the PROFILE. For example, if you know you are certain you will not qualify for a school's own need-based grants, you do not need to complete the PROFILE. Generally, the PROFILE is used as a tool by private college financial aid administrators to ration their limited institutional grant and scholarship aid to the neediest families, using CSS' Institutional Methodology (IM) need analysis procedures. In past years, the expected family contribution has been approximately $2,000 higher using IM (compared to the Federal Methodology or FM tables in PDF - requires Adobe's Acrobat Reader) because of the use of a parent's home equity and assessing a minimum expected student contribution (regardless of whether the student worked last year).
CSS charges a $5.00 fee to register for the PROFILE and $18.00 for each college that requires its completion. After completion, CSS forwards a copy of your PROFILE application and need analysis results to the appropriate college(s).
Some schools that require the PROFILE also ask appropriate parents to also complete a Noncustodial Parent's Statement and/or a Business/Farm Supplement (both in PDF).

When Do We Apply For Financial Aid?
Generally speaking, it is best to apply for financial aid by completing the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1st each year. Most schools publish financial aid deadline or preferred filing dates. That means they award their limited need-based funds first to those students who meet their deadline dates. And many schools award their funds on a first-come, first-served basis. However, even if you miss your school's or state grant agency's deadline date, you may still receive some form of financial aid, including the Federal Stafford/Direct Loan program and, if you demonstrate financial need, the Federal Pell Grant.
Although most families do not complete their IRS income tax forms until March or April, it is to your advantage to complete the FAFSA early and use estimated income information.
Some states offer grant programs to students who demonstrate financial need and/or who have a high grade point average. These state agencies normally require the FAFSA and may require a supplemental application or form, such as the GPA Verification Form required by March 2 by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) in order to be considered for their Cal Grant programs. Other states such as New York (for their Tuition Assistance Program or TAP and Florida) have similar supplemental applications and deadline dates. Check with your state agency or college financial aid administrator regarding application procedures and deadline dates.
Your school's financial aid administrators also need time to complete their processing and review of your application, mail you a financial aid award letter, and process your student and/or parent loan, if interested. Most families want their financial aid available when classes begin in the fall so it is always a good idea to apply as soon as possible after January 1st each year. The financial aid process is often slow and bureaucratic at many colleges and universities. Your FAFSA will first go to the federal processor before your college(s) receive the information. Some financial aid offices are understaffed and have limited resources so it may take them weeks or months to process your FAFSA and make their award.
If you are applying to a private or independent college, check with their financial aid office to determine if they also require the PROFILE Financial Aid Application administered by the College Scholarship Service (CSS). If so, you must complete the PROFILE in addition to the FAFSA. All schools require the FAFSA but only a selected number of schools also require the PROFILE. The PROFILE can be completed as early as September 15th each year.

Dependent or Independent?
Some families may have heard that the way to "beat the system" is for their student to claim their independence. However, federal regulations were changed during the 1992 Higher Education Amendments and now the definition of independence for financial aid purposes is much more restrictive. To be considered an independent student, the student must meet one of the following criteria:
be 24 years of age (born before 1/1/81 for the 2004-05 school year or 1/1/81 for the 2004-05 school year or 1/1/82 for the 2005-06 year), or
be married before filing a FAFSA application, or
have a dependent that his or her lives with and supports at least 50 percent of the time, or
be an eligible veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, or
be enrolled in a graduate or professional program, or
is or was an orphan (parents deceased) or ward of the court, or
have very special family circumstances which must be documented and approved by your school's financial aid administrator (called a "dependency override").
It does not matter if the parents claim the student as a tax exemption or whether the student lives at home. If you do not meet one of the above criteria, the student will be considered dependent for financial aid purposes and the parents demographic and financial information must be included or the FAFSA will be rejected. It normally makes sense for parents to claim their student as a tax exemption to reduce their tax liability (for 2004, the standard deduction is $9,700 for married couples filing jointly) with the IRS. Contact your tax accountant or financial advisor for more information.
Being independent does not necessarily mean the student will not receive financial aid. Regardless of the parent's income, an eligible student who enrolls at least half-time should still be eligible for at least an unsubsidized Stafford Loan. However, the custodial parent(s) income and asset information must be included on the FAFSA (along with the student's financial information) and will be included in determining your expected family contribution (EFC) which is used to determine your financial need and aid eligibility by your college financial aid administrator.