Below you will find a suggested method to prepare and submit your Financial Aid. Submitting the online FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) can be accomplished in under one hour if you follow the guidelines below.

1. Apply for your Federal PIN ID at www.pin.ed.gov
   
   
   • If you are a dependent student, one of your parents will also need to sign your application. Your parent can sign electronically with a PIN too.

   Note: You will not receive your PIN on the same day that you apply for it.

2. Gather the documents you need to fill out the FAFSA efficiently.



3. Search College School Codes. The government uses six-digit codes to identify each college and university. You may enter 6 school codes on each online FAFSA application or 4 school codes on the paper FAFSA.



4. Be sure to check your State deadline for submitting your Financial Aid. If your student will be attending an out of state college, you should submit the FAFSA by the earliest State deadline.



5. Print and complete the FAFSA Worksheet. Filling out the worksheet will help you get organized and limit time needed to fill out FAFSA when the time comes.



6. Fill out and submit your FAFSA. One of the most critical steps in applying for federal and state financial aid programs is filing the FAFSA. This federal form uses a formula to determine a family's Expected Family Contribution (EFC), or the amount of money a family is expected to pay for college costs. Colleges use this information to determine what sources of aid the family qualifies for including grants, scholarships, work-study, and loan programs.



7. After filing the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR):
   
   
   • 5 days after submitting an online FAFSA and signing with PIN ID
   • 7-10 days after submitting a paper FAFSA and mailing signature page.

The SAR allows you to correct any mistakes, update any changes in financial circumstances or add new or additional colleges where you would like your information to be sent.

8. The EFC information from your FAFSA form will be sent to the financial aid office at the college(s) that you indicated on your FAFSA form. Each college then takes that amount and subtracts the EFC from their cost of education.

   Cost of Attendance COA
- Expected Family Contribution EFC
= Financial Need / Eligibility

That figure is your family's financial need for that particular college. Financial need will be different for each college you apply to because each college's cost of education is different.

9. Each college's financial aid office then determines what aid it has available to help meet your demonstrated financial need. They will put together a financial aid package or award letter for you. The aid may come in the form of federal or state grants, work study, private endowments or scholarships, federal student loans and so on.



10. Your financial aid package may or may not cover your total financial need. If financial need is not entirely met by what a college offers in their financial aid package, this unmet need is called a "gap." This means that resources must be found in order to meet the full cost of education. In many cases this will mean student and parent loans.



11. Once you've received your financial aid package and know what financial need has been met and what amount if any remains, you will have some decisions to make. First, you must decide if you want to accept the financial aid package as it is offered. Next, if you are planning to take out student loans, you will need to choose a student loan provider. Keep in mind, educational loan options can vary and not all lenders are the same. Consider using federal and private loans with The AAA Advantage.