Net Gains: Get Money for College -- Now!
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Jan. 9, 2008 — -- If you're the parent of a high school senior headed to college in September, it's time to get to work.
You need to get cracking on those financial aid forms you've been dreading. And that means you also need to begin work on your federal tax return.
A weekend afternoon spent watching playoff football sounds more appealing, but the hours spent preparing financial aid forms can be one of the better investments you make. The simple fact is the earlier you file the key forms, the better your chances of securing help to cover college costs.
Don't despair if you haven't started. It's still early. The financial aid filing season only began nine days ago. You could not file the key financial aid form — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA — before Jan. 1.
"This is absolutely the time to begin complete the FAFSA," said Timothy M. Hayes, a Pittsford, N.Y., financial planner who specializes in college planning.
The absolute deadline for filing the FAFSA varies by state. Many require it to be filed by March 1 for students to qualify for state aid, but some require it to be filed even earlier. Connecticut, for instance, requires the form be filed by Feb. 15. The financial aid Web site FidAid.org says ideally that is that date by which all families should try to file the FAFSA.
There are three basic steps to the financial aid application process.
First, you must complete a rough draft of your 2007 federal tax return. The second step in the financial aid process is preparation of the FAFSA form. The third one is to file any forms required by individual schools. Quite often, this means filing the CSS Profile published by the College Board.
It may seem too early to begin work on your tax return, but you will need to prepare at least a preliminary version to get started on the FAFSA. Much of the information needed for the form is drawn from your tax return. Given that many tax forms such as W-2s have yet to arrive, you should start work using information from paycheck stubs, account statements and other year-end financial documents. If necessary, you can update the FAFSA after you finalize your tax return.
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