With spring semester quickly coming to an end, it’s students’ last chance to apply for financial aid for the 2023-24 academic year. The deadline students must submit the form in Florida is May 15, 2023.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, is a form used by college students to apply for financial aid towards their undergraduate or graduate school degree. 

The FAFSA is administered by the U.S. Department of Education and is used to determine a student’s eligibility for various forms of federal financial aid, including grants, loans, credits, and work-study programs. The FAFSA is typically required by colleges and universities in order for students to be considered for need-based financial aid.

The FAFSA application asks for information about the student’s and their family’s finances, such as yearly payments, income and taxes. This information is used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is the amount the student and their family are predicted to make and invest towards education.

For the purposes of applying for federal student aid, the FAFSA form asks a series of questions to verify whether you are a dependent or independent student. If you are a dependent student, you must provide information about both your parents and yourself on your application. FAFSA is run by the federal government and linked to the IRS, so personal information is not disclosed or ever put at risk.

It is best to be prepared by gathering documents you need in order to apply, and have access to paperwork showing your untaxed income, social security number, investments and driver’s license information. 

It is important to submit the FAFSA as early as possible in order to increase your chances of receiving financial aid for the upcoming academic year.

After you submit the FAFSA, log on to fasfa.gov and check your status. The application takes three to five days to fully process and is then sent out for evaluation. 

You will find out how much aid you are eligible for receiving through an online or mailed in award letter. Then you will be capable of accepting or declining your offers. Once you make that decision, the accepted aid will be transferred to your university’s financial aid office and processed for the upcoming academic year.

Resources for the FAFSA process can be accessed online.