To apply for financial aid before or after you receive the acceptance letter from your desired college entirely depends on you. Kindly note that you will not receive any money until you have enrolled at a college. So, you can decide for yourself based on the college you wish to go to and the current financial standing of your family.
Types of Financial Aid
The initial aspect you need to know is that there are basically two types of financial aid that are available; Private loans or the Federal Government’s Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA) program. Private Loans can be obtained from community organizations, large corporations, or the college that you choose for yourself. But for private loans, you will have to wait until you decide on the college you want to go to make an informed decision.
Kindly note that financial aid can be needed or merit-based. If you wish to apply under the FAFSA program, then you need to know that it is a need-based program. You need to submit your form for the same before the deadline. The deadline for Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA) is different in different states. Based on the information you provide here your eligibility for financial aid is determined.
Details to be filled in FAFSA
If you are filling out your FAFSA application form online then you need to provide the following:-
First, you will need to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID which will comprise a username and password
Your FAFSA form must include the following details:-
Your Social Security numberList of colleges you want to study inRecords of any untaxed income or other assetsTax records for the year that are requested by the authorities.
Do note that some colleges require students to complete a CSS profile as it gives them thorough information about their finances and can also be used for determining their eligibility for nonfederal aid too.
Do You Apply For Financial Aid Before or After Acceptance?
You can apply for FAFSA even before getting enrolled in your dream college or after getting enrolled the decision is completely up to you. It’s a personal choice that you have to make.
But if you do not want to miss out on any ‘First come, first-served basis then you should apply right away. The thing that is to be kept in mind is that you will not receive the money even if you have applied under FAFSA but have not enrolled in any college yet.
Note: You will only receive the aid once you enroll in college.
What if the college rejects an application or makes a poor offer?
If your application for financial aid is rejected by the college or they offer lower funds than your expectations then you can send a financial aid appeal letter to the college. By doing so, the college will reconsider your application.
Crucial Deadlines
The deadlines of Federal, state, and institutions should be kept in mind when applying for financial aid.
We have listed below these deadlines for you:-
Federal – For the academic year of 2021-22, the FAFSA deadline is 30th June 2022, 11:59 pm. Corrections in the form can be submitted by September 10th, 2022, at 11:59 pm, CSTState – Each state has a specific deadline for applying for financial aid. However, most states suggest that you apply as soon as possible after 1st October. Institutional – Colleges and Universities have specific deadlines so to get information about that you will have to contact the college’s financial assistance office.
What if you miss the deadlines?
Sometimes, things just go out of our minds especially when you have several things on your plate and are under stress. We suggest that even if you miss the deadline you should still apply and then hope for the best.
The benefit of doing so is that even if you don’t receive the full financial aid you still can get finances that remain with the FAFSA after they provide the finances to the students who applied before the deadline. Or you would not receive any aid.
Anyways, it’s just luck by chance if you are applying after the deadline but why should you miss taking a chance? Haven’t you heard ‘You miss 100% of the chances you do not take’
Conclusion
While this might seem like a big question for you right now, trust us it’s not. If you see all the options clearly, discrete its pros and cons then you will be able to make an informed decision, and as we have done that all for you in this article now it becomes easy for you to form a decision because now you have all the information with you.
