Students often have lots of questions about “what happens next” with the financial aid process.
The general answer to all the questions is students who have submitted a FAFSA have now taken their first step to determine eligibility for financial aid.
There are many specific things that happen now that a FAFSA has been submitted, including the following:
- The FAFSA processor does the initial processing of the information, running the information through the federal formula and calculating the SAI (Student Aid Index). Processing of the FAFSA usually takes a few days to a week or so.
- After processing is done, the student receives a FAFSA Summary in their StudentAid.gov account. (Generally, the student is notified via email that the FAFSA Submission Summary is available.)
- At the same time that students receive the FAFSA Submission Summary, the college(s) the student listed on the FAFSA receive the information provided on the FAFSA.
- The college financial aid office will review the FAFSA information and request any follow-up documents or information that may be needed. (Don’t be alarmed if your FAFSA is selected for verification. It doesn’t mean you did anything wrong; it just means the school needs to make sure you reported information correctly.)
- The college financial aid office will next put together a financial aid package, within the guidelines of the various financial aid programs, and then generate a financial aid offer.
Make sure you know how the school will provide the financial aid offer to you. Some schools may send it to you as a paper mailing. Other schools may require you to log into a student portal and access the information that way.
Some tips to keep in mind:
- Make sure you understand the types of aid being offered to you. Grants and scholarships typically don’t have to be repaid. Student loans do have to be repaid. Some advice – borrow conservatively!
- Many times, your financial aid offer will have a “return by” or “respond by” date. If you miss that date, it doesn’t mean your awards are revoked. Just make sure you respond as soon as possible.
- If you decide not to attend a particular college, make sure to let the college know your change of plans. It’s common courtesy!
- If you receive some scholarships or awards from outside sources, make sure to notify the financial aid office, even if the funds are given to you directly. Those awards need to be included as a resource in your financial aid package. The financial aid office will make any adjustments needed.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions! It will make for a smoother college experience.
