October 1st has arrive and it’s time to start completing your FAFSA! To make sure you’re prepared, we’ve provided a checklist of important documents (from you and your parents) needed to complete your FAFSA. Take some time during your holiday break to gather these documents:
- FSA ID (learn more about that here)
- Social Security Card (if you have one)
- Driver’s License (if you have one)
- Alien registration card (for non-US citizens)
- Your 2015 W2 forms and parents’ 2015 W2 forms
- Your 2015 Federal Tax Return and your parents’s 2015 Federal Tax Return
- Other records of money earned by you and/or your parents (investments, bank statements, untaxed income)
A few reminders:
- If you or your parents have not completed and received your 2015 Federal Tax Return, no worries! You can still complete your FAFSA with the information from your W2 forms. Once you have received your 2015 Federal Tax Return, be sure to edit your FAFSA to update information.
- A lot of this information may be foreign to you and that’s okay. Talk to your parents/guardians to help you gather this information.
- If you and your parents/guardians need more information on what documents are needed to complete FAFSA, do not hesitate to connect with your school counselor. Also, the Internet can be a great help. Federal Student Aid is an amazing site created by the US Department of Education that has all of the financial aid information you’ll need.
We know this is a lot to gather. But try not to freak out. You can do this!