Filling Out FAFSA

Filling out the FAFSA has become increasingly easy over the past couple of years. The first time I went through the process, it felt more daunting because it was a new experience. I was afraid that if I did something wrong, that error could jeopardize my college career. Now that I have filled out the form a couple times and have more practice doing so, the pressure has really lightened up. At this point, it’s just going through the motions every year. It is still a bit of a time commitment but being more confident about filling out the form is a massive time saver simply because I’m not double (or even triple) checking my work. I know what information I need and where it needs to go. Of course, in my senior year of high school I didn’t know how to navigate the application as well, but I really took advantage of my high school’s college advisor and of the Federal Student Aid Information Center. I was cautious of taking advice from friends and family and primarily took advise from the two resources I mentioned above.

Something I found incredibly helpful, in terms of the mental burden the application has on someone, was sharing the experience of filling out the form with my parents. My Latin parents have always been very careful with finances and still like to closely monitor my college career. It used to bother me, but now that I have had some time to be away from my parents (I’m across the country), I have grown to appreciate their interest in my life. Filling out the application form with my parents that first time was equally as helpful for me as it was for them. They developed a stronger understanding of the process and made lists of questions I wouldn’t have though to ask myself. Plus, there is the added bonus that they don’t bother me much about it anymore. Just by filling out the form together, and showing them that it wasn’t this monster of a process—that it was an attainable process—was a way of reassuring them. They can now relax back at home knowing that I’m taking care of business over here, and that they don’t have to worry about anything.