New FAFSA Application Window Opens

Parents and students need to work together to apply for financial aid, with the new FAFSA form now available.

Upperman High School Counselor Lindsey VanWinkle said anyone new to the FAFSA system will have to create an FSA ID and wait ten days before they can start filling out an application. VanWinkle said students have to fill out their portion of the form and invite their parents to complete the other half through the website.

“Parents need to make sure that they have access to their 2023 tax returns, proof of untaxable income, checking, savings account balances if applicable,” VanWinkle said. “That’s for both the student and the parent so whenever you get into that process of completing those applications, if you have any of those things, if it’s applicable to your family, those would need to be with you.”

VanWinkle said it is important to complete the FAFSA because it serves as an “umbrella form” that must be filled out before students can be eligible for a wide variety of federal, state, and school-specific financial assistance. VanWinkle said there are lots of resources such as school counselors, the FAFSA help line, and in-person events that parents can use to get help with the process.

“It already is a very scary process as a parent or as a student to know that you have to complete all of these applications” VanWinkle said. “But knowing that you’re completing this one application and knowing that is kind of your umbrella for most of your funding, if not all of your funding that you’re going to receive to go to a post-secondary institution. Keeping that as simple as you can and knowing when to reach out to people to help you with that is a huge thing.”

VanWinkle said the FSA ID is an easier application system for parents with multiple children going through college at different times. VanWinkle said students and parents have to reuse their IDs to reapply for the FAFSA each year that a student is in college.

“It allows better identification for students to where that they know that this is my process rather than me using just my social security number or just me using an email address or something like that,” VanWinkle said. “It’s more of a secure way to keep their funding for them.”