FAFSA or the free application for federal student aid is a form that has to be filled by students new or existing every year to get access to the various grants offered by the United States government for financial aid to students to pursue their higher studies. This includes scholarships such as pell grants, Stafford loans, PLUS loans.
Eligibilities for FAFSA
- The applicant student should be a US citizen, a US national or a permanent resident.
- The family income of the applicant should be less than $20000.
- The applicant must have a valid social security number.
- There should not be any default of student loans.
- The applicant should have a high school diploma or GED for adult students as well as an ability-to- benefit test.
- The applicant should not be found guilty for sale or possession of drugs or illegal materials at the time of grant.
Benefits
- The benefit of FAFSA is simple as 1, 2, and 3. Students who cannot afford higher education can apply and achieve their dreams.
- One of the main benefits of FAFSA is that it doesn’t discriminate amongst the students on the grounds of caste, color, disability, race etc. This means equal opportunity for everyone and not just for US students.
- Almost everyone in need with proper documentation and eligibilities will get it. But there us no sure shot plan for it, you need some help from lady luck as well as the resources are limited.
- FAFSA forms covers many kinds of grants, hence no different form fillings, no hustle bustle and you don’t need to remember many deadlines, but only one i.e. January 1st usually.
- In most of the cases grants do not have to be repaid, except for Stafford loans wherein subsidized Stafford loans government pays the interest and in unsubsidized Stafford loans applicant has to pay the interest.
But one should also remain cautious as the FAFSA forms need to be filled every year even if one has acquired grants before as they cannot be updated automatically every year.
Summing up the FAFSA factor, one can say that FAFSA is a lucky draw, which is a limited to just some applicant!
