The U.S. Department of Education administers the Federal Pell Grant program. Pell Grants are based on need. The application for the Pell Grant requires financial information about the student and, if the student is considered dependent, his or her parents. The Pell Grant application is called the FAFSA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. There are four ways to obtain a FAFSA.
- A student may request that the U.S. Department of Education send the FAFSA. To do so, the student should call 1-800-4-FED-AID or write to Federal Student Aid Information Center, PO Box 84, Washington, D.C. 20044. The student should be certain to specify the award year she is requesting, i.e. 2006-2007.
- The financial aid office of all postsecondary schools should be able to supply the student with a FAFSA. Most schools will have stamped their FAFSAs with their specific school code. Also, most schools have financial aid advisors who can help the student fill out the application.
- High schools and local libraries often have FAFSAs as well. A high school student should contact her high school counselor to see what assistance she may be able to offer. Many libraries put the FAFSAs near the tax forms, but if they're not there, ask at the information desk.
- The recommended way to fill out a FAFSA, however, is online. The student should go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and follow the instructions. If the student is in a time crunch, the web route is definitely the way to go as online FAFSAs are processed much more quickly than the paper versions. It is possible to save an incomplete FAFSA and return to it later. This is especially useful when the student realizes he or she needs that information from the parent's 1040 tax form!
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Author: Matthew Falduto