Application for Student Loan Through FAFSA: Deadline, Eligibility, Application Process 

If you are planning to apply for a federal student loan made by the U.S. Department of Education, then you must get to know about FAFSA. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is the official form to apply for financial aid, which is also used by many universities, and state governments to come to their decision. With FAFSA, information is collected based on the application which further helps determine which applicants will receive financial aid in the form of FAFSA student loans, grants, and scholarships. Interested to know more about this? Continue reading! 

Going Through the Key Points of Federal Student Loan Application

Before we really delve into the topic, let’s look at some of the key points of FAFSA or federal student loan application which shall help establish an understanding from the start. 

1. FAFSA is a tool which is used by the federal government to check and determine the eligibility of the family for grants or FAFSA student loans that shall help the student pay for college. 
2. Moreover, even private scholarship programs, along with private or public colleges and universities use FAFSA to determine their decisions. FAFSA scholarships are very beneficial for students studying in the USA.
3. It is important to note that the funding is made usually on a first-come-first-basis. 
4. The application window for FAFSA is open for 19 months from October of the previous year to June of the academic year. 
5. The deadlines can work differently for FAFSA federal student aid, or for different states. 

Also Read: Study in USA Guide for Indian Students 2023

Deadline for FAFSA Application 2023-24

As mentioned in the last point above, the deadlines for applying for student loans through FAFSA may vary depending on the state and federal government. Let’s check out the same below for the academic session 2023-24.

Federal FAFSA Deadline 

The deadline is mentioned below. 

Submission of Form by	June 30, 2024
Corrections to be made by	September 14, 2024

State Deadlines 

To give you an idea, a few states are mentioned below along with their varying deadlines. 

Name of State	Deadline
Delaware	May 15, 2023
Idaho	March 1, 2023
Iowa	July 1, 2023
Ohio	October 1, 2023
New York	June 30, 2024

Also Read: Universities in USA without Application Fee

Federal Student Loan Application Eligibility Criteria 

Now who qualifies for this federal student loan application? Let’s check out the eligibility criteria for the FAFSA. 

1. The applicant must be a U.S. citizen. 
2. The student must be enrolled in a university or a college 
3. The student must have gotten admission to a diploma or a certificate program at least 
4. The student must clearly have financial needs 
5. They should have a valid social security number
6. Additionally, the student must exhibit continued satisfactory academic progress

FAFSA Application Process 

Now that we have covered the most essential aspects of the federal student loan application, how can one proceed to fill out this application form? Read about the application process below. 

First, students must be aware of the essential requirements of filling out the application form. This includes basic identifying information such as the name, address, date of birth, social security number, etc of the students and their parents. A number of questions are present that students need to adhere to while filling out the FAFSA. Students will also require to provide income information to the authority, which includes bank accounts, investments, assets, businesses etc.

Please note that both parents and students must have a FAFSA account and each should complete filling out the form.  

What Does the Federal Student Aid Constitute Of?

Did you know that the Office of Federal Student Aid provides 13 million students or so with $249 billion in federal aid support, on an annual basis? But in what forms does this federal aid come in? It primarily comes in:

1. Work-Study, which are programs offered to students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels with paid part-time employment. 
2. Grants, which are in the form of scholarships given to students that exhibit financial need. These grants don’t have to be repaid, unlike loans. 
3. Student Loans, which if federal will have lower interest rates than private ones. Students can get direct unsubsidized loans, direct subsidized loans, or direct PLUS loans (which are for parents or professional students).

Also Read: Scholarships for International Students in the USA

FAQs

So that was all about federal student loan application or the application for Student Loan Through FAFSA! If you want to study in the USA, then contact Leverage Edu experts to realise your study abroad dreams and ambitions.