To qualify for financial aid at any college or university; all students must fill out the FREE APPLICATION for FEDERAL STUDENT AID or FAFSA. TO BE A HICKS SCHOLAR you must fill out this form. It is available on line at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The FAFSA form must be filled out each year that a child is attending school in an attempt to seek a degree. It is required that you fill out the FAFSA form to maintain your finical aid and scholarships.

If you file a tax return it is helpful and suggested that you do so before filling out the form.

The form can be filled out on paper or online. If you chose to fill it out online you must get a verification code know as a pin number. You apply for the pin online. If you have any questions about that, please ask me at 798-4529 X227. I encourage you to fill it out online to limit math mistakes. The computers at Fairway Oaks can be used to fill out the FAFSA form.

The form has two parts, one for the student and one for the parents. Read the form carefully to determine what information goes where. The instructions in the form will help you to determine who is a family member and who is the legal parent.

Final Preparations
Photocopy, Photocopy, Photocopy: Before you even touch the form you are using, make a photocopy of it. You will use the copy to work on. Once you are satisfied with all of your entries, you can transfer the information carefully onto the real form. Only the original form will be accepted by the need analysis companies. When you've finished, make a photocopy of the completed form and put it in a safe place. If you are in the habit of just dumping all of your financial records at your accountant's office, change your habits for the next four years. Photocopy every conceivably relevant document, and then dump them at your accountant's office.

Read ALL the instructions: You should read all the instructions on the form before you begin work. In many cases, these instructions will be sketchy or misleading. Hopefully, the information provided about the FAFSA and CSS PPROFILE forms will help clarify the forms' instructions.

Complete the response areas the proper way. If they want a ',', don't give them a blank space. Writing in the margins is forbidden. You are also not allowed to give a range of numbers for a particular item. For example, you cannot write down $700-$800. It must be $750. Use whole dollar amounts only. Do not include cents or decimals. When writing down the numeric equivalent of a single-digit date, you must enter a digit for each box. Thus, January 5, 1982 would look like this: 01-05-1982.

Don't Skip Anything
Finally, don't skip any question unless the instructions specifically tell you that you can. If you do not own a business, for example, put down "0" for any values related to a business. If you leave certain items blank, they will just send the form back to you to correct. You can't afford to lose the time that takes.

Information needed to complete the FAFSA
Completed federal tax return both student and parent (all schedules)
W-2 forms both student and parent
Records of untaxed income (social security payments received, welfare payments, tax-exempt interest income, etc.)
Bank statements both student and parent
Brokerage statements
Mortgage statements
Student's social security number and driver's license (if available)
If you are an owner of a business, the business's financial statements or corporate tax return
Any other investment statements and records
Record of child support paid to or received by former spouse
Records of medical and dental expenses (must have been actually paid or charged on your credit card during the base income year)

Why fill out a FAFSA?
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the first step in the financial aid process. You use it to apply for federal student financial aid, such as grants, loans, and work-study. In addition, most states and schools use information from the FAFSA to award non-federal aid.

Why all the questions?
We enter your responses to the FAFSA questions into a formula from the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. The result is your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC. The EFC measures your family's financial strength. It is used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. Your state, and the school you list, may also use some of your responses. They will determine if you may be eligible for school or state aid, in addition to federal aid.

How do I find out what my EFC is?
We will send you a report, called a Student Aid Report, or SAR, through the mail or the Internet. The SAR lists the information you reported on your FAFSA, and will tell you your EFC. It is important to review your SAR when you receive it. Make sure all of your information is correct. Make any necessary changes or provide additional information.

How much aid do I get?
Your EFC, along with the rest of your FAFSA information, is made available to all the schools you list in Step Six of the FAFSA. The schools use your EFC to prepare a financial aid package to help you meet your financial need. Financial need is the difference between your EFC and your school's cost of attendance (which can include living expenses), as determined by the school.

If you or your family have special circumstances that should be taken into account, contact your school's financial aid office. Some examples of special circumstances are: unusual medical or dental expenses, or a large change in income from last year to this year.