If you’re a high school senior, you’re likely bombarded with college applications, scholarship essays, and a growing list of assignments you put off. Just when you think you’re burnt out for good, an email hits your inbox asking you to fill out yet another form — the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). 

Students may feel that the FAFSA is not going to help them. Senior Cora Durso said she hopes that the FAFSA form will aid her in college, but fears it will be a waste of time.  She captures these students’ concerns when she said, “I think the FAFSA form will not affect me that much.” Durso explains that she is fortunate to be middle class, so she will likely receive little to no money. She said, “So putting in all the effort into the form is going to be pointless, since I won’t be getting much in return.” However, Durso said, she still thinks that everyone should still fill it out, since the results may end up surprising the applicant.

According to Mrs. Aimee Thomson, the college and career counselor at HHS, all students should fill out the form. “The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Students who would like to be considered for need-based aid at college or trade school need to file the form to be considered for aid. Some scholarships also require that students file the FAFSA. Students who are US citizens and permanent residents are eligible to file the FAFSA, as are a few other types of students (like refugees). Some other students are eligible to file the NJ Alternative Financial Aid Application (NJAFAA).”

Thomson cites the Lion’s Pride scholarship for freshmen applying to RVCC as a good example of a scholarship that requires students to fill out the FAFSA.

Thomson said the FAFSA also has benefits like access to loans. “Any student who completes the FAFSA is going to be eligible for federal loans in the amount of $5,500, regardless of parental/guardian income,” Thomson said. “The loans usually have the lowest interest rates out there, and families with lower income will be eligible for things beyond those loans, including grants and federal work study.”

The form is also applicable to more than just the typical college or university. Thomson said, “Students who aren’t going to traditional college, but are attending some type of trade or vocational program may find that their program accepts the FAFSA, too. Non-degree programs at Lincoln Tech, UTI, Innovate Salon Academy and similar schools all use the FAFSA to award need-based financial aid to eligible students.”

If students decide to attend college later on, they can fill out the FAFSA at that time. “It’s not a now-or-never thing,” Thomson said.

The state requires students to fill out the FAFSA or the New Jersey Alternative Financial Aid Application (NJAFAA), but students can opt-out, which may not be the best decision, according to Thomson. 

“I encourage all families of students who are going to be attending an eligible school to complete the FAFSA or NJAFAA, if they are eligible, regardless of family income,” she said. 

Students may also find that they do not qualify for financial aid now, but they could need it in the future. 

“Sometimes financial and personal situations change, whether it be before college starts, or in the first year. If this happens, and you already have your FAFSA on file, it’s much easier (and faster) for the financial aid office to work with you in these situations,” Thomson said.

“This has been my advice for a long time, based on 20 years of working with students as a counselor at the high school level and as an admission counselor at the college level,” said Thomson.  “I’m not sure how I feel about it being an actual graduation requirement,  but my advice to students remains the same either way.”

Whether you’re committed to a school or not, it may be time to sit down with your parents and fill out the FAFSA — before the senioritis hits.