Colleges pushing FAFSA as semester ends

CANTON, Mo. (KHQA) — As the first semester of college comes to an end, students and parents are reminded to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid applications, also know as the FAFSA.

The number of students filling out the application has decreased over the last few years.

Associate Director of Financial Aid at Culver-Stockton College, Patti Mathieson, says that is partially because it can be a long process and applicants need to have a number of documents on hand before filing.

“I think for students and parents, the daunting part is if you don’t prepare before you sit down, that’s where part of the confusion comes in,” said Mathieson. “The main thing we have issues with is the federal student aid id.”

The FAFSA plays a large role in receiving financial aid when heading off to college.

It impacts federal, state and institutional financial aid, as well as some scholarships.

“Institutional scholarships, some are based on what’s on the FAFSA, some are not, but if a school has need-based aid available, they need to have that FAFSA in their office to find out what types of institutional financial aid, if they are based on the FAFSA, what are students eligible for,” Mathieson said.

Mathieson says it is helpful for applicants to have all their documents prepared such as tax information, W-2s, and asset information, but the most important thing to remember is getting the FAFSA filed on time.

“Deadlines, as far as the FAFSA goes, are extremely important. In the state of Illinois, you need to file it the day the application comes open because state financial aid in Illinois can run out fairly quickly,” Mathieson said. “In Missouri, February 1st is the primary filing deadline for students in the state of Missouri to see if they are eligible for any type of state financial aid.”

And for families who don’t think they will receive any financial aid, it doesn’t hurt to fill out the application anyway.

“So, the FAFSA, everybody can get a loan. People are like, ‘oh, I don’t get any financial aid.’ well, loans are considered financial aid just like grants and scholarships,” Mathieson said. “A 30 minute investment in filing your FAFSA versus a maybe I got a grant from the state of Missouri, $1,500, that’s a pretty good investment.”

Culver-Stockton has another FAFSA filing night scheduled for January 18th and invites any student or community member regardless of what institute they plan to attend.