The college admissions and selection journey consists of two main milestones: applying to college and applying for financial aid. During the months of August through December, you should complete applications for admission to the colleges of your choice; the financial aid period begins in January of each year for the upcoming school year.

You need to complete financial aid applications from the institutions that you have applied to, as well as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA was designed for students to apply for federal and state student grants, work-study, and loans, and can be completed in paper form or over the Internet at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The form will be processed and mailed to the appropriate colleges; a financial aid award letter will then be sent that will identify all the financial aid available to you for that particular school year. Applying for financial aid by using the FAFSA can be simplified by following the step-by-step process below:

• Step 1 requires that you complete information about yourself, including demographic information (name, address, city, and state) and information about your college plans.
• Step 2 requires that you complete information about your finances. There are three items that are asked for from your most current income tax form: adjusted gross income, the number of exemptions, and the total tax paid. Please read and follow the directions closely.
• Step 3 is designed to help determine your financial aid status. The philosophy of financial aid is that it is the responsibility of the family to pay educational costs to the extent that they are able. Students who can answer yes to one of the six questions in this section will be considered independent and will only need their own income information to complete the application. If all of the answers to the questions are no, you are considered to be dependent and your parents' income information is required.
• Step 4 requires dependent students to have their parents complete this section about the family's finances. The income tax form is very helpful in completing this section. There are three items to be taken from the current income tax form: adjusted gross income, the number of exemptions, and the total tax paid. All of these items are identifiable by the item number on the tax form. There are also several worksheets that have other income sources that need to be completed if pertinent to the family (social security, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, worker's compensation, etc.). Please read and follow the directions closely.
• Step 5 requires that your parents complete information about the family household size and who will be attending college for that particular academic year.
• Step 6 requires that you select the schools that you would like to receive the FAFSA information.
• Step 7 requires signatures and the date that the form was completed.

All of this information should be mailed or electronically submitted. When submitting electronically, a signature page should be printed and then mailed to the Student Financial Aid Processing Center. The address is at the bottom of the signature page.

While going through this process, be sure to make photocopies of all forms and keep them in a file. Some FAFSA applicants will be called for verification. If this happens, you and your parents will need to submit signed copies of all income tax forms to the college or university financial aid office that requested them.