The first step for those people who want to receive grants, scholarships and federal loans for their education is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This application is universal for those students who need help of the government in paying for school. For this purpose the government developed special form to find out if you qualify or not to get a financial school grant.

You must determine what type of dependency you have and then to fill the FAFSA, if you want to get the Federal Student Financial Aid. It is because the income guidelines vary depending on your stage in life. Usually students are dependents of their parents. But some students are married or graduate, they are considered differently than those who are dependents of their parents. At the FAFSA website you’ll find the survey which will help you to determine your dependency status. You can ask for a help your guidance counselor or the financial aid department at your chosen school.

Before the filling out the FAFSA you must check if you have an access to next documents:

1) your Social Security number;

2) your driver’s license (if you have one);

3) your W-2s from the previous year;

4) the federal tax returns for you and your spouse (if you are married);

5) your parents tax returns (if you are a dependent of your parents);

6) Social Security income (if you have any untaxed income);

7) your current bank statements;

8) your resident information (if you are not a citizen)4

9) if you have any investments or business income, you must proof it.

When you’ll be ready with all this information you can start with the application. You must be very careful, because simple mistakes will influence the chance of getting a school grant. You can find an application at your high school, college, or the FAFSA website. You can also apply online if you and your parents have a PIN. In other case you can fill the document online, but later you must sign the paper copy and mail it. If you want to apply online and sign the document electronically using the PIN you should visit www.pin.ed.gov.

The result of the application will be sent to your chosen school. Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be determined this way. Another words it is the amount that the government thinks your family should be able to afford to pay for your schooling. You would get the assistance for any expenses above and beyond this amount. You’ll get the information about the loans or grants you can be offered from your school.