FAFSA Frenzy to help students apply for aid

Nevada Daily Mail

Nevada High School is hosting one of 100 FAFSA Frenzy events for Missouri students and their families to receive help filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). FAFSA Frenzy makes applying for financial aid easier by providing students with free help filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the first step in applying for federal financial aid and many state programs.

To assist students and parents with the FAFSA process, financial aid professionals will be on hand at the FAFSA Frenzy event Sunday, Feb. 28 at Nevada High School Library Media Center from 2 to 4 p.m. Students and parents are asked to pick a time slot (2-3 or 3-4) that works best to attend.

Materials needed to complete the FAFSA include:

* Parents' Social Security Number, Student Social Security Number.

* Parents' Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen).

* Parents' most recent federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned.

(Note: You may be able to transfer your federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.)

* Parents' bank statements and records of investments (if applicable).

* Records of untaxed income (if applicable).

* A FSA ID (Student and Parent must have separate ID numbers).

If you do not already have one, visit www.fafsa.ed.gov to obtain one before completing the FAFSA.

Even if parents don't have their taxes completed, the student still needs to submit the FAFSA form on time. Financial aid is typically distributed on a first come, first served basis, so filing late can mean you're missing out on the money to be awarded. Even if you have to enter estimated values into the FAFSA or use tax information from 2014 and go back and edit the information after 2015 taxes are completed, get the FAFSA in on time as you can always submit corrections to your application once you have completed your taxes.

The State of Missouri's deadline for completing the FAFSA is April 1.

Scholarships will be drawn for students attending an event in Missouri. Winners will receive their scholarships upon receipt of enrollment documentation for the 2016 fall term in a Missouri postsecondary program.