The Washington Post – Valerie Strauss
“The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a gateway to money for college. Not only is it used to apply for federal student aid, such as the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, Federal Perkins Loans and Federal Stafford Loans, but it is also used to apply for student financial aid from state governments and most colleges and universities. But, applying for financial aid can be complicated. Financial aid involves an alphabet soup of acronyms, like FAFSA, EFC and SAR, and is like speaking a foreign language. Edvisors.com has more than 750 terms defined in its financial aid glossary. The FAFSA itself has more than 100 numbered questions, presenting many opportunities for potential errors. The “Filing the FAFSA” book, available for free download at www.edvisors.com/fafsa-book, offers hundreds of pages of advice and insights into completing the FAFSA correctly. Some of the most common errors involving the FAFSA that affect financial aid eligibility include:.”(more)