FAFSA
FAFSA Information
The “Free Application for Federal Student Aid” (or FAFSA) is the form you must complete to be considered for all forms of financial aid aid from the federal government, and most forms of student aid from your state or college. If the idea of completing the FAFSA fills you with dread, you’re not alone. The FAFSA can seem intimidating, but with the right information and a little help, you can overcome your FAFSA fears.
FASFA is expected to open Dec. 1, 2024 for the 2025-26 school year.
Please watch your emails from the FHS Counseling office and the colleges you are applying to for additional information as it becomes available.
Spring brings flowers, rain showers, and hopefully showers of money for college!! Spring is the time of year that financial aid packages start arriving in your inbox and portals for each college. Use this annotated awards letter to help you and your parents better understand financial aid award letters and the critical components found in each one.
Here are also some additional informational FAQs to assist you with financial aid:
- What is a financial aid award letter?
- What do the different parts of the financial aid award letter mean?
- When will I receive my letter?
- What if I’m accepted to multiple colleges?
- Should I accept the federal loans offered to me?
- How should I be comparing multiple financial aid award offers?
Parent looking for additional help? Sign up for Going Merry's monthly newsletter for parents HERE.
Create a new FAFSA ID by clicking on the image below:
Apply for Financial Aid by clicking on the image below:
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7 Solutions to Common FAFSA® Issues|
The FAFSA® overhaul has certainly been a bumpy ride, but we hope you’re hanging in there. Here are seven solutions you can suggest to families if they run into issues filing their forms. Copy and paste these tips into your next email to parents! Use a different browser. Some users have had success with switching internet browsers, clearing their browser history, or disabling browser extensions or plugins. Come back later. Try accessing the FAFSA® site late at night or early in the morning when it’s not as busy. Contact the FSA Office. If you’re still having trouble, ask the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Office for help. You can reach them at customerservice@studentaid.gov or 800-4-FED-AID. Try the live chat. The FSA Office has also launched a new chat feature called Ask Aidan. The chat is designed to help you get basic questions answered more quickly than via call or email. Be patient. The FSA Office won’t release FAFSA information to schools until the end of January 2024. So, you have all month to work on your form, and there’s no advantage to submitting it earlier than that. Do other prep work in advance. If you’re having trouble filling out the FAFSA right now, use your time to prepare instead. Check out this FAFSA® Prep assignment. Submit the form no matter what. Every year, the FAFSA® helps millions of students gain access to Pell Grants, subsidized federal loans, and other lucrative sources of federal aid. If you skip the form, you could be leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table. Stick with it and keep checking back!
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FAFSA Completion is a Texas State Graduation Requirement
The Texas State Board of Education is requiring ALL seniors to complete the FAFSA or complete an opt-out form as one of the graduation requirements. If a senior is not completing the FAFSA, he/she will need to complete the Financial Aid Opt-Out Form for the Texas State Board of Education and will need to submit the printed & signed form to his/her school counselor to meet this graduation requirement. The Financial Aid Opt-out Form is provided below.
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