Entering College...What do you need?

Question

I'm entering college in the year 2009. The applications are due in 2008, so does that mean that I have to use the 2007 W2 form? Or am I supposed to wait for 2008? For financial aid, if entering in 2009, do college require your 2007 w2 form? Is there a website I can use to verify?

Answer 1

I'm going through this same thing with my brother, and I searched around online until I found someone who seemed like they really knew what they were talking about.

If you have any questions, I suggest going to www.MyCollegeCalendar.org.  It's a cool site, but more importantly, it has the answers and it's FREE!  I asked this same question about W2's, and this is what they told me:

"You should use estimates of your 2008 income and submit financial aid applications as soon as appropriate.  Scholarships and grants are given out from “pools” of funding on a first-come, first-served basis.  Regarding the FAFSA, if you wait until mid- to late-February to complete and submit your FAFSA using your parents 2008 W-2's there could be little or no money left in some scholarship “pools” because other students have already been awarded financial aid from those “pools.”

Therefore, complete and submit your FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1, 2009.  You and your parents must complete the FAFSA in January 2009 by using estimates of your assets and income earned in 2008.

After your parents finish their federal tax returns in early February 2009, use the final income numbers on their tax returns to make corrections to the FAFSA."

http://www.mycollegecalendar.org/explore...

http://www.mycollegecalendar.org/explore...

Answer 2

Well it depends on whether you're entering school before June of 2009 (as in, are you entering in January for spring semester?).

If you're starting school in January, then yes, you'll use the 2007 W2 (if you didn't file taxes) and a 2007 tax return if you did. If you're under 24, you'll have to have the same tax information on  your parents as well.

You'll need to fill out the FAFSA (fafsa.ed.gov) in order to be eligible for any federal financial aid in the form of Stafford student loans/pell grants/etc. No school will process your application until this form is filled out. If you're applying for Spring Semester, then the sooner you fill out the FAFSA the better off you'll be. They usually take an average of 6 weeks to process, an grant money (which is need-based), is on a first-come first-served basis.

If you're not attending school until Summer 2009 or Fall 2009, then you'll need to submit 2008 tax returns...and for that, you will not be able to fill out the FAFSA form until January 1st of 2009.

Hope that helps!