As high school seniors graduate and begin the next phase of their lives, many of them do not realize how costly it is to attend to college. Over half of students who borrow money to pay for college end up graduating with student loan debt. Fortunately, there are some ways that students can avoid drowning in debt.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA for short, helps United States students determine whether they qualify for various forms of federal financial aid. Here’s what you need to know about applying for FAFSA:

Who can apply for FAFSA?

To qualify for federal financial aid, students must have graduated high school or obtained a GED certificate. As well, they must be accepted into an eligible degree program and be a U.S. citizen or qualifying non-citizen with a Social Security number.

When should students apply?

FAFSA deadlines for Arizona universities are fast-approaching. The due date for Arizona State University is January 1st, 2020, and the due date for the University of Arizona is March 1st, 2020. For other universities, take a look at this deadline calculator on the FAFSA deadlines page: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa#deadlines.

How do students apply for FAFSA?

To start, students should create a Federal Student Aid ID at https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm. After creating their student ID, students can either upload their FAFSA forms online through the FAFSA website, or they can sign up with the myStudentAid app.

What are some other ways that students can get money for college?

Additionally, there are thousands of scholarship opportunities available to high school students. If you are looking for a way to access some of these scholarships, check out RaiseMe. This is a website that connect students to micro-scholarships for universities across the nation.

Where can students get more information about paying for college?

Check out the Financial Aid and FAFSA page of Mrs. Dalton’s College and Career Center website for more detailed information about how to access financial support. Also, the page has suggestions for saving up money, and it lists several other scholarship search sites.

With enough planning and research, many college students can avoid having to pay off student loan debts for years to come. FAFSA and scholarships are an excellent means of obtaining financial support for college!