Michelle answers:

I found this on the frequently asked questions section of the fafsa website, your best bet is call customer service and ask them yourself what you can do to apply if your parents don’t file any income tax. I would try my best to get that grant, I got one and man it helped a whole lot. I’ll give you the customer service number and see what they say.

How do I answer the tax questions if I (or my parents) don’t file a tax return?

If you will not file a tax return, you should answer Will Not File for question 32 which is “For 2006 have you completed your IRS income tax return or another tax return?” You will then be taken to the Income earned from work question, where you should enter any earnings from your W-2 form. You should only answer the income questions that apply to you.

If your parents will not file a tax return, they should answer Will Not File for question 76 which is “For 2006, have your parents completed their IRS income tax return or another tax return?”

If you have questions or problems regarding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on the Web, or specific questions about the FAFSA, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). If you are hearing impaired and have questions, please contact the TTY line at 1-800-730-8913.

You can also contact a customer service representative online, by selecting the “Live Help” button. For online application status checks, go to the FAFSA on the Web home page and select “Check status of a submitted FAFSA or Print a Signature Page” from the FAFSA Follow-up section 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Michelle answers:

The fafsa is the application for all forms of need based federal and state grants. Some scholarship applications will ask for your EFC from your fafsa do determine how poor you are. That is a low EFC, congratulations, you will get a pell grant.

Scholarships are different and are not usually based on “need” but “merit” like having a good GPA or high test scores.

The fafsa is the only and all encompassing application for federal and state grants.

Michelle answers:

You may be having an issue because household size is a field that can only be changed in certain circumstances. Household size cannot be “updated” after the initial completion of the FAFSA unless the FAFSA was selected for verification. So, if you are changing this field, and your FAFSA was not selected for verification, the school may think that you are “messing” with your FAFSA. They need to understand that you are attempting to make a “correction” (i.e., you were supporting your child at the time of FAFSA completion and have continued to do so throughout the FAFSA award year), as opposed to an “update.” They will require at least a statement from you explaining the the situation. Your current Financial Aid is based on your 2011-12 FAFSA. If a Financial Aid Office were to disburse funds based on a FAFSA on which the household size was changed after the completion date without supporting documentation, they would have made a mistake and would be found at fault in an audit. See my source for information on corrections versus updates.

Michelle answers:

Go to the FAFSA website. It gives you all the info you need there. But in general you have to fill out the forms, your parents have to fill out the forms (unless you are over 24, are married or have a child of your own).

FAFSA has a deadline of March 1st, but the school you want to go to may have a different deadline so be sure to check with the school you are applying to.

You should apply to the school of your choosing ASAP. If you don’t know the school code or if you are accepted, you can skip that part on the FAFSA and still submit it. When you know what school you will be attending you will then go back and fix the FAFSA form.