Filling out the FAFSA with live online assistance from HelpNow

Posted on October 8, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Crystal Miller

Attention current and soon-to-be college students! HelpNow has live tutors offering free assistance with your FAFSA.

FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This program offered by the federal government offers more than $150 billion to help students pay for college and vocational training.

When you fill out the FAFSA form, you are applying for federal and state student grants, work-study, and student loans. The information from the FAFSA form is also used by most states and colleges to award nonfederal aid. Some years, only about half of college students fill out the FAFSA, leaving financial help on the table. You can also see more information about this in the news post Your Path to Student Financial Aid Starts with the FAFSA.

We don’t want uncertainty about filling out the form to prevent you from seeking financial aid. Live tutors at HelpNow specializing in the FAFSA form are available Monday–Thursday, 11am–8pm, to assist you at any stage of the application process. This service is available to both students and parents completing the FAFSA application.

For the 2020–2021 school year, the FAFSA application is currently open through June 30, 2021, but it’s best to check with your high school counselor or a financial aid administrator at your college or vocational school about institute-specific deadlines. It’s always best to apply as early as possible. You are able to find out deadlines per state on the FAFSA Deadlines web page.

For example, for the 2020–21 academic year, Washington state prefers you fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1, 2020.

The FAFSA is free to fill out. You can fill out the form digitally or print it out and mail it in.

And if you get stuck at any point, you are able to utilize the new FAFSA live assistance at HelpNow at no charge. All you need is your in-district library card or student library card.

If you’re not certain if you are going to attend college or a trade school or if you should take the time to fill out the FAFSA, I encourage you to read the blog article from my fellow librarian Stacey. She shares her experiences and missed opportunities regarding the FAFSA.

I hope her story inspires you to check out your financial options for your educational future by filling out the FAFSA.

Crystal Miller is a Business and Career Development Librarian and has been working in libraries for 15 years. She has a Masters in Library Science from Simmons College and has worked at the Harvard Development Office Library, MIT Libraries, and the Coeur d’Alene Public Library. When she’s not at the library, she can be found at the dog park with her three fur babies or with a cookbook in hand, flipping through the pages, looking for the next recipe to try out.

Tags: college, FAFSA, federal student aid, financial aid, higher education, learning, parents, planning, students, teens, trade school, vocational school