For the past seven years, Kat has been helping people make the best financial decisions for their unique situations, whether they're looking for the right insurance policies or trying to pay down debt. Kat has expertise in insurance and student loans.
Kat Tretina Personal Finance WriterFor the past seven years, Kat has been helping people make the best financial decisions for their unique situations, whether they're looking for the right insurance policies or trying to pay down debt. Kat has expertise in insurance and student loans.
Written By Kat Tretina Personal Finance WriterFor the past seven years, Kat has been helping people make the best financial decisions for their unique situations, whether they're looking for the right insurance policies or trying to pay down debt. Kat has expertise in insurance and student loans.
Kat Tretina Personal Finance WriterFor the past seven years, Kat has been helping people make the best financial decisions for their unique situations, whether they're looking for the right insurance policies or trying to pay down debt. Kat has expertise in insurance and student loans.
Personal Finance Writer Mike Cetera Editor in Chief, Forbes Marketplace U.S.Mike Cetera is the editor in chief for Forbes Marketplace U.S. Mike has written and edited articles about mortgages, savings accounts, CD rates and credit cards for more than a decade. Prior to joining Marketplace, his work appeared on Bankrate, The.
Mike Cetera Editor in Chief, Forbes Marketplace U.S.Mike Cetera is the editor in chief for Forbes Marketplace U.S. Mike has written and edited articles about mortgages, savings accounts, CD rates and credit cards for more than a decade. Prior to joining Marketplace, his work appeared on Bankrate, The.
Written By Mike Cetera Editor in Chief, Forbes Marketplace U.S.Mike Cetera is the editor in chief for Forbes Marketplace U.S. Mike has written and edited articles about mortgages, savings accounts, CD rates and credit cards for more than a decade. Prior to joining Marketplace, his work appeared on Bankrate, The.
Mike Cetera Editor in Chief, Forbes Marketplace U.S.Mike Cetera is the editor in chief for Forbes Marketplace U.S. Mike has written and edited articles about mortgages, savings accounts, CD rates and credit cards for more than a decade. Prior to joining Marketplace, his work appeared on Bankrate, The.
Editor in Chief, Forbes Marketplace U.S.Updated: Dec 22, 2020, 11:03pm
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Of the millions of high school students who didn’t complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in 2018, nearly one-third said they didn’t fill it out because they didn’t have enough information or they thought it was too time-consuming.
But skipping the FAFSA means you’ll miss out on financial aid, including grants, scholarships and federal student loans. If the FAFSA process seems overwhelming, spending some time understanding how to submit the FAFSA and what happens after you complete it can make it much easier.
A key part of the financial aid process is the Student Aid Report (SAR), a form you receive after submitting your FAFSA. Here’s what you need to know about the SAR and how it impacts your financial aid awards.
After completing the FAFSA, The U.S. Department of Education will send you your SAR. It’s a form that acknowledges the receipt of your FAFSA and provides basic information about your eligibility for federal student aid. It lists the answers that you submitted on the FAFSA and provides space for you to make corrections if needed.
When you receive your SAR depends on when you submit your FAFSA. In most cases, you’ll receive your SAR within two weeks of filing your FAFSA.
The SAR can be sent to you through the mail. If you included an email address on the FAFSA, it will be sent electronically. You also can view your SAR by logging into your account with your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID on FAFSA.gov.
Once you receive the SAR, review it carefully. Schools use the information on the SAR to determine your eligibility for grants, scholarships and student loans, so make sure everything on the SAR is accurate.
Your SAR includes the following information:
The SAR is different from a financial aid award letter. The SAR simply details the information that you submitted and your eligibility for aid; the award letter lists what financial aid each school offers you, including specific scholarships or federal loans. The financial aid award letter typically comes after the SAR when schools begin accepting incoming students.
If you find that you made mistakes on the SAR, such as entering the wrong school names or checking a box by mistake, you’ll have to correct or update your FAFSA.
You can update your FAFSA online in just a few steps:
Write in the corrections on your SAR and mail it to the address listed on the SAR. After that, contact the financial aid offices of each school you applied to about your changes, too. They may be able to update some of the FAFSA data for you electronically.
If your financial situation has changed since you submitted your FAFSA and you can’t update it or the SAR to reflect those changes, reach out to the schools’ financial aid offices. In some cases, you can appeal your financial aid award and get additional assistance.
After receiving your SAR and college offer letter, you might find that the financial aid you received isn’t enough to cover the full cost of your college education. If that’s the case, use the following options to pay for the remaining expenses:
