Go to the FAFSA website (see Resources) and create a new account. FAFSA is the federal information that establishes student need for financial aid. Many scholarships and loans require a FAFSA before students obtain aid, especially in the case of financial aid from the federal government such as federal loans or grants.
Fill out the FAFSA paperwork. The paperwork is filled out directly online or through the paper form. Filling it out online has the benefit of instant submission while a paper FAFSA will take longer due to the time it takes to mail form. The forms require tax information for the student and the information for the student's parents. For students who are married or already parents, parental tax information is not given because the student is no longer considered a dependent of their parents.
Read over the summary and ensure all of the information is correct. When it is correct, submit the information. Put in the personal pin assigned when the new account was created as a signature. Parent signatures are also a pin number given when the account was made.
Fill out financial aid applications after the FAFSA is received. The FAFSA establishes financial need, which is one of the main qualifying standards of many financial aid options. The other standards are more straightforward, such as providing a Social Security number or providing the name of the college.