Are you a student looking for financial aid to help pay for college? The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the best way to get started. The FAFSA is an easy-to-use form that helps students and families apply for financial aid from the United States federal government. Here’s how you can use the FAFSA to apply for financial aid.

Understanding Your Eligibility 
The first step in applying for financial aid is understanding your eligibility. To be eligible, students must meet certain criteria such as being a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, having a valid Social Security Number, and attending an eligible college or university. Additionally, students must have completed their high school education or received their GED certificate before applying. 

Gathering Documents 
Once you understand the eligibility requirements, it’s time to gather all of the necessary documents to complete your application. It’s important to have all of the information about your income and assets ready before you start filling out the FAFSA form so that you can be sure that everything is accurate. This includes tax returns, bank statements, W-2 forms, investment statements, and more. If you are filing as a dependent student, then you will also need your parents’ documents as well. 

Submitting Your Application 
Once you have gathered all of your documents and filled out the form accurately with all of the required information, it’s time to submit your application. You can either mail in a paper copy or submit it online through studentaid.gov. Once your application has been submitted and processed by the Department of Education (DOE), schools that are participating in federal student aid programs, like Lionel University, will receive notification of your eligibility. It usually takes 3-5 days after submitting your application before it gets processed by the DOE –after which point schools will begin considering awarding aid packages based on availability and need.  

Conclusion

Applying for financial aid doesn’t have to be difficult – especially when using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As long as you understand the eligibility requirements and gather all necessary documents prior to submission, you should have no problem completing your application quickly and easily, if you decide to do so. Once submitted, it usually takes 3-5 days before schools can begin considering awarding packages - so the sooner you get started the better.

Knowing what financial aid options are available to you makes earning your exercise science degree even more of a possibility. And there are so many fitness job opportunities that you’ll be able to explore once you have a degree in exercise science. This is the case for all of our degree programs. In fact, earning an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree, will all put you in demand for jobs. Regardless of which degree you are pursuing, at Lionel, you earn multiple certifications and specializations along the way. This means you can start working as a fitness professional even before graduation day! 

Check out our programs and contact Lionel today!