What are the benefits of using FAFSA4caster?

Preparing for college takes planning and organization. FAFSA4caster will help you get a jumpstart on the financial aid process. This financial aid estimator will calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) – the indicator used by colleges to estimate your family´s ability to contribute towards the cost of your education. FAFSA4caster calculates your eligibility based on the Federal Methodology. Your eligibility results will be representative of your "official" EFC but will vary based on the accuracy of the information you provide.

By using FAFSA4caster, you and your family will receive an early estimate of eligibility for federal student aid. It will increase your knowledge of the financial aid process and provide an opportunity to investigate other sources of aid (e.g.; grants, scholarships). FAFSA4caster is not just for high school juniors. Parents of younger students can use the tool to receive early estimates, create scenarios based on future earnings, and then establish college savings strategies. Non-traditional college students (adult learners) can also use the FAFSA4caster to get an idea of how much federal aid they may qualify for.

But the benefits of using FAFSA4caster go beyond early estimates. Some of the data you enter in FAFSA4caster will pre-populate your FAFSA on the Web application when you officially apply for federal student aid. Other benefits include –

• An opportunity to become familiar with the student aid lifecycle and the defined roles for all of the financial aid players – students and families, schools, banks and lenders.
• Information about the matches we conduct with certain federal agencies, allowing you an opportunity to resolve issues prior to applying for federal student aid.
• Estimated federal student aid eligibility information based on the answers provided in FAFSA4caster, to help you better understand the types and approximate amounts of federal student aid for which you may qualify.
• Automatic generation and e-mail of a Federal Student Aid PIN in time for use on FAFSA on the Web.
• A streamlined and intuitive process - built in logic that will serve up questions based on responses to earlier questions and tailored to your circumstances. FAFSA4caster contains only the data elements required to determine federal eligibility.
• It's Quick! – it will take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete, resulting in a "real-time" estimated EFC.

Additionally, FAFSA4caster provides you with an opportunity to pre-populate a FAFSA on the Web application for the current processing year, to reduce the time spent completing the FAFSA if you choose to attend college now.