October 1st marks the official start of spooky season. It starts off the countdown to Halloween and the heralds the inevitable arrival of Scorpio season. But October 1st is also home to an even more spine-chilling landmark: the beginning of FAFSA season.
FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s how most students that are applying to or attending college apply for financial aid, from federal grants to those pesky loans. If you worked at a stuffy campus library shuffling books and organizing DVDs nobody checks out, it’s probably because of your FAFSA application. And if you’re going to college for four years, you have to apply every year until you graduate. On October 1st, the 2020-2021 FAFSA was opened to all renewing and first-time applicants.
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According to USA Today, the FAFSA has more than 100 questions and it’s twice as long as your standard income tax form. Every financial decision you’ve ever made feels like it’s under review.
The 2020-2021 aid cycle is for all you high school seniors who are planning on attending college next fall. The very last day to apply is June 30th, 2021, but many states and institutions award aid on a first-come-first-served basis and have their own deadlines. The earlier you complete the form, the better. So don’t procrastinate. But also, look at these funny memes about the peaks and valleys of filling out the FAFSA.
Douniya Ahmed en TikTok
Douniya Ahmed(@douniyaahmed) has created a short video on TikTok with music Never ever gon get it. Dear Fafsa: I ain't got it. #collegestudent #aintgotmoney #nevergonnagetit #funny #comedy
Me when FAFSA asks why I own AirPods pic.twitter.com/Ujm55Li5rU
— libaan (@naabilslife) October 1, 2019
The morning of October 1st:
Me: Mom FAFSA is op-
— Mel Brown (@melbrown00) October 1, 2019
Mom: pic.twitter.com/lI1NbkgWlG
Filing out a FAFSA often requires an all-hands-on-deck approach where students, parents, and sometimes even their accountants struggle to answer one of the hardest questions, such as: What was the damn password?
FAFSA looking back at me and my mom arguing over that damn password pic.twitter.com/1siNvesHSy
— EndlessMoves 🎭 (@EndlessMoves) October 1, 2019
As one of the first “adult” responsibilities you’ll have, it will teach you about life’s many injustices.
:) en TikTok
(@carp.k) has created a short video on TikTok with music original sound. we love that for us #FAFSA #fyp #foryou
sara en TikTok
sara(@fnpeachy) has created a short video on TikTok with music original sound. FAFSA opens up today folks, share this with your college friends to remind them to get their shmoney 😗 #fyp #foryou #college #college