Getting money for college: it’s time to apply now for fall

The first and most important line of defense in finding funds for your education is completing and filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or fafsa. This form is the one you’ll need to apply for both federal and state grants and loans. In addition, the schools that award need-based scholarships and grants also require the fafsa.

Log onto www.fafsa.ed.gov, where you can fill out the application. Create a PIN so you can save an incomplete form and work on it incrementally. Although the fafsa is complicated (the preliminary worksheet is eight pages, and you‘ll need access to at least nine different documents), there are instructions on the website that walk you through each step.

Don’t be fooled by the deadline alerts on the website: June 30 is the cut-off for federal aid, but state deadlines loom much closer--in Connecticut, it’s February 15. Because the pool of applicants is expected to be larger than in previous years, it makes sense to get this critical form in as quickly as possible. As the site clearly states, “Remember to file early before funds run out.“