The federal student loan application, which is also known as the FAFSA, is the application that all students must complete in order to apply for federal student loans.  Based on the results of the FAFSA application the college will send an award notification to the student. An application for a student loan or the process to obtain one will be part of the award notification package issued by the college.
 

The FAFSA is used to determine the dollar amount you or your family will be expected to contribute towards college. All federal grant and loan awards are determined by the FAFSA, and nearly all colleges use the FAFSA as the basis for their own financial aid awards.  Once the prospective students complete and submit the FAFSA, they will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR).  

The Student Aid Report will contain your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) score, which measures your family’s ability to contribute to your education.  The lower your EFC score, the great your chances are in receiving a federal student loan.  Your school will use this number to determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive based on your school’s cost of attendance.  If you did not provide electronic signatures or paper signature pages with your FAFSA, you must sign the paper SAR you will receive and mail it back to the address provided for final processing.

The FAFSA Application can be used to apply for all federal student loans, which include loans in the FFEL and Direct Loan Programs.  The FFEL program, which is also known as the Federal Family Education Loan, and the Direct Loan Program offer federal student loans that include the Stafford Loans and Plus Loans.  Stafford Loans is mainly for undergraduate students, while the Plus Loans are for parents and graduate & professional students. 

It is important to file to FAFSA by the deadline date.  Ask your prospective school about their definition of an application deadline - whether it is the receipt date and time or the process date and time of the application.  When you submit your FAFSA, be sure to print out the confirmation page and keep it for your records. It contains a confirmation number with the exact date and time (Central Standard Time) the form was received.

FederalStaffordStudentLoan.com / GraduateStudentLoan.com / FafsaEFC.com
FederalDirectLoans.net / FederalUnsubsidizedStaffordLoan.com / ParentLoan.org
ParentPlusLoanApplication.com / PellGrantApplication.com /PellGrantOnline.com