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Myths & Facts About Financial Aid for Parents & Families

by Rachael Capua

FAFSA and TASFA applications for financial aid are open as of October 1!

If your student is graduating from high school in the Class of 2022, make sure to help complete either the FAFSA or TASFA (whichever your student qualifies for) as soon as possible to increase their eligibility for certain financial opportunities. If your student is in the Class of 2023, there is still some time to get a better understanding of the different types of financial aid and how they can benefit your family. Still uncertain? Let us debunk some myths about financial aid for you below.

Myth: "FAFSA/ TASFA are just loans."

Reality: Student financial aid includes three different kinds of financial help: grants (free money, or money you don't have to pay back), low-interest loans, and work-study funds (a part-time job on or near campus). To learn more about the different types of financial aid, visit CollegeForAllTexans.

Myth: "My student can't fill out financial aid because they haven't applied anywhere yet."

Reality: Actually, your student CAN complete their FAFSA form before submitting any college or career school applications. They’ll need to list at least one school on their FAFSA form, and should go ahead and add every school they're considering because some schools have early deadlines to apply for their limited funds. Then later, they can add or delete schools on their FAFSA form.

**If your student qualifies for TASFA, they should talk to their contact in the Go Center for support with the application *If your student is Class of 2023, they may begin applying for colleges in July 2022 (this is when most applications will open). They will fill out their FAFSA or TASFA starting October 1, 2022.

Myth: "My student won't qualify for financial aid because their parents aren't U.S. citizens."

Reality:
Parents’ citizenship status is NOT a factor, and the FAFSA form won’t ask you about it. If parents don’t have Social Security numbers, they must enter 000-00-0000 when the FAFSA form asks for their Social Security numbers.

Myth: "Only students with good grades get financial aid."

Reality: While a high grade point average will help a student get into a good school and may help with academic scholarships, most of the federal student aid programs do not take a student’s grades into consideration. Provided a student maintains satisfactory academic progress in his or her program of study, federal student aid will help a student with an average academic record complete his or her education.

Learn more by visiting the "Scholarships & Financial Aid" section on the resources page.

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