Department of Education will no longer send out paper forms to schools.
By Creshawna T. Parker
Times are changing for the few students who fill out the paper version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Effective for the 2008-09 school year, paper financial aid forms will no longer be available at the college financial aid office.
Instead students who want to use the paper form will have to request that a form be sent to them by contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center.
“Paper forms aren’t being sent out to colleges because there are a lot of FAFSA paper forms that are generated, but few are actually being used; we’re basically trying to save the trees,” a Federal Student Information Center representative said.
According to the financial aid Web site, students who wish to fill out a FAFSA form now have three options.
Students can apply online at www.FAFSA.ed.gov, which is highly recommended; they can complete a downloadable PDF version of the FAFSA, which must be mailed for processing; or they can request a paper form be mailed to them by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center.
Javier Vargas, the associate director of financial services at this college, said, “For students who wish to fill out the FAFSA on paper, they can contact the Department of Education to request that a form be sent to their house; but a student can receive up to three forms per household.”
FAFSA forms submitted online usually take about 14 days to process; whereas paper forms submitted through mail take about six-eight weeks to process.
Students with questions should contact the student financial services office at 733-2150 or visit the FAFSA Web site at www.fafsa.ed.gov.