The FAFSA is not a loan. It is an application form. However, you can use the FAFSA to apply for financial aid and federal student loans.
The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is used to apply for several types of financial aid, including grants, student employment, and federal student loans.
Grants are a form of gift aid, which does not need to be repaid.
The FAFSA determines whether or not you can participate in a work-study. The money awarded for work-study needs to be earned by working a part-time job, and does not need to be repaid. Read our Complete Guide to Work-Study.
On the other hand, student loans must be repaid, usually with interest.
Filing a FAFSA is a prerequisite for receiving several types of student loans, including:
Federal Direct Stafford Loan
Federal Direct PLUS Loan, including Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans
The federal government requires you to file a FAFSA before you can receive a Direct Loan to ensure that you get all of the other aid for which you are eligible.
Mark Kantrowitz is a nationally-recognized expert on student financial aid, scholarships and student loans. His mission is to deliver practical information, advice and tools to students and their families so they can make informed decisions about planning and paying for college.
Mark writes extensively about student financial aid policy. He has testified before Congress and federal/state agencies about student aid on several occasions.
Mark has been quoted in more than 10,000 newspaper and magazine articles. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Money Magazine, Bottom Line/Personal, Forbes, Newsweek and Time Magazine. He was named a Money Hero by Money Magazine. He is the author of five bestselling books about scholarships and financial aid, including How to Appeal for More College Financial Aid, Twisdoms about Paying for College, Filing the FAFSA and Secrets to Winning a Scholarship.
Mark serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid and the editorial advisory board of Bottom Line/Personal (a Boardroom, Inc. publication). He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education. Mark previously served as a member of the board of directors of the National Scholarship Providers Association.
Mark is currently Publisher of PrivateStudentLoans.guru, a web site that provides students with smart borrowing tips about private student loans. Mark has served previously as publisher of the Cappex.com, Edvisors, Fastweb and FinAid web sites. He has previously been employed at Just Research, the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Bitstream Inc. and the Planning Research Corporation.
Mark is President of Cerebly, Inc. (formerly MK Consulting, Inc.), a consulting firm focused on computer science, artificial intelligence, and statistical and policy analysis.
Mark is ABD on a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He has Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and philosophy from MIT and a Master of Science degree in computer science from CMU. He is also an alumnus of the Research Science Institute program established by Admiral H. G. Rickover.
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