With the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opening on Oct. 1, Marlow High School is buzzing with anticipation as seniors prepare for college.

Seniors planning to attend college or graduate school must fill out the application in order to receive financial aid from the federal government.

The application takes approximately twenty-one minutes to complete, and the requirements include: a Federal Student Aid (FSA) account, the student’s social security number, driver’s license number, tax records, records of untaxed income, records of assets and a list of schools the student is interested in attending.

Money is awarded until funds are depleted, so students must get the application filled out as soon as possible.

The federal deadline is June 30, 2022, however, many colleges have deadlines before the federal deadline in order to grant scholarships before the end of the 2021-22 school year.

Students should expect to receive their financial pack a few weeks into the 2022-23 school year.

Spending countless hours preparing students for their post-high school endeavors, Marlow High School Counselor Amy Herchock is MHS students’ go-to person when it comes to secondary education questions.

“Students who are college bound or headed to vocational school need to complete FAFSA,” explained Herchock. “FAFSA is the gateway to scholarship acceptance from the individual universities as well as to be able to accept Oklahoma’s Promise, a PELL Grant, the Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant and subsidized and unsubsidized student loans.”

The application is designed to be filled out annually to ensure that the grants awarded to students are up-to-date with each student’s changing demographics.

However, if a change needs to be made on the application soon after completion, making corrections on the FAFSA application via its website and contacting one’s financial aid office at his or her committed school are acceptable ways to ensure that a student is given the correct amount of financial aid.

With the average cost of college totaling at $25,864 per year, according to educationaldata.com, MHS students will continue to prepare for graduation through learning the importance of financial aid.