The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to apply for federal and state aid, as well as financial aid from many colleges. The following is a list of the most common questions about the FAFSA.

1. When must you submit the FAFSA?

The FAFSA cannot be submitted before January 1 because it depends on the prior tax year's income information. It should be submitted as soon as possible after January 1, as many states that rely on the FAFSA have very early deadlines. You should not wait until you have submitted your federal income tax returns to file the FAFSA. (Many families will complete their federal income tax returns early, even if they choose to wait until April 15 to submit the 1040 to the IRS.) You should also not wait until you have been admitted to a college.

2. Where can I submit the FAFSA?

Ninety-nine percent of FAFSAs these days are submitted on the web, at www.fafsa.ed.gov. A paper FAFSA can be obtained by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243), but processing of the paper form is much slower than the online version.

3. I didn't get any aid last year. Should I submit the FAFSA again this year? It was a waste of time.

The FAFSA should be submitted every year. Federal student aid rules change every year, so a family that didn't qualify last year might qualify this year. In addition, if the number of children in college increased, it can have a very large impact on eligibility for federal aid, as the parent contribution portion of the expected family contribution is more or less divided by the number of children in college. Student income and assets can also have a big impact.

4. What are the income cutoffs for financial aid?

There are no specific income cutoffs for federal student aid. The federal need analysis formula is complicated and a variety of subtle factors can affect eligibility. For example, even families earning six figure incomes can qualify for the Pell Grant if they have multiple children in college at the same time. However, 98% of Pell Grant recipients have parent AGI under $50,000. Even so, there are a variety of federal student aid programs that require the FAFSA as a prerequisitive that do not depend on financial need. These include the TEACH grant of $4,000 a year for students willing to commit to teaching in a national need area for four out of the first eight years after graduation, the unsubsidized Stafford loan and the PLUS loan.

5. How is financial aid eligibility calculated?

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is a (harsh) measure of the family's financial strength. It is based on the parent and student income and assets as reported on the FAFSA, along with the family size, number of children in college and the age of the older parent. The general approach is to calculate the family's discretionary income by subtracting various mandatory allowances, such as taxes and a minimal standard of living, from the sum of adjusted gross income and certain types of untaxed income. Then a portion of this discretionary income is assessed as the family's expected family contribution. Student income and assets are assessed more heavily than parent income and assets because it is assumed that student income and assets are dedicated to paying for college. The parent contribution is divided by the number of children in college. The formula is also much more heavily weighted toward income than assets. The EFC is the sum of the parent contribution and the student contribution.

The EFC is subtracted from the college's official cost of attendance figure (sometimes called the student budget) to arrive  at the financial need. The amount of financial aid is based on the financial need, although some colleges practice 'gapping' in which they provide financial aid that falls short of financial need.

Thus we have the following equations:

• EFC = Parent Contribution + Student Contribution

• Financial Need = Cost of Attendance - EFC

• Financial Aid ~ Financial Need

FinAid provides several EFC calculators that you can use to estimate or calculate your expected family contribution.

6. What do I do if the FAFSA does not address my financial situation?

If you have any unusual financial circumstances, you should ask the school for a professional judgment review. Sometimes this is called a special circumstances review. Unusual financial circumstances include anything that changed from last year to this year, such as a job layoff or salary reduction, or anything that distinguishes your circumstances from the typical family situation, such as high unreimbursed medical expenses or being affected by a natural disaster. Provide the college financial aid administrator with a photocopy of any independent third party documentation of the unusual circumstances. For example, provide a copy of the layoff notice if you've lost your job. There is no appeal beyond the financial aid administrator, so be polite. The financial aid administrator will determine whether the unusual circumstance merits an adjustment, and the amount of the adjustment will be based on the financial impact of the unusual circumstances. This will yield a new expected family contribution which, in turn, will yield a new financial aid package.

See FinAid for additional advice concerning negotiation and professional judgment.

7. Should I pay someone to complete the FAFSA for me?

No. The FAFSA is a free application form. You do not need to pay anybody to complete the form on your behalf. Moreover, in order for a financial aid consultant to complete the form they will need you to provide them with all the information that is included on the form, so you will not save any time.

8. How do I maximize my eligibility for need-based financial aid?

Since the formula assesses child assets more heavily than parent assets, save in the parent's name, not the child's. Also consider paying off consumer debt, such as credit cards, auto loans and mortgages, since the FAFSA does not consider such debt but money in the bank does hurt your aid eligibility. Plus it doesn't make good financial planning to be paying 18% on your credit cards while your savings are earning 1%. By paying off the credit cards you will save 18% - 1% = 17%. (Of course, you should only do this if you can resist the temptation to run up the balance on your credit cards after you've paid them off.)

See FinAid for additional tips on maximizing aid eligibility.

Additional FAFSA FAQs can be found on the US Department of Education's website.