Can We Talk About FAFSA Without Crying?

Filing out FAFSA isn’t easy, but students and a Redwood counselor share challenges and why it’s worth the effort.

By: Isabel Barycki

With the help of financial aid, many families and students can achieve their dream of a higher education through college.

While there are many ways to attain financial aid to help pay for college, FAFSA is the most common. FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is not the aid itself but rather a way for families and students to determine their eligibility for financial assistance by filling out an application. The information you provide is then used to assess your SAI, Student Aid Index. This index determines how much financial aid you need from the government.

This aid can come in various forms, like loans, scholarships, and grants.

But FAFSA isn’t typically easy for students to complete and can be overwhelming. One of Redwood’s senior counselors, Maria Cabrera, says, “One of the biggest challenges is simply understanding the form itself.” Terminology used when filling out the form, such as the income questions and the dependency status criteria, can be very confusing for some.

Cabrera says another major hurdle is the collection of necessary information and documents; locating forms such as tax records can be a challenge. 

While FAFSA is a form of financial aid, a major misconception that follows is that students must be low-income to fill it out. Cabrera says, “One of the major misconceptions is that FASA is only for low-income students and families, when, in fact, many of these types of aid, like federal loans, work study, um and even some scholarships require completed FAFSA forms, regardless of income.” 

“Some families also believe they won’t qualify for any AID, so they don’t bother applying, which can lead to missed opportunities,” says Cabrera.

With the help of counselor aid, filing our FAFSA is made a little easier for students, counselors have held “informational sessions. We do hold workshops, both for parents and students. We’ve held office hours for students, we’ve held many additional workshops, and just, you know, drop in support for them to come in,” says Cabrera.

For many seniors at Redwood, filing the FAFSA form has been a mix of relief and confusion.

“I thought it was gonna be like a quick little sign-up,” says Harsaihaj Multani, ’25, “but it really wasn’t. It was a long process.” Like many students, Multani started the form feeling confident, thanks to a step-by-step handout provided by counselors. But she quickly ran into challenges.

“It got complicated,” she said, “so I had to ask my parents, and they’re like busy with work oftentimes, so I had it like, like call them and just like figure out everything.”

Despite the confusion, Multani said the FAFSA workshops helped ease the process. And the payoff? A huge weight lifted off her shoulders. “FAFSA actually really helped me. The stress of paying for college is gonna be a lot less.”

Redwood student Sienna Minasola, ’25, says similar thoughts, “It wasn’t too difficult as long as you read through it,” she said. “There were a lot of help videos and websites to guide you,” says Minasola.

Still, she faced her own set of challenges, especially with the wording of certain questions. “I didn’t always know what to put in the boxes and needed clarification,” she says. With support from her mom and her counselor, she made it through and ended up qualifying for a few helpful loans.

Looking back, both students agree on one thing: preparation is key.

“Be ready to ask your parents for their information,” Multani says. Minasola says, “Look into it before you start so you understand what you’re doing and what it’ll be used for.”

For seniors still waiting to start, FAFSA can seem intimidating, but it’s also one of the most important steps toward making college more affordable.

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