The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is a form designed to help colleges understand your family’s financial picture and determine your eligibility for federal, state and school-sponsored financial aid. Federal student aid may cover expenses like tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation and dependent care. Every year, the U.S. Department of Education awards billions of dollars in grants, work-study funds, low-interest loans and other financial aid.

Over 6,000 schools use the FAFSA to determine financial aid for their students, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That means you only need to fill out one form per student, whether or not you know what college they’ll be attending (you can list more than one college on the form). Even if you don’t think you qualify for aid because of your income level, it’s a good idea to fill it out a FAFSA just in case.

The FAFSA form must be filled out every year you or your student is in school, and you must file a separate form for each student. The deadline is typically June 30, but you can usually submit corrections or updates until around September 14.

Tip: Even though the federal deadline is usually June 30, different colleges or states may have their own deadlines, and some deadlines may be rolling. It’s a good idea to file the FAFSA as early as possible to maximize your chances of getting aid and to get a better sense of how much college will cost you.

To complete the form, you need the student’s Social Security number, or A-Number if you are not a U.S. citizen, federal income tax returns and child support records, bank statements and investment records and an FSA ID to log into the system. Parents can fill out the FAFSA on behalf of a dependent student, or the student can fill it out using their parents’ financial information.

Tip: The paperwork can take up to one hour to complete, but gathering this information ahead of time can speed up the process.

There are a number of paid services to assist you with the FAFSA. But before you do that, you may want to consider free online resources, such as Studentaid.gov.

The U.S. Department of Education allows you to mail the FAFSA or file it online. To submit it digitally you'll need a Federal Student Aid, or FSA, ID account.

Tip: Once you submit the form, check in with the school's financial aid office about its timeline for notifying students about financial aid packages. Every school is different.

Once you understand how much financial aid you may receive, you can keep saving for college expenses and decide which school is the right fit.