Infographic: The Facts About Federal Student Loan Aid

Full description. There is too much misinformation on the internet about student financial aid and FAFSA. Federal Student Aid (FSA - the branch of the government under the Department of Education that administers federal student loans) published a YouTube video addressing common myths regarding FAFSA. We decided to fact check the contents and then address common questions posted in the comments section. The data shows that the FSA video's contents are mostly accurate, with the exception of too much optimism. You can read the entire blog post that has more contextual evidence, or view the infographic below.

What's included. This infographic addresses common myths about federal student aid by fact-checking each and every data point that is relevant. Common concepts related to grants and scholarships are also defined.

1. Too much misinformation: If you Google the phrase "financial aid help," over 144 million results are shown. All of this information can't be right. But a video from the Federal Student Aid department of the U.S. government should be accurate and credible.
2. Myth #1 - "If your parents earn too much, you don't qualify": This myth is true and the video is false in this regard. Pell Grant recipient data shows that the more your parents earn, the less likely you are to qualify for federal student aid.
3. Myth #2 - "You have to file your taxes before applying for financial aid": This myth is indeed false and the FSA video is correct. You don't have to file your taxes early, but filing late can impact your ability te secure aid as they work on a "first come first serve" basis.
4. Myth #3 - "The FAFSA takes too long to fill out and is complicated": This myth is false and the FSA video is correct. After conducting an internal study, we found that filling out the FAFSA takes under an hour (total from start to finish, assuming you do it online).
5. Myth #4: "You don't qualify for federal aid if your GPA is too low": This myth is mostly false and the FSA video is correct. GPA is not a determining factor whether you get aid.
6. Myth #5: "Your age and ethnicity can disqualify you from federal aid": This myth is false and the FSA video is correct. The fact is that Pell Grant data shows an even distribution of recipients by race.
7. Myth #6: "Only the federal government distributes financial aid": This myth is false (and not included in the video). While the federal government does provide upwards of $22 billion per year (2008 data), this only makes up roughly 35% of the total loan amount distributed by all potential lenders (total of $62 billion dollars). Private lenders are a primary source of education funding.

Having the facts about federal student aid is an important step to making responsible financial decisions that impact your future, and this infographic is a great step towards knowing what's true.