FAFSA and the shooting of one's self in the foot

RainyjayD3

Off the bat, this is a question about FAFSA and Deadlines.

Here’s some info to set the story:

I have a year of college left (Fall 2009-Spring 2010).
I am claimed as a dependent.
I have had student loans before.

This last semester (Fall 2008) I, for whatever reason, got it into my head that I had applied for a loan and everything was taken care of. I found out at the end of Fall 2008 semester I did not get any loans, and their records showed that I did not fill out a FAFSA. I found this out near the end of the semester, when I went I was going to register for Spring 2009 classes. Somehow I was able to have enough money to pay for it out of pocket, release the block on signing up for new classes, and get into Spring 2009 classes.

Now this brings us here, at which the situation has repeated itself:

I recently found out that I need to take some classes during the summer (something I had not planned on) and have yet to pay for Spring 2009, as school, full time work, and procrastination had made me plan on filling everything out after the semester was over. I figured that I could pay for Spring 2009 afterwards, as signing up for classes in Fall 2009 would be available all throughout summer.

As this is not the case, I realize I potentially screwed myself over for absolutely no good reason. After spending a couple days trying to sort out forms, PINs, and realizations that I’m a moron (combined with “will I pass 2 important classes” stress), I come to these forums for help.

1. Is there anything I can do to get a loan for the Fall 2008 and current Spring 2009 semester, or have I screwed myself over on that one?
2. Is it too late to seek loans for Summer 2009? If not, which year’s form do I need to fill out for Summer 2009?
3. Are there any optimizations or similar wizardry that one can use on FAFSA?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated, even if it is just pointing me in the right direction.

Elin

Summer loans are based off of the previous years FAFSA. So if you didn't fill out the FAFSA for the 2008-2009 school year, you are not going to get a loan for summer of '09. FAFSA's are also first come, first serve. The later in the year you fill it out, the less money is left for you. On top of that some schools have a FAFSA deadline that is earlier than the federal deadline. This means to you, you need to talk to your financial aid dept. I'm thinking that you filled out the FAFSA for next year (2009-2010) and that's great but you're kinda boned for this year. You can try for private loans but the federal ones are not an option most like.

supabeast

I think Elin is correct about federal loans, but check with your school’s financial aid department to be sure. While you’re there, ask them to help you with private lenders and other aid for summer.

RainyjayD3

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be scheduling a meeting as soon as possible.
Any general tips or resources to learn about non federal loans? I've never looked at any other than federal, so I'll be walking in a bit blind.

Thanks again.