For many Iowa State students, today is your last day on campus before you finally get a week free from school. Whether you’re going home or staying on campus, this next week is a well deserved break from class and hopefully a break from homework as well. 

But, while you finally have more than 10 minutes of free time, Thanksgiving break is a perfect opportunity to get some of your less-than-fun requirements out of the way, such as filing your FAFSA and applying for scholarships.

The FAFSA application for the 2018-2019 school year became available on Oct. 1 and is due Dec. 1. 

Applying for FAFSA is important because many families don’t know if they qualify for financial aid until they apply. Plus, students can’t borrow from the federal government if they don’t apply for FAFSA, which means that they aren’t eligible for federal loans such as the Direct Stafford Loan. 

If you are an incoming freshman, Dec. 1 is also the deadline for you to apply for Office of Student Financial Aid scholarships through Iowa State. 

This is just one scholarship application, without other obligations or responsibilities during break, there is plenty of time for students to search out and apply for other scholarships offered for the 2018-2019 school year. Many of these deadlines are either in December or January. 

The sooner students complete these applications, the less they’ll need to worry about them once classes and their course work resume. So, students, make a good use of your time over break, you’ll thank yourself later.