Help With FAFSA

Financial aid is money to supplement what you and your family can afford to pay for your education. It may be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, meal plans, and other educational expenses.

How much aid you qualify for is calculated by the difference of your expected family contribution and the total cost of the school you plan to attend, including tuition, fees, housing, books, supplies, etc. 

The application takes an average of 30 minutes or less. It will be faster if you get your FSA ID and all documents and information prepared in advance. 

Student financial aid is awarded based on the following equation:

• Total Cost of Attendance – This is developed by each individual school, which includes tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, transportation, personal expenses, etc.
• Expected Family Contribution- This is determined by the FAFSA
• Other Financial Assistance
• Student Financial Need

The FAFSA opening date is determined by the federal government. Financial aid and work-study programs are given on a first-come, first-served basis.

However, many states and colleges have earlier deadlines for applying for state and institutional financial aid. You can find your state’s deadline at https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/fafsa-deadlines#federal. Check with your college about its deadlines.

Because of the variation in state and college deadlines, it is highly recommended that you fill out the FAFSA as soon as you can to ensure that you do not miss out on available aid.

If your last name doesn’t fit in the allowed space, type in as much as you can and it will be accepted.

You are not required to register for the Selective Service on the FAFSA to be eligible for federal financial aid for the 22-23 award year. However, if you are male under 18 that has not registered for Selective Service, you may select yes and once you turn 18 you will be registered and a Selective Service card will be mailed to you. Males (gender assigned at birth) can register for Selective Service while completing the FAFSA.

If your parent has more than one child who will be in college next year, on the confirmation page of your FAFSA application, you can transfer their information to the next FAFSA application. This option is only available on the confirmation page and will not allow you to come back later to transfer.

A mobile phone number cannot be used with more than one FSA ID. Emails used for the FSA ID need to be different. If you only have one email, your parent can proceed without creating an FSA ID.

If you are applying to more than 10 schools, submit your FAFSA, then return the form after it has been processed. You can remove a school and replace it with another one. The school that you had removed will still receive your FAFSA form.

The FAFSA can be submitted without parental information. However, it will not be considered complete. FSA will not be able to calculate the EFC. Contact your financial aid office for more details.

My parents are divorced, and the parent I’m living with has remarried. Does my stepparent have to report their income and assets on the FAFSA?

Yes, provided that the parent you’re living with is filling out the FAFSA (your custodial parent). If your stepparent is married to them when you fill out the FAFSA, they must report their income and assets even if they weren’t married to them in the previous year.

If your parent has remarried, the income of that parent’s spouse shall be included in determining the parent’s adjusted available income only if —

• The student’s parent and the stepparent are married as of the date of application for the award year concerned, and
• The student is not an independent student

My custodial parent remarried and signed a prenuptial agreement that clears the stepparent from financial responsibility for my education. Why does my stepparent have to provide financial information on the FAFSA?

The federal need analysis process ignores prenuptial agreements, regardless of any prenuptial agreements to the contrary. If a stepparent marries the parent, they are considered responsible for supporting the parent and children even if they are unwilling to do so.

Filing as an independent student doesn’t mean that you can leave the parent section of the FAFSA blank.  Check with your school first before submitting it. For example, graduate health profession students may be required to provide parental data even if they are independent. Don’t forget to complete the section that asks you for the number of people in your household. Be sure to include yourself.

Dependent students may change their status. Remember that most students will not qualify for a change in status. Circumstances tend to be extreme (such as abandonment or physical abuse) to warrant the change. Simply living in your apartment or house is not enough to justify your reasoning.

You can start by filing a Dependency Review Form, which can be requested from a financial aid administrator at your school. You also must provide documentation explaining your situation. A committee or financial aid office then reviews your case at your college.

Does my parents’ citizenship status affect my eligibility for federal student aid?

No. Your parents’ citizenship status doesn’t affect your eligibility for federal student aid. The FAFSA form doesn’t even ask about your parents’ status.

Does my parent need a Social Security number?

Parents do not need an SSN to complete the FAFSA. If your parents are undocumented, they can complete the FAFSA by entering 000-00-0000 in the SSN field and printing, signing, and mailing the form.

How should my parent submit their tax information?

If you filed your income tax return with the IRS, you may be able to access your tax information through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), and it will transfer to your FAFSA application. If you didn’t file an income tax return with the IRS, enter the requested financial information manually on the FAFSA website.

If you have a Social Security number, you are eligible to receive federal state aid. You can complete the FAFSA application and apply to your desired college.

How do I answer the question that reads, “Are you a U.S. citizen?”
DACA students must answer that question by selecting “No, I am not a citizen or eligible noncitizen.”

How do I answer the question, “What is your state of legal residence?”
This includes parents’ state of legal residence as well. The state of legal residence is your permanent home. Being a DACA student doesn’t affect how you should answer this question. Each state determines legal residency differently. Contact your high school counselor or college or career school’s financial aid office for assistance with your state of legal residence if needed.

How should my parent and I submit our tax information?

If you filed your income tax return with the IRS, you may be able to access your tax information through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), which will transfer to your FAFSA application. If you didn’t file an income tax return with the IRS, manually enter the requested financial information on the FAFSA website.

There is no income cut-off to qualify for federal student aid. Many factors, such as the size of your family, the cost of college you plan to attend, and your year in school, are considered. The only way to know your qualifications is to submit the FAFSA.

You don’t need to get a credit check for most federal student loans (except for Direct PLUS Loans). Also, you usually won’t need a cosigner to get a federal student loan.

While a high GPA will help a student get into a school and may help with academic scholarships, most federal student aid programs do not consider a student’s grades.

No, your age or ethnicity are not taken into consideration for federal financial aid.

Yes, your parents’ citizenship status is NOT a factor. If your parents don’t have Social Security numbers, they must enter 000-00-0000 and mail in the signature page.

If you get all of your documents and information ready beforehand, the FAFSA won’t take more than 30 minutes. See FAFSA Info Checklists

You can submit your FAFSA form before submitting any school applications. You’ll need to list at least one school on your FAFSA form, but try to add every school you’re considering. Some schools have early deadlines to apply for limited funds. You can add or delete schools on your FAFSA after you submit it.

The FAFSA uses prior years’ tax information. Learn more about tax deadlines and details on Prep for FAFSA. 

Yes! It’s super important to fill out a FAFSA form every year you are in school. Why? Because things can change. For instance, your school or state might create a new grant or scholarship, or the factors used to calculate your aid could change from one year to the next. Either way, if you don’t submit a new FAFSA form, you may not know.