Financial Aid

How to Complete the FAFSA

Information may be out of date. The FAFSA was redesigned beginning with the 2024–25 cycle. Federal tax information is now transferred through a consent-based IRS process (replacing the IRS Data Retrieval Tool), each parent or other contributor completes their own section with their own FSA ID, and the number of colleges you can list and the form’s length have changed. Use studentaid.gov for the current steps, deadlines, and requirements.

One of the steps of the college application process is applying for financial aid. This is often a complicated, detailed process. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the application that most colleges require, including both public and private ones. Some colleges require this to qualify for merit-based scholarships in addition to financial aid. The FAFSA also qualifies applicants for federal student loans, Pell Grants, and work-study programs. The amount of information required to complete the application can make the process tedious but with the right preparation it does not have to be. So what do you need to complete the FAFSA? Lots of financial and personal information.

According to the FAFSA government website, FAFSA.gov, applicants will need a social security number or Alien Registration Number if not a U.S. citizen, federal income tax returns, W-2s, and any other tax documents demonstrating earnings and income. Federal tax return information can be transferred to the FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. Bank and investment statements and documents showing untaxed income are also needed. Finally, a FSA ID is needed to sign in electronically during the process. This should be created at the beginning of the process. To fill out the parent portion of the FAFSA, parents will need to create a FSA ID and password separate from the student.

With the right preparation of documents and information, the FAFSA should take only 30-55 minutes to complete, although this does not include time spent organizing and collecting the needed materials. After it is complete, students must list the colleges that they are applying to. Some public schools require that applicants list them first to qualify for state aid so it is important to research this depending on the college. For federal aid, the order of the colleges does not matter. Students can list up to 10 schools to receive the FAFSA. If the applicant is applying to more than 10 colleges, then they should wait and make sure the colleges listed have already received the FAFSA before removing them to add the additional colleges.

Make sure to save any financial information used in the application process in case colleges require additional information. Furthermore, if applying to private colleges, make sure to save information for the CSS Profile, which is required by most private colleges in addition to the FAFSA to qualify for financial aid. The CSS Profile is completed through the College Board and is separate from the FAFSA.

Helpful Links:

General Information: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out
Application website: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
FAFSA Application Process Overview: https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/fafsa-process.png

Sources:

What Will I Need to Fill out the FAFSA?, fafsa.ed.gov/help/before003.htm.

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