Applying for Financial Aid With the FAFSA

Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is an important part of going to college. But in the 2024-25 academic year, 29% of undergraduate families didn’t submit the FAFSA, mainly because they thought they wouldn’t qualify for aid due to their income, according to Sallie Mae’s study, “How America Pays for College 2025.” 

“The biggest mistake families make is not filling out the FAFSA at all,” says Shannon Vasconcelos, senior director of college finance at Bright Horizons College Coach. The FAFSA is the gateway to need-based aid, student loans, and even scholarships, and there’s no income limit for applying. Here’s why it’s important to file it each year.

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What is the FAFSA and why does it matter?

The FAFSA is the financial aid application form that students must fill out each year to be considered for federal student aid, such as the Pell Grant, work-study, and federal student loans. Colleges also use the FAFSA to award other forms of aid, including state aid, their own institutional aid, and sometimes scholarships.

“There’s a misconception that the FAFSA is only for federal financial aid,” says Kim Nauer, director of the Higher Education Affordability Project at The New School, and founder of UnderstandingFAFSA.org. “It’s also used by colleges for college aid, which is 35% to 40% of all aid given out, and sometimes state aid. If you want money for college, you need to fill out the FAFSA.”

Who should apply for aid with the FAFSA?

Both undergraduate and graduate students can file the FAFSA.

• Dependent and independent undergraduates: Undergrad students may qualify for federal, state, or institutional grants, work-study, and subsidized federal student loans. All students can take out unsubsidized federal student loans, regardless of need, if they meet the borrowing requirements. Colleges and private organizations may require the FAFSA to consider you for institutional or private scholarships. The amount you can borrow each year depends on your status as an independent or dependent undergraduate. Independent students are eligible for more. For example, the annual maximum for first-year students is $5,500 for dependent students and $9,500 for independent students.
• Graduate and professional students: The FAFSA makes federal unsubsidized student loans available to graduate students, as well as limited grants. Generally, however, federal grants, work-study, and subsidized student loans aren’t available to grad students.

Even if you won’t qualify for aid and don’t need a student loan, filing a FAFSA sets you up to be able to take out a federal student loan later in the year if you need it. With a FAFSA already on file, “it’s easy to contact the school and say you’d like a federal Direct student loan,” says Nauer. “The school can make that happen immediately.”

Who is eligible for the FAFSA?

It’s a good idea to complete the FAFSA even if you don’t think you qualify for federal financial aid. Your state and school may also use the form to determine your eligibility for financial aid.

These are the general eligibility requirements for FAFSA:

• Financial need: For need-based programs, you must prove that you have financial need.
• U.S. citizenship or eligible noncitizen status: The list of eligible noncitizens includes U.S. nationals, permanent residents, refugees, and those granted asylum. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are not eligible for federal financial aid, but they may still want to fill out the FAFSA to receive state or school-level aid. The full list of noncitizen eligibility requirements can be found on StudentAid.gov.
• A valid Social Security number: Exceptions to this requirement include students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau.
• A high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) certificate: You’re also eligible if you completed your high school education in a state-approved homeschool setting or if you enrolled in an eligible career pathway program and met the requirements.
• Enrollment in an eligible degree or certificate program: You’re eligible if you have been accepted for enrollment, even if you have not yet enrolled.
• Enrollment at least half-time: For Direct Loan funds, you must be enrolled at least half-time at your school.
• Satisfactory academic progress: Once you begin your schooling, you must meet your school’s definition of satisfactory academic progress.
• Not in federal student loan default: You must sign a certification statement declaring that you’re not in default on a federal student loan, you don’t owe any money on a federal student grant, and that you will use your federal student loans solely for educational purposes.

Check Out: FAFSA for Graduate School: What You Should Know

How to apply for financial aid using the FAFSA

Typically, students submit their first FAFSA during their senior year of high school for the following year, and then renew the form each year they’re in college. Follow these steps:

1. Create your StudentAid.gov account (aka FSA ID)

On the StudentAid.gov website, go to the Create an Account page to set up your account with a username, which becomes your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID, and password. You’ll use the same FSA ID to file your FAFSA each year.

If you’re a dependent student, one of your parents or guardians, known as a “contributor,” will also need to create an account to report their information in the parent section of your FAFSA. In some situations, both parents and sometimes stepparents must each report their information, such as when they’re married but file taxes separately.

Parents without a Social Security number can still set up an account. Your account requires the following information:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Email address

2. Gather your documents

Once you’ve created your FSA ID, it’s time to gather the required documents for the FAFSA. You’ll need to provide information about yourself, your family, and your finances. Here are the necessary identification documents you will need:

• Social Security number
• A parent’s Social Security number, if you are a dependent student
• Your driver’s license number, if you have one
• Your Alien Registration Number, if you are not a U.S. citizen

Necessary financial documentation includes:

• Federal income tax information for yourself, your parents (if you’re a dependent student), or your spouse (if you’re married). You’ll input tax information from 2 years prior — on the 2026-27 FAFSA, for example, you would provide 2024 tax data.
• Records of untaxed income for you and/or your parents, if you’re a dependent student. Untaxed income might include:
  • Child support received
  • Interest income
  • Veterans benefits
• Information on other assets owned by you and/or your parents, if you’re a dependent student. You aren’t required to report the home in which you live or retirement accounts like 401(k) plans, but you should include things like:
  • Savings and checking account balances
  • Investments, including stocks, bonds, and real estate
  • Business assets

3. Fill out the form

The FAFSA has different sections for the student, student’s spouse (if applicable), parent contributor, and parent’s spouse or partner if required. Follow these steps to complete the FAFSA:

1. Log in with your FSA ID and choose the correct year (current or next academic year).
2. Complete the student section with your personal information and other details.
3. List the colleges where you want your FAFSA to go (up to 20), even if you haven’t fully decided where to apply.
4. Complete your student financial information and sign with your FSA ID.
5. If you’re a dependent student, invite your parent contributor(s) to add their financial information in their section. This tool helps you determine which parent to invite. 
6. If you’re an independent student (graduate students are independent), sign and submit the form without inviting a parent.

4. Slow down to avoid mistakes

Besides skipping the FAFSA, other mistakes include accidentally listing assets that aren’t required or listing them in the student section, which are assessed at a higher percentage than parent assets, Vasconcelos says. These errors can artificially inflate your financial worth and affect your eligibility for aid if you don’t catch and correct the errors. Experts recommend attending FAFSA events in your area for support — ask your school for more information.

Tips to maximize FAFSA financial aid

To make sure your submission of the FAFSA is successful, follow these important tips:

• Double-check your information: Incorrectly typing your Social Security number or misspelling your name can derail the processing of your FAFSA. Before you hit “Submit,” make sure you check that all the information you entered is correct.
• Use the IRS data retrieval tool: Gathering and entering all the necessary tax information can be the most time-consuming part of this process. To speed things up and help avoid mistakes, use the IRS data retrieval tool. Not all students are able to take advantage of this tool, but if it’s available to you, it may be worth it.
• Don’t list assets you aren’t required to: Not all assets must be included on your FAFSA, and overreporting your wealth can lead to less financial aid. Read the fine print about what assets you’re required to include. For example, you don’t need to report:
  • Your primary home
  • UGMA and UTMA accounts for which your parents are the custodian, but not the owner
  • Life insurance values
  • ABLE accounts
  • Retirement plans, including 401(k) plans, pension funds, annuities, noneducation IRAs, etc.
• Draw down assets you do have to include: You might also reallocate the assets you’re required to report, such as your savings account. If you can afford to, you could use your savings to pay off credit card debt or make a lump-sum investment in a retirement account. Actions like this can leave you with less to report on the FAFSA.
• Regularly check your email for updates: You don’t want to miss any important messages about upcoming deadlines or missing information. Monitor your communications and take quick action if required.

When is the FAFSA deadline?

The FAFSA typically opens on October 1 each year, but this has varied in recent years. There are three types of deadlines to track for the FAFSA:

• Federal deadline: This is usually on June 30. For example, June 30, 2027, is the deadline for the 2026-27 academic year.
• State deadlines: Each state has its own deadline. Some are first-come, first-served, and for those states, submitting your FAFSA soon after Oct. 1 is best.
• School deadlines: Each institution has its own deadline and may have a priority deadline for institutional aid that’s earlier than the application deadline. Check with your college or career school. 

If you miss a deadline, submit your FAFSA as soon as possible. “Some students wait until after they’ve been accepted and then apply for financial aid when the school has a financial aid deadline that has already passed,” says Vasconcelos. 

What happens after you submit the FAFSA?

After submitting your online FAFSA, you’ll receive a FAFSA Submission Summary within one to three days that summarizes the information you provided. You should receive an email, or you can log in to your account to check if your FAFSA was processed.

Your summary includes four types of information:

• Eligibility Overview: This section lists your estimated federal student aid, including your Pell Grant amount if you’re eligible, federal student loans, and whether you’re eligible for work-study. You’ll also see your Student Aid Index (SAI), which is a number schools use to calculate your eligibility for federal, state, and institutional need-based aid.
• FAFSA Form Answers: This section lists the information you submitted. Review it to ensure it’s accurate. You can correct any errors on self-reported assets, but income information from the IRS can’t be changed. That’s handled through an appeal process with individual schools.
• School information: This page lists the schools you included.
• Next Steps: If you’re required to make a correction or you realize you made a mistake, you’ll handle it now. Update your FAFSA as soon as possible so it can be processed and submitted to your schools. 

Once your FAFSA has been finalized and received by your schools, they use the information to determine your aid package and issue a financial aid letter, if you’ve been accepted. Schools subtract your SAI from their cost of attendance (COA) to determine how much need-based aid you’re eligible for. Schools may also award a merit or other type of scholarship that isn’t based on need.