The FAFSA Financial Aid Process

To qualify for federal sources of financial aid, students must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Financial Aid (FAFSA) to the U.S. Department of Education.Make sure you submit the FAFSA form as early as possible! Submitting the FAFSA determines your eligibility for student aid by:

Applying a standard financial aid eligibility calculation to a student's and family's personal and financial information
Conducting checks with other government agencies (Social Security Administration and Selective Service for example) to ensure the applicant is eligible for federal student aid.
Electronically forwarding a record of the application to the school/schools specified by the applicant.
Apply Online: FAFSA Financial Aid Application

How Your Financial Aid Eligibility is Determined

The FAFSA is the "input" to the SAR - student aid report - which details the EFC - expected family contribution, or the total amount of money that you and your family are expected to contribute to the funding of your education. The formula is fairly complicated - approximately 40 pages of math - but it boils down to:

School cost - scholarships - federal financial aid - federal student loans - other sources of financing = your expected contribution

What You Need

Here's a list of what you should have on hand before starting the FAFSA process. You will need records of income earned in the year prior to when you will start school. You may also need records of your parent's income information if you are a dependent student.

For the 2007-2008 school year, you will need financial information from 2006. You will need to refer to:

Your Social Security Number (can be found on Social Security card)
Your driver's license (if any)
Your 2006 W-2 Forms and other records of money earned
Your (and your spouse's, if you are married) 2004 Federal Income Tax Return - IRS Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040TeleFile, foreign tax return, or tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia
Your parents' 2006 Federal Income Tax Return (if you are a dependent student)
Your 2006 untaxed income records - Social Security, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, welfare, or veterans benefits records
Your current bank statements
Your current business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records
Your alien registration or permanent residence card (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

School information on the FAFSA

One important piece of information that applicants provide on the FAFSA is the school/schools that you are interested in attending. By entering the information on the school section of the FAFSA, the information is electronically forwarded to the schools' financial aid office allowing them to begin making an award. You can find your school's FAFSA codes on our FAFSA school directory pages.

Electronic considerations for filing the FAFSA

There are a number of electronic options available to make filing the FAFSA very easy. These electronic options are also much faster in providing information to the schools you may be considering attending. File your FAFSA electronically now!

It's safe
It's fast
It's free

After submitting the FAFSA

Once you submit the FAFSA to the Department of Education, the information you provide is processed to determine your EFC and check other requirements of aid eligibility. The FAFSA processor forwards an electronic record of your application to the schools you indicated. You will also receive a notification, called a Student Aid Report (SAR), from the Department of Education that allows you to review the information provided on the application and make corrections to the information - if needed.

Apply for Scholarships

While waiting for your FAFSA to be processed, start looking for and applying for scholarships. Useful sites include:

Accept Grants

If you are eligible for them, you can be awarded one or more federal grants, including:

The Federal Pell Grant
The Federal Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
The Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
The Federal Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART)

Your Student Aid Report (SAR) will detail what grants you are eligible for, if any.

Apply for Loans

Once you've gotten your SAR, it's time to apply for student loans. Some common student loans you can apply for include:

Stafford Loans
Federal PLUS Loans for parents of undergraduate students
Perkins Loans

You can also apply for non-federal student loans if your FAFSA SAR comes back with no aid available.

Alternative Student Loans / Private Student Loans

After graduating, you can consolidate your loans - combining multiple payments into one.

Student Loan Consolidation / Consolidate College Loans

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