What is the FAFSA?

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Mark Kantrowitz

By Mark Kantrowitz

November 15, 2023

The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Students submit the FAFSA to apply for financial aid for college from the federal government, state governments and most colleges and universities. About 20 million students file the FAFSA each year. Student financial aid includes grants, scholarships, student employment and student loans.

As the name suggests, the FAFSA form is free. There is no need to pay anybody for help filing the FAFSA.

Who Should File the FAFSA?

All undergraduate students and graduate students should file the FAFSA, even if they think they won’t qualify for financial aid. The FAFSA determines a student’s eligibility for need-based aid, including work-study options and the Federal Pell Grant. But, the FAFSA also gives you access to federal parent and student loans, which offer lower interest rates and better repayment terms than a private loan.  

You could also miss out on institutional aid if you don’t file the FAFSA. Some colleges only award merit aid to students who completed the FAFSA. Others offer recruitment scholarships to students who complete the FAFSA but do not qualify for need-based aid.  

Try our Financial Aid Calculator to estimate your financial need

When Should You File? 

Typically students can file the FAFSA starting on October 1 of the calendar year prior to the academic year of enrollment. For the 2024-2025 a new simplified FAFSA is being introduced, which has delayed the start date. The U.S. Department of Education announced on November 15, 2023 that the form will be available to complete and submit online by December 31, 2023. In future years, the FAFSA is expected to return to an October 1 start date.

The FAFSA deadline is June 30 of the academic year or the last day of enrollment, whichever comes first. For example, the 2023-2024 FAFSA can be submitted no later than June 30, 2024. The 2024-2025 FAFSA deadline will be June 30, 2025.

Thus, there is a typically a 21-month period during which the FAFSA can be filed.

However, it is best to file the FAFSA as soon as possible once it becomes available. Students who file the FAFSA during the first three months tend to get double the grants, on average, of students who file the FAFSA later.

Remember to file the FAFSA for each year that you will attend college. Your situation may change and you don’t want to miss out on any potential financial aid awards.

See also: How to Prepare for filing the FAFSA

More than a dozen states award state grants on a first-come, first-served basis or until the money runs out. Other states have FAFSA deadlines in December, January, February and March. Some colleges have early deadlines, sometimes called priority deadlines, during which more institutional financial aid is available. Check with your college’s financial aid office to find out about specific deadlines.

Even some federal aid, such as campus-based aid, can be depleted. Each college gets a fixed allocation of Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) and Federal Work-Study (FWS) funding. When the money is fully awarded, there is no more money available.

File the FAFSA every year, even if you got nothing other than an unsubsidized loan last year. More than 2 million students who don’t file the FAFSA would have qualified for a Federal Pell Grant – more than a third of non-applicants – and 1.2 million would have qualified for the maximum Federal Pell Grant.

Which Form to File

There may be two FAFSAs that can be filed at any one time, the FAFSA for the current academic year and the FAFSA for the upcoming academic year. Make sure you are filing the correct one. During the overlap period, about 90% of students are applying for financial aid for the academic year that begins in the fall, not the current school year.

How to File the FAFSA

To file the FAFSA, first get a federal student aid ID (FSA ID) from fsaid.ed.gov. The FSA ID is a username and password that is used to electronically sign the FAFSA. Students and parents should each get their own FSA ID. Do not share your FSA ID with anybody.

The FAFSA application can be filed on the FAFSA website, fafsa.ed.gov. There is also a mobile version called myStudentAid that is available on the App Store for iOS devices and on Google Play for Android devices. Most families can complete the FAFSA in 30-60 minutes, including the time needed to gather documents needed to complete the FAFSA.

You will need to provide personal data, such as your Social Security number and your driver’s license number, and your parent(s) Social Security number if you’re a dependent student. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you may also have to provide your Student Alien Registration number. If you’re an independent student you do not report your parents’ information, but you may need to report your spouse’s information.

The IRS Direct Data Exchange will be used to transfer tax information from your federal income tax returns into the FAFSA. This is mandatory under the new simplified FAFSA. Not only does this simplify the FAFSA by automatically answering many of the questions, but it reduces the likelihood of error.

A new, simplified version of the FAFSA is available starting for the 2024-2025 academic year. The new form contains fewer questions, and no longer requires students to manually report certain types of untaxed income.

What Happens After You File 

You will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary a few days to a few weeks after you file the FAFSA. The Summary provides an opportunity to correct errors on the FAFSA. It also includes the Student Aid Index (SAI), a measure of the family’s financial strength.

The SAI is calculated using a federal financial aid formula, called the federal need analysis methodology, which is based on the student and parent income and assets and various demographic questions. The financial aid formula is heavily weighted toward income and cash flow.

If the student’s ability to pay for college is affected by special circumstances, such as a change in income or unusual family financial circumstances, the student can appeal for more financial aid. Contact the college’s financial aid office for information about how to file an appeal.

How funds are disbursed

Financial aid funds, including federal student aid, are distributed through the college financial aid office. There may be an automatic 30-day delay for disbursement of student loan funds for first-time, first-year federal student loan borrowers. Financial aid is first applied to tuition and fees and, if the student is living in college housing, to room and board. Credit balances will be “refunded” to the student within 14 days and can be used to cover other college costs, such as textbooks and transportation.

How to Get Help 

Students and parents who need help with the FAFSA can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). The FSAIC is a free hotline sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Other ways to get help include:

  • Email FederalStudentAidCustomerService@ed.gov, but don’t include private personal information in the email message.
  • Visit fafsa.ed.gov/help.htm.
  • For problems involving the FSA ID, students and parents can call 1-800-557-7394.
  • Individuals who are hearing impaired can call the FSAIC by TTY at 1-800-730-8913.
  • The National College Access Network (NCAN) runs the Form Your Future web site. The resources section of this site provides information about College Goal Sunday and other events where financial aid professionals provide free help completing the FAFSA.

See also: Complete Guide to FAFSA and Financial Aid

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