Tips for parents filing the FAFSA
“Unlike traditional telethons, we’re not asking for donations, we’re hoping to make money available to students and families by helping them complete the all-important FAFSA,” said Stacy Crooks, director of the CPC. “We’ll work one-on-one with ...
There are three ways to sign:
A parent can get in by entering your (the student's) identifiers on the “Login” screen and never needs to use your account username and password. When everyone is finished with their parts of the FAFSA® form, be sure to select “Submit My FAFSA® Now” at the bottom of the “Signature Status” page.
You can log in on the roles page by selecting “I am a student and want to access the FAFSA form” and entering your FSA ID username and password. If you're a student from a Freely Associated State, you can log in by entering your identifiers.
Make changes at fafsa.gov:Select the "LOG IN” button and enter your FSA ID.On the “My FAFSA” page, select “Make Corrections.”Create a save key.Change your information.Submit your new information.
You can check the application status online or by phone at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, you can check the status after it has been processed (seven to ten days from date mailed). After your child's application is processed, he or she will receive the Student Aid Report (SAR).
For more information or to create your own FSA ID, go to StudentAid.gov/fsaid. If your parent does not have a Social Security Number, he or she will not be able to get an FSA ID. In that case your parent will print, sign, and mail in a paper signature page.
If you have an account but don't remember your username, select Forgot My Username. Note: If you verified your email address or mobile phone number during account creation, you can enter your email address or mobile phone number instead of your username.
Any parent, who wants to electronically sign the FAFSA, will need his or her own FSA ID. To avoid problems with your financial aid down the road, you (and your parent, if that applies) should create your own FSA ID.
What if I forget my FSA ID password for my account?Enter your username, verified email address, or verified mobile phone number and the month and day of your birthday.Select one of the three recovery options: Text a secure code to my mobile phone, Email a secure code, Answer my challenge questions.*More items...
If you have no contact with your parents and don't know where they live, or you've left home due to an abusive situation, fill out the FAFSA form and then immediately get in touch with the financial aid office at the college or career school you plan to attend. The financial aid staff will tell you what to do next.
To check on the status of financial aid being disbursed to you or your account, check with the financial aid office at your college. Note: If you submitted a paper FAFSA, you can check the status of your application after it has been processed (roughly 7-10 days from the date mailed).
You can check fafsa.gov to see if your application was processed, even if you didn't submit the application online. Note: Colleges have access to your information one day after it's processed, but each college has its own process and time frames for accessing FAFSA information.
Checking the status of your Pell Grant To check the status of your Pell Grant eligibility, you can check the status of your FAFSA by logging in to your account on FAFSA.gov.
You can get your account back by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. If you cannot verify by phone, you may need to go through a manual verification process by mail. In this option, you'll have to send physical documentation, which may take a week or more.
If your FSA ID is lost or stolen, log in to reset your FSA ID (account username and password). Change your password, update your challenge questions, and disable your account if you are not actively using it. Contact Federal Student Aid at 1-800-433-3243 if there is concern of FSA ID misuse.
Their FSA ID username cannot be changed.
You can edit your FAFSA even after you submit it. This means you can correct mistakes, update information, and add or delete schools. It's important that your FAFSA is accurate and up to date, so we're here to walk you through any edits you need to make.
If you are starting the FAFSA form on behalf of your child, choose the option on the bottom, “I am a parent, preparer, or student from a Freely Associated State.”. Select the option that says “I am a parent, preparer, or student from a Freely Associated State” on the FAFSA application homepage. Enter your child’s name, Social Security number, ...
Go to StudentAid.gov and select “Apply for Aid” then “Complete the FAFSA® Form” along the top of the page. Select “Start Here” under “New to the FAFSA® Process?”
Both: If your child will be attending college during both time periods and hasn’t completed the 2020–21 FAFSA® form yet, complete that first, wait until it processes (one to three days), then go back in and complete the 2021–22 FAFSA® form after.
After the introduction page, you will proceed to enter basic demographic information about your child, such as name, date of birth, etc. If you chose the FAFSA® renewal option in step two, a lot of his or her personal information will be pre-populated to save you time. Make sure you enter your child’s personal information exactly as it appears on his or her Social Security card so you don’t encounter any errors. (That’s right, no nicknames.)
The FAFSA® form is the student’s application, not yours. When the FAFSA® form says “you” or “your,” it’s referring to the student (unless otherwise noted).
Parents completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form for the first time can follow eight simple steps to helping their children obtain federal student aid. These include creating an account ahead of time, filling out the demographics section, and listing financial information correctly, among others.
Choose which FAFSA form you’d like to complete. 2020–21 FAFSA® form if your child will be attending college between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. 2021–22 FAFSA® form if your child will be attending college between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.
For each parent, you’ll report similar information to that you report for yourself: basic information about your parent’s identity (e.g., name, date of birth, and Social Security number—if he or she has one); living situation (e.g., marital status, state of residence, household size); and financial circumstances (e.g., tax information, certain assets, certain untaxed income). Learn more about the types of information you and your parents will report on the FAFSA form.
Including your stepparent’s information on the FAFSA form helps create an accurate picture of your family’s total financial strength.
If you are considered a dependent student for FAFSA ® purposes, you will need to provide information about your legal parent (s) on the application. A legal parent is your biological or adoptive parent, or your legal parent as determined by the state (for example, if the parent is listed on your birth certificate). If you have a stepparent currently married to your legal parent, you generally also must provide information about him or her.
The FAFSA questions use gender-neutral terminology for married parents (“Parent 1 (father/mother/stepparent)" and “Parent 2 (father/mother/stepparent)" instead of “mother" and “father"). It does not matter which parent completes which set of questions.
Divorced or Separated Parents Who Live Together. If your divorced parents live together, you’ll indicate their marital status as “Unmarried and both legal parents living together," and you will answer questions about both of them on the FAFSA form. If your separated parents live together, you’ll indicate their marital status as “Married ...
If your legal parents are not married to each other and live together, answer the questions about both of them, regardless of whether your parents are of the same or opposite sex. If your legal parent is widowed or was never married, answer the questions about that parent.
If you have a stepparent who is married to the legal parent whose information you’re reporting, you must provide information about that stepparent as well.