If you are a parent completing the FAFSA
Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest provider of student financial aid in the United States. Federal Student Aid provides student financial assistance in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. Federal Student Aid is also responsible for the de…
Multiple ways to complete the FAFSA form are available:
Use these tips for filling out the FAFSA to make the process smooth and headache free. An FSA ID is your Federal Student Aid Identification. You will need to set up a username and password that will give you access to US Department of Education websites.
A parent must enter an FSA ID password to access and request tax information from the IRS website and to sign the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA ®) form digitally. You can create an FSA ID if you (the parent) don’t have one. You must have a Social Security number to get an FSA ID. If you (the parent) have an FSA ID but don ...
If you cannot retrieve your FSA ID online, you still have options to get into your account, but there may be more effort required on your end. You can get your account back by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243.
Federal Student Aid uses your parents' email address to communicate important information about your application.
Submit your FAFSA form without signatures. Your FAFSA form will be partially processed without signatures, and you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) within 3–5 days. Without your signature, an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) won't be calculated, and you won't be able to receive federal student aid.
If you're considered a dependent student for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) purposes, you'll need to provide information about your parent(s) on the application.
Give the other person the Save Key. Then that person can use the Save Key to get into the partially completed FAFSA and do his or her part. A parent can get in by entering your (the student's) identifiers on the right side of the "Login" screen and never needs to use your FSA ID.
The FAFSA is just an application for financial aid, which means it won't affect your credit scores.
If your parents are separated or divorced, the custodial parent is responsible for filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The custodial parent for federal student aid purposes is the parent with whom you lived the most during the past 12 months.
If you can answer “Yes” to any of the following questions, you are considered an independent student on the 2021–22 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, and you generally won't need to provide your parents' information: Were you born before Jan. 1, 1998?
An independent student is one of the following: at least 24 years old, married, a graduate or professional student, a veteran, a member of the armed forces, an orphan, a ward of the court, someone with legal dependents other than a spouse, an emancipated minor, or someone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless ...
If you do not provide their information on the FAFSA form, the application will be considered “rejected,” and you might not be able to receive any federal student aid. The most you would be able to get (depending on what the financial aid office at your college decides) would be a loan called an unsubsidized loan.
If you can't provide parental information, provide all student information and skip any questions about your parents. We can't calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) without your parents' information. EFC is the number colleges use to determine how much student aid you're eligible to receive.
If you agree to this, you may submit your FAFSA form without parent information. Your FAFSA information will be sent to the colleges you list, but you won't get an EFC. You must immediately contact your school's financial aid office to discuss the possibility of getting an unsubsidized Direct Loan.
0:242:40Get Email List for All Parents - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThis is what distance learning is gonna be maybe occasionally. Say hey I'm doing this info sessionMoreThis is what distance learning is gonna be maybe occasionally. Say hey I'm doing this info session your kids might want to check out.
24Students are able to file their FAFSA® as an independent at the age of 24.
You won't be required to provide tax returns, but your parents might have to upload W-2s, 1099s or pay stubs from the previous year to support their income claim. Although this process could involve some extra work, the silver lining is that you'll likely qualify for need-based aid, such as the Pell Grant.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form applies to a single academic year. That means you need to submit a FAFSA form each year—and make sure you meet the FAFSA deadlines for state and college aid to maximize the amount and types of aid you could receive.
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?”
If your child did not file taxes, you can enter his or her financial information manually (if you have access to the required information). If you don’t have access to the information, save and exit the application and instruct your child to log in with his or her FSA ID, retrieve the FAFSA form using the save key, complete the FAFSA form, and sign it.
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.
Usually, this is the parent you live with the most. If you split time between your parents equally, use the parent who provides most of your financial support. If the parent on your FAFSA form has remarried, you need to include your step-parent’s information too.
If they are your parents, by birth or adoption, you need to provide information on both of them. You do not include adults who are not related to you, even if they are close family members or support you.