Preparing for the FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can seem daunting, but we are here to help you through the process!

The 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is delayed! The 2025-2026 FAFSA is anticipated to open for all students on or before December 1, 2024! Keep an eye on this webpage or follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram for updates!

• First, Create Your FSA ID
• Second, Gather Some Information
• Third, Complete and Submit Your FAFSA!

Need more help? See the Federal Student Aid help website for filling out the FAFSA.

First, Create Your FSA ID

The first step is to create your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) - your username and password for most federal financial aid websites. Set this up no later than one week before you intend to start your FAFSA to allow sufficient time for processing.

All contributors must have an FSA ID to complete the FAFSA. A contributor is anyone — the student, the student's spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or the parent's spouse (such as a stepparent) — who is required to provide information on the FAFSA. All contributors must sign the FAFSA with their FSA ID or the FAFSA will be invalid and an SAI will not be calculated.

Each contributor should set up their own FSA ID with their own individual email account. Parents or spouses are not authorized to set up an FSA ID on behalf of their student, and students are not authorized to set up their parents’ or spouse's FSA ID(s).

Contributors of dependent students who may need to create an FSA ID:

• Biological or adoptive parents who are married, living together, and filed taxes separately must each have an FSA ID.
• Biological or adoptive parents who are married and filed taxes jointly need at least one parent to have an FSA ID.
• Biological or adoptive parents who are not married, living together, and filed taxes separately must each have an FSA ID.
• Remarried parent who filed taxes separately, both parent and stepparent must each have an FSA ID.
• Divorced parent who provided more than 50% of the financial support for the past 12 months must have their own FSA ID.
• If this parent is remarried and filed separately, both the parent and stepparent must each have an FSA ID.
• If this parent is remarried and filed jointly, at least one parent must have an FSA ID.
• Single parent of a dependent student must have their own FSA ID.

Contributors of independent students who may need to create an FSA ID:

• Spouses of independent students who filed taxes separately must have their own FSA ID.

Please review the What financial year information is required for the FAFSA? question below for the tax year associated with each financial aid year.

Students and other contributors will use their FSA IDs throughout the student's time in college and after college to access federal aid information systems, so it's important to remember your FSA ID and password.

Create Your FSA ID Now

If you already have an FSA ID, make sure you are prepped and ready with your log in information.

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Second, Gather Some Information

To submit your FAFSA, you will need:

• Your Social Security number (or Alien Registration number if not a U.S. citizen).
• Your driver’s license number, if you have one.
• Your federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned for the specific financial year required by the FAFSA.
• All contributors must consent to an IRS information transfer using the Direct Data Exchange, regardless of whether they filed taxes in the United States. If your information is not available for the IRS to transfer, you will be able to add it manually. All contributors must provide consent or the FAFSA will be considered invalid.
• Bank statements (information on cash, savings, and checking account balances) and records of investments (if applicable) - including stocks, bonds, real estate (not including the home in which you live), and business and farm assets.
• Records of untaxed income (if applicable), such as child support received, interest income, and veterans noneducation benefits for the specific financial year required by the FAFSA.

What financial year information is required for the FAFSA?

Certain questions on the FAFSA may ask for current financial information, and others may ask for financial information from a certain year. Pay attention to the question — it will specify "current" or list a specific year.

Below are the financial years that are most relevant to each FAFSA:

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Third, Complete and Submit Your FAFSA!

Once you have gathered everything, you are ready to submit your FAFSA online via the Federal Student Aid website. See our Completing the FAFSA webpage for answers to some frequently asked questions.

See our Completing the FAFSA webpage for answers to some frequently asked questions.

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