Financial Aid Information

Steps needed to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

***Scroll down to the bottom of this page for important "How To" videos***

Traditionally, the FAFSA has opened up on October 1st, but this year, they are making some changes and are not opening the application until December.  The opening date has not been announced yet, but Mrs. Svendsen will send out an email when she receives more information.

This link will take you to the announcement about the FAFSA changes for the 2024-2025 school year.

Step 1:

Apply for an Federal Student Aid ID.  This is used to login to certain website.  The FSA ID confirms a student/parent's identity when accessing online financial aid information and electronically signing documents. Two ID's are needed; one for the student and one for a parent. Use the following link to apply for the required FSA ID's: FSA ID     Here is a link to more information explaining the FSA ID.  New this year- the FSA ID needs to be approved prior to filing the FAFSA, this can take from 3-7 days.  Plan ahead!  You can apply for your FSA ID anytime!  You don't have to wait until December to complete this step!

Step 2:

File the FAFSA as soon as possible after it openings (sometime in December 2023), using 2022 income taxes (referred to as Prior-Prior Year or PPY). The University of Iowa , Iowa State University and  University of Northern Iowa's priority deadlines are February 1st for students going to school in the 2024-2025 school year.  Community colleges have later priority deadlines; DMACC and IWCC's deadlines are July 1st.  For a complete listing of deadlines for Iowa colleges, click on FAFSA Deadlines and scroll to p.6-10 to find the Iowa institution you plan to attend.  For schools outside of Iowa, contact the financial aid office at the school(s) you're interested and request their FAFSA priority deadline.  

Step 3:

File the FAFSA at the following link: FAFSA.    The FAFSA for the 2024-2025 school year will not open until December.

Step 4:

For specific questions about FAFSA, you can contact our ICAN Site Coordinator, Jessica Schultz at (515) 402-4210, email at jschultz@ICANsucceed.org, or go to the website ICANsucceed.

Where to look for Scholarships

1. High School Counseling Webpage

2. Employer (Yours, Parents, etc.)

3. Professional/Religious Organizations 

4. Local Businesses

5. College Websites

FREE Scholarship Search Website

• ICANsucceed

• Chegg

• Iowa College Aid

• Scholarships

• FinAid

• fastweb!

• Learn

• Phoenix

• Cappex

• StudentScholarships.org

• College Raptor