To be eligible for FAFSA, students must either be:

• US Citizen

• Permanent Resident (Green Card)

• I-94 arrival record with refugee or asylum granted

• Meet another criteria listed here

IMPORTANT

Parent immigration status does not impact a student's ability to receive financial aid

Students in the process of receiving asylum are not eligible until it has been officially granted

If a student is not eligible for FAFSA, they may be able to complete the Illinois Alternative Application for Financial Aid

Independent Students

Independent students only need to provide information about themselves-- no parent info needed. To qualify as an independent you must meet one of these criteria:

• 24 years or older

• graduate student

• active-duty military

• orphan/ward of the state

• at risk of homelessness

• in a legal guardianship

• in foster care after the age of 13

Dependent Students

Must include parental information:

• parents are married and file taxes jointly: only one parent needs an account, they will provide information on both

• parents are married but file taxes separately: both parents must log in as separate  contributors

• parents are unmarried but live together: both parents must log in as separate  contributors

• parents are divorced or separated and live apart: only report the parent who provided the most financial support over the past 12 months. If the parent is remarried, your stepparents information is also required. 

• Still not sure which parents to list? Use the FAFSA Contributor Wizard

File your 2025 Taxes if Required

Current high school seniors will complete the 2027 - 2028 FAFSA. This is the year in which they will be attending college and receive financial aid.  The 27 - 28 FAFSA will use information from the 2025 tax year. Every year, FAFSA is based on your financial information from the prior year. 

If students and parents work and earn enough to meet the IRS tax filing threshold requirement, they need to file taxes in order to submit FAFSA. Review income threshold here. 

Ladder Up is a community organization that provides tax filing support for low income families. Review their services and info on tax clinics here. 

Parents who earn above the IRS filing limit and do not have social security numbers may need to consider applying for an ITIN to file their taxes. Review a list of approved ITIN agents here. 

Each contributor to FAFSA  will need their own FAFSA account. The account creation process is the same for students and parents. Create your account at studentaid.gov and click "Create Account" in the top left. Make sure to use a personal email address. 

• Parents without a social security number can create an account by checking the box “I don’t have a SSN”

• Parents with older children (or who have been to college themselves) may already have an existing account. You will need to recover the password and username if you don’t have it saved somewhere. 

• Make sure to enter your name EXACTLY as it appears as it appears on your social security card– if you have multiple last names, ensure those are listed

Write down your login information somewhere safe. You will need access to this account every year that you're in college, and potentially for longer for other siblings/children