Financial Aid & Scholarships

SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR COLLEGE

FAFSA Basics For class of 2026

The FAFSA is the financial aid form used by colleges & universities to determine your financial aid awards.
You cannot begin the FAFSA until the correct form opens. Class of 2026, you will be completing the 2026-2027 FAFSA form (your first year of college) using 2024 tax information. This is scheduled to open on October 1, 2025.
Both students and parent(s) must create a FSA ID. You can create this by going to https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch.
Use your 2024 income information. You must consent and authorize the IRS to share your tax information with Federal Student Aid.
The FAFSA determines your Student Aid Index (SAI). This is what determines eligibility for various forms of financial aid:
- Grants and scholarships (money you don’t have to pay back)
- Work-study jobs (paid, part-time work on campus)
- Loans (money you need to pay back, usually after you graduate)
Have the following documents/information on hand for both the student and parents:

Student and parent Social Security Numbers (be sure they are correct!)**
Alien Registration number, if you are not a U.S. citizen
Dates of birth for student and parents
Month and year of marriage, separation, divorce, or change in marital status
Records of income, such as income earned from work and business, child support paid and received, and any untaxed income. Refer to W-2 forms and Federal Tax Return Forms.
Information on savings and checking account balances as well as cash on hand
Information on investments including stocks, bonds, and real estate (not including the home in which you live)
Information on business assets
You will NOT be mailing these records to FAFSA.

**Students without a Social Security Number should NOT complete the FAFSA (see below). If a student has a valid Social Security Number but a parent does not, the student can complete the FAFSA.

Financial Aid for Undocumented Students

Students who are undocumented or DREAMers should not complete the FAFSA. Even if you have a temporary social security number through DACA, do not use it to fill out the FAFSA.
Students who are undocumented are encouraged to complete the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid in order to receive the Illinois MAP Grant. This application asks for similar information as the FAFSA.
Work with your counselor to contact schools of interest and inquire about their financial aid procedures or forms for undocumented students.
While undocumented students cannot receive federal grants or federal student loans, they can receive the Illinois MAP Grant, institutional aid directly from a college, and private scholarships. They also qualify for in-state tuition rates at public Illinois colleges.

Scholarship Resources

ALL students should apply for private scholarship early and often! Do not wait until 2nd semester of senior year when you start receiving your financial aid offers. By then you will have missed out on numerous private scholarship opportunities.

Apply for every scholarship you are eligible for!

Scholarship Search Tools:

CPS Scholarship Alert Workbook (updated frequently)

College Board's Big Future

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