FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid
The FAFSA website is a first step in the financial aid process. Students can submit a FAFSA on October 1 each year for the following year of college. Therefore, seniors can begin their FAFSA on October 1, 2025. There has been a significant overhaul of the FAFSA in the last year which will hopefully make the application faster to complete and easier to understand. Some changes include:
fewer questions on the FAFSA
more available aid to students and families (such as Pell Grant awards)
the ability for students/famiies to report personal, unusual, and/or special circumstance considerations
most colleges will not have a Financial Aid deadline
STEPS
Create FSA ID. This is your username for logging in and signing your FAFSA application. A student must create an FSA ID and a parent must create an FSA ID. This can be created at anytime.
Wait to receive your "award letter" from colleges in spring of your senior year to determine your cost of college, the amount of loans you'd like to take out, scholarship/grant eligibility, etc.
RESOURCES
FAFSA Help - contains resources for how to create your account, what information you'll need, etc.
FAFSA Checklist - items you'll need for completing your FAFSA
Financial Aid Presentation - This presentation was created by Sara Kling-Punt who worked as a transition advisor at Rochester Community and Technical College. This is a great “starting point” presentation that will answer a lot of the questions you might have about the process. The presentation is about 26 minutes.
Minnesota Office of Higher Education - They have a great website that explains the FAFSA process. They have a TON of resources.