FAFSA

The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid! Your completion of the FAFSA dictates your ability to receive federal student aid such as loans, work-studies and federal grants. The FAFSA opens on October 1st for the upcoming academic year and the priority deadline is the 1st of March. This deadline is the due date for many merit and need based scholarships, including West Virginia's Promise Scholarship. (See another tab for more information regarding the Promise Scholarship.) Many states and universities also use your FAFSA to determine your eligibility for state and school aid.

To complete your FAFSA you need 4 important documents. You will need to have the following:

• Your Social Security Number or your Alien Registration Number (for non U.S. citizens)

• Drivers License or other form of federal identification

• Your federal income tax returns, W-2s and other records of money

• Records of untaxed income and/or bank statements and records of investments

• If you are dependent, then you will also need this information from your guardian(s)

This link provides further details on the documents necessary for filling: https://studentaid.gov/help/info-needed

Filling out your FAFSA can be a daunting task, especially if you've never had experience handling financial forms such as this. Never fear, WVU provides FREE appointments at WVU Hub to assist you in completing your FAFSA. Click this link to schedule an appointment so you can get yours completed by March 1st! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/fafsa

1. Do I have to complete the FAFSA? The FAFSA is mandatory if you are planning to borrow federal student loans, so therefore, you must file the FAFSA to access these. The FAFSA is also the way that you can access federal student aid, so it is important that you DO fill it out!

2. Does the FAFSA apply to me? Even if you believe that you will not receive financial aid from FAFSA, you should still fill it out. Some students are still eligible for the other forms of aid from state governments, colleges, and private entities.

3. After I do it once, I'm done, right? Wrong! You must renew your FAFSA every year of school!

4. What should I do if I don't have help for filling out my FAFSA? If you can't find someone to help you fill out your FAFSA, this video may be a helpful guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V

WVU Financial Aid FAFSA Website: https://financialaid.wvu.edu/applying-for-aid/fafsa

Department of Education Financial Aid Tool Kit: https://financialaidtoolkit.ed.gov/tk/resources/all.jsp

Required Resources Needed to File FAFSA: https://studentaid.gov/help/info-needed