You can apply for federal grants, work-study, and loans with the FAFSA form. Your college uses your FAFSA data to determine your federal aid eligibility. The State of California and many colleges also use FAFSA data to award aid in the form of grants and scholarships. 

Students will submit a FAFSA if they are a U.S. Citizen, National or Permanent Resident (have a green card) and have a valid Social Security Number. 

Basic Eligibility Criteria to Receive Federal Aid:

• You must demonstrate financial need (for most programs);

• be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen;

• have a valid Social Security number (with the exception of students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau);

• be registered with Selective Service, if you’re a male (you must register between the ages of 18 and 25)

• be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student in an eligible degree or certificate program;

• be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for Direct Loan Program funds;

• maintain satisfactory academic progress in college or career school;

• sign the certification statement on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA®) form stating that

  • you are not in default on a federal student loan,

  • you do not owe money on a federal student grant, and

  • you will use federal student aid only for educational purposes; and

  • show you’re qualified to obtain a college or career school education by

    • having a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate;

    • completing a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law (or—if state law does not require a homeschooled student to obtain a completion credential—completing a high school education in a homeschool setting that qualifies as an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under state law); or

    • enrolling in an eligible career pathway program and meeting one of the "ability-to-benefit" alternatives described below.

*Additional eligibility requirements can apply in certain situations including for non-U.S. citizens, students with criminal convictions, and students with intellectual disabilities.

You will be asked on your application which post-secondary institution you may attend next year. Put in all possible institutions. Once your financial aid application is submitted, the government calculates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number, That number is then sent to all post-secondary institutions you identified in your application. 

Note: the post-secondary institutions create your financial aid packages or awards and typically and send them to the student via e mail or college portal. The student is responsible to follow up on checking portals and emails completing additional paperwork requested by the college financial aid office. 

Federal College Work-Study 

Many colleges will offer students a federal Work-Study job as part of a financial aid package. This helps needy students earn their way through college while gaining valuable skills and work experience. 

Colleges assist students to locate jobs either on or off campus with a nonprofit or government employer or with a private for-profit company. To the maximum extent practical, students may be placed in work related to their studies or career plans. 

Wages usually depend on the level of responsibility required by the job, but are equal at least to the federal minimum wage. An award of work-study is not an automatic hob offer; students will still have to search and interview, and in some cases positions may be offered on a 1st come 1st served basis. 

Understand the Full Impact of Your FAFSA® Application

Not only is your FAFSA form an application for federal student aid, it also is used in determining your eligibility for certain state and school financial aid.

Your FAFSA information is shared with the colleges and/or career schools you list on the application. The financial aid office at a school uses your information to figure out how much aid you may receive at that school.

Note: The school might also have other forms for you to fill out to get school aid, so check with the financial aid office to be sure.

Your information also goes to your state higher education agency, as well as to agencies of the states where your chosen schools are located. Many states have financial aid funds that they give out based on FAFSA information.

Review Your Student Aid Report (SAR)

The SAR is a summary of the FAFSA data you submitted. You (the student) will get your SAR within three days to three weeks after you submit your FAFSA form. Look over your SAR carefully, make sure you didn’t make a mistake on your FAFSA form, and make corrections to your FAFSA data if necessary. Find out more about the SAR, its purpose, how the method you use to file your FAFSA form determines when you’ll get the SAR, and what you should do with the SAR.

What Not to Expect from the SAR

The SAR won’t tell you how much financial aid you’ll get. Also, if you used the Internal Revenue Service Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) when filling out your FAFSA form, the SAR won’t show the details of your income and tax information.

So how do you find out how much aid you’ll get?

If you’ve been accepted at a college or career school that you listed on your FAFSA form, the school will calculate your aid and send you an electronic or paper aid offer, sometimes called an award letter, telling you how much aid you’re eligible for at the school. The timing of the aid offer varies from school to school and could be as early as winter (awarding for the fall) or as late as immediately before you start school. It depends on when you apply and how the school prefers to schedule awarding of aid.

Provide Required Verification

You might see a note on your SAR saying you’ve been selected for verification; or your school might contact you to inform you that you’ve been selected. Verification is the process your school uses to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you’re selected for verification, your school will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported.

Don’t assume you’re being accused of doing anything wrong. Some people are selected for verification at random; and some schools verify all students' FAFSA forms. All you need to do is provide the documentation your school asks for—and be sure to do so by the school’s deadline, or you won’t be able to get financial aid.