FAFSA

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Why should you fill out the FAFSA?

1. Depending on your finances, you could receive a federal Pell Grant of up to $6,345 for each year of college.

2. Depending on your finances, you could receive state grants to help fund college. These are first come, first serve in North Carolina, though!

3. Colleges and universities use the FAFSA to decide how much financial aid they’ll give you; even if you don’t qualify for state or federal aid, it’s highly possible you’d qualify for financial aid from the school you’re trying to attend!

4. Some schools require the FAFSA even for merit-based scholarships

5. Even if you don’t qualify for grants or financial aid, you’re required to complete the FAFSA in order to take out Direct Unsubsidized loans, Grad PLUS loans, and Parent PLUS loans. The current interest rate for Direct Unsubsidized loans is 5.05%, and you have a six-month grace period after you stop enrollment in college before you have to start paying back the loan (i.e. if you start and stay in school for four years, and then graduate around May of 2025, you won’t have to start paying back the loan until around November of 2025). If you take out a private student loan from a bank, interest rates are higher, typically around 6-10%.

It’s not guaranteed you’ll get money if you fill out the FAFSA, but it’s guaranteed you won’t get financial aid if you don’t. Take an hour and possibly save thousands of dollars!

Download the 2021-2022 FAFSA Checklist:

2020-2021 FAFSA Checklist.pdf

FAFSA Steps:

  1. Create your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID here

The FSA ID is your login for the FAFSA. To create your ID, you will need to know your Social Security Number (do NOT guess). You will be asked to answer challenge questions in case you get locked out of your account. And when you finish, you will be asked to enter confirmation codes through email and text. Write your username and password down or put it in the notes on your phone!

  1. Make sure a parent also creates an FSA ID

Parents need to have an FSA ID for two primary reasons: they will be asked to transfer their tax information onto the FAFSA (don't worry - it's not too hard) and they will be asked to sign their child's FAFSA at the end. Both of these steps require an FSA ID. FAFSA becomes much more difficult if parents skip this step. If your parents are divorced, the parent who you live with the most will be the parent on the FAFSA. They will be the parent who creates the FSA ID. If they are remarried, their spouse will be listed as Parent 2 on the form.

  1. Start your 2021-2022 FAFSA here

Click that you are new to the FAFSA and begin the 2021-2022 application. Why 2021-2022? Students always complete the FAFSA for the year they will be in school. DO NOT do the 2020-2021 application. You can submit FAFSA on or after October 1st.

  1. Parents and Students (if applicable): Have your 2019 tax returns with you

Why 2019? FAFSA asks for financial information from two years prior to the year your student is entering college. So, if your student is enrolling in Fall 2021, you need your 2019 tax returns with you. For the following year you will need 2020 tax information for the 2022-2023 school year.

  1. Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool

The IRS Data Retrieval Tool allows you to transfer your tax information onto your FAFSA. Make sure the spelling and information contained in your tax returns EXACTLY matches your FSA ID and FAFSA or you will not be able to transfer. Unable to transfer? Don't worry, this happens to many families, and all individuals with the filing status of married filing separate. Instead, you will manually enter your tax information into FAFSA.

  1. Students and Parents: Sign the FAFSA when you are finished

The FAFSA is not considered complete until both the student and the parent sign after they are finished.

  1. Wait for an email confirmation and review your Student Aid Report

Your Student Aid Report includes your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC determines how much your family can pay for college. Remember, FAFSA does not give you money; it only determines how much a family can contribute to their child's education. A EFC of 0 does not mean that your family is not receiving any financial assistance. On the contrary, it means that your student is eligible for the full Federal Pell Grant of $6,345 (which is free money!).

FAFSA for Students with Undocumented Parents

Students with undocumented parents are eligible for state and federal aid and can therefore file the FAFSA, but the process looks different. Undocumented parents cannot create an FSA ID. In the Parent Demographics section of the FAFSA, students will put 0s in for the parent(s) Social Security Number. Do NOT put parent Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) in for Social Security Numbers. This will not work. Since these parents are unable to create an FSA ID, they cannot transfer their tax information into the FAFSA. All students with undocumented parents must enter their parent tax information into the FAFSA manually. At the end, the student will sign the FAFSA with their FSA ID, but undocumented parents must print, sign, and mail in a signature page. The FAFSA is not complete until the parent mails the signature page to Federal Student Aid.

FAFSA Corrections

If you need to change any information on your FAFSA or submit your FAFSA to additional colleges, make sure you fill out a FAFSA Correction. You cannot submit a correction until after the FAFSA is processed. Log into your FAFSA and choose the Make a FAFSA Correction in small blue font at the bottom. If you have been flagged for verification (see below) oftentimes schools will ask that you try the IRS Data Retrieval tool again or correct any wrong information in your FAFSA.

FAFSA Verification

Around 30-40% of students who complete the FAFSA get flagged for verification. Verification is a process used to verify certain information on the FAFSA to ensure its accuracy. Some students are selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education. Others are selected by the school. Verification is conducted by college and university financial aid offices - not FAFSA or the federal government. During verification, the college financial aid administrator will ask the student to supply copies of documentation, such as parent and student (if applicable) income tax returns, W-2 statements and 1099 forms.

You will NOT receive a financial aid package without going through the verification process. I encourage you to check your email frequently from the colleges you’ve been accepted to as they (financial aid counselors) will explain the steps. Often, they will ask for a tax transcript.

Click here to request your tax transcript online from the IRS

Or you can download the file below and complete it in pen and fax the form to the IRS. Fax your Tax Transcript Request Form to this fax number: 855-821-0094

  1. After you’ve faxed it in, the IRS will mail you the transcript

  2. Then you will fax that transcript to financial aid offices

  3. Financial aid offices usually do not accept transcripts sent by email. Sample Request Form

Request for Transcript of Tax Return.pdf

FAFSA Eligibility