Filling out the FAFSA® form can be a straightforward and easy process. Select the “Fill Out the FAFSA” button on the home page, and just follow the directions on the screen. Below are some tips to help you along the way.

You need to create an FSA ID, a username and password combination, that allows you to sign your FAFSA® form electronically. Your FSA ID also can be used to access the myStudentAid app, sign loan contracts (Borrowed money that must be repaid with interest. Students and/or parents are required to sign a promissory note when accepting an educational loan), and access certain information online. While you can get your FSA ID as you’re completing the FAFSA form online, getting it ahead of time and using it to begin your FAFSA form on fafsa.gov or on the myStudentAid mobile app cuts down on errors and delays. Find out how to get an FSA ID and what to do if you forgot your FSA ID.

Important note: If you’re a dependent student (A student who does not meet any of the criteria for an independent student. An independent student is one of the following: at least 24 years old, married, a graduate or professional student, a veteran, a member of the armed forces, an orphan, a ward of the court, someone with legal dependents other than a spouse, an emancipated minor or someone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless), one of your parents whose information is reported on the FAFSA form will also need an FSA ID so that he or she can sign your application electronically. If your parent doesn’t have a Social Security number (SSN), your parent won’t be able to create an FSA ID (which requires an SSN). This means you’ll have to select the option to print a signature page when you get to the end of your FAFSA form on fafsa.gov (this option isn’t available in the myStudentAid app).

When you create your FSA ID, be careful to enter your name and Social Security number exactly as they appear on your Social Security card. Then, if you go to fafsa.gov to start your application and indicate that you are the student, you will be given the option to enter your FSA ID or to enter your “identifiers” (your name, date of birth, and SSN).

If you log in with your FSA ID, certain information (including your name, Social Security number, and date of birth) will be automatically loaded into your application. This will prevent you from running into a common error that occurs when your verified FSA ID information doesn’t match the information on your FAFSA form. Additionally, you won’t have to provide your FSA ID again to sign your FAFSA form electronically or to use the Internal Revenue Service Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) if you’re eligible.

The student is the one applying for financial aid, so be sure it’s the student entering his or her FSA ID in the “I am the student” tab. Do not start the FAFSA form by supplying the parent’s FSA ID.

The FAFSA questions ask for information about you (your name, date of birth, address, etc.) and about your financial situation. Depending on your circumstances (for instance, whether you’re a U.S. citizen or what tax form you used), you might need the following information or documents as you fill out the application:

• Your Social Security number (it’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA form!)

• Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student

• Your driver’s license number if you have one

• Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen

• Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you (and your spouse, if you are married), and for your parents if you are a dependent student:

  • IRS 1040

  • Foreign tax return, IRS 1040NR, or IRS 1040NR-EZ

  • Tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau

• Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans noneducation benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student

• Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (but not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student

Keep these records! You may need them again. Do not mail your records to FAFSA.

• One thing you don’t need for the FAFSA® form is money! The FAFSA form is FREE, so if a website or mobile app asks you to pay to fill it out, you’re not dealing with the official FAFSA site or the official myStudentAid app. Remember, this is a government application, so it’s on a .gov website and an official U.S. Department of Education mobile app.

While completing the FAFSA form, you must list at least one school to receive your information. The schools you list will use your FAFSA information to determine the types and amounts of aid you may receive. Use the Federal School Code Search to find the colleges you’re interested in including on your FAFSA form.

For purposes of federal student aid, it does not matter in what order you list the schools. However, to be considered for state aid (Financial aid from a student's state of legal residence), some states require you to list schools in a particular order (for instance, you might need to list a state school first). Find out whether your state has a requirement for the order in which you list schools on your FAFSA form

You can list up to 10 schools online or in the mobile app or up to four schools on a FAFSA PDF. (You can add more schools to your FAFSA form later.) Schools you list on the application will automatically receive your FAFSA results electronically.

• Note: Schools will not be able to see which other schools you listed on your FAFSA form.

You should add any school that you plan on applying to, or that you have applied to, even if you haven’t been accepted yet. In most cases, once a school accepts you, they will then work on developing your aid offer.

The FAFSA form asks a series of questions that determine whether you are a dependent or independent student (An independent student is one of the following: at least 24 years old, married, a graduate or professional student, a veteran, a member of the armed forces, an orphan, a ward of the court, or someone with legal dependents other than a spouse, an emancipated minor or someone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Get additional information to determine your dependency status) for purposes of applying for federal student aid. If you are a dependent student, you must report parent information, as well as your own information, on your application. If you’re curious, you can find out now whether you’re a dependent student.

If you’re a dependent student, you’ll need to report parent information on your FAFSA form. Visit reporting parent information to find out who counts as your parent, what to do if you don’t live with your parents, and what to do if you don’t have access to your parents’ financial information.

The FAFSA form asks for financial information, including information from tax forms and balances of savings and checking accounts.

• The 2021–22 FAFSA form asks for 2019 tax information.

• The 2020–21 FAFSA form asks for 2018 tax information.

Note: If your or your family’s financial situation has changed significantly from what is reflected on your federal income tax return (for example, if you’ve lost a job or otherwise experienced a drop in income), you may be eligible to have your financial aid adjusted. Complete the FAFSA questions as instructed on the application (including the transfer of tax return and income information), submit your FAFSA form, then contact the school you plan to attend to discuss how your current financial situation has changed. Note that the school's decision is final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.

What to Do If Your Parents’ (or Your) Marital Status Has Changed Since Taxes Were Filed

Here are some tips for this type of situation using the example of the 2021–22 FAFSA form:

• The FAFSA form asks for marital status “as of today” (the day it’s filled out). So if the student or parent is married now but wasn’t in 2019 (and therefore didn’t file taxes as married), the spouse’s 2019 income will need to be added to the FAFSA form.

• Similarly, if the student or parent filed 2019 taxes as married but is no longer married when filling out the FAFSA form, the spouse’s income will need to be subtracted.

• And if the student or parent was married when filing 2019 taxes, then got divorced and is now married to someone else, there’s a bit more math to do: Subtract the ex’s income, then add the new spouse’s income.

The FAFSA help text covers all these situations in more detail as you’re filling out the application.

Before your FAFSA form can be processed, you’ll need to sign and submit the application. Here are some tips as you finish your FAFSA form:

• To ensure the application functions properly, make sure the pop-up blocker in your browser allows pop-ups from fafsa.ed.gov. Learn how to enable pop-ups in your browser.

• Be sure to sign with your FSA ID (your username and password) so your FAFSA form will be processed as quickly as possible. (If you log in to the form by providing your FSA ID, you won’t be asked for it again when it’s time to sign. However, if you’re providing parent information, one of your parents will be required to sign your application.)

• While your online FAFSA form will be processed much quicker if you (and your parent if you’re a dependent student) sign your FAFSA form with your FSA ID, you have the option to print out, sign, and mail in a signature page to the address listed on the page. Learn more about printing a signature page.

• Once you see your confirmation page, you’ll know you’ve successfully submitted your FAFSA form. If you provided an email address on the form, you’ll automatically receive the confirmation page by email. There are a few differences between the emailed confirmation and the one you’ll see in the FAFSA form before exiting the application, so consider printing or saving your confirmation page before you exit. For example, the emailed confirmation won’t include the college graduation, retention, and transfer rates for schools you listed on your FAFSA form.

• Your confirmation page offers the option for the parent information in your FAFSA form to be transferred automatically into another student’s application. So if you have a sibling who needs to fill out a FAFSA form, be sure to use this option when you see your confirmation page. The link will appear only on the confirmation page within the FAFSA form, so be sure to take advantage of it while you’re still in the application. Note: If you’re filling out the FAFSA form on the myStudentAid app, your parent will see this option only if they sign and submit after you.

If you need help filling out the FAFSA form, use the following tools:

Resources on the FAFSA Website:

• When completing your FAFSA, select the blue and white question mark icon next to a FAFSA question to view a "tool tip" that provides information about how to answer that question.

• In the online FAFSA form, the tool tip may have a “More Help” link for additional information. You also can select the “Help” button at the bottom of the tool tip to reach the “FAFSA Help” page, where you can browse FAQs, search for more information, or click on “Contact Us.”

• Once you click on “Contact Us,” you’ll have the option of emailing your question or, during business hours, chatting (in English or Spanish) with live technical support staff. (In the myStudentAid mobile app, you can find the contact information via the “hamburger menu”—the three parallel lines at the top right of the screen.)

Resources At North High School:

• GEAR-UP Program - Through the Central Mass Collaborative, North High School has the one and only GEAR-UP Program to help students the entire step of the way in completing their FAFSA forms. Make your appointment today online or in person (GEAR-UP Office Is Located on the First Floor across from the Main Office)

• Speak to your Guidance Counselor for individual support on completing the FAFSA:

  • Mrs. Becker - Guidance Department Head

  • Mr. Ly (Students Last Names: A-DE)

  • Ms. Delgado (Students Last Names: DF-LL)

  • Mr. Sullivan (Students Last Names: LM-RE)

  • Mrs. Capistran (Students Last Names: RF-Z)

Additional Resources:

• Contact the financial aid office of the college or career school you plan to attend.

Ask questions to the college representatives regarding your individual FAFSA completion!!!

• To ensure the application functions properly, make sure the pop-up blocker in your browser allows pop-ups from fafsa.ed.gov. Learn How To Enable Pop-Ups In Your Browser

• If you’re a male between the ages of 18 and 25 and you haven’t registered with the Selective Service System, select “Yes” when you’re asked if you would like to be registered. Otherwise, you won’t be eligible to receive federal student aid. This requirement applies to any person assigned the sex of male at birth.

• Near the beginning of the application, you’ll create a “save key,” a temporary password that you’ll use if you start your FAFSA form, save it without finishing it, then want to open it again later to finish it. One benefit of the save key is that students and parents can use this function to access the FAFSA form if they are completing the application in separate locations. (Unlike with the FSA ID, which needs to be kept private, it’s okay to tell your parent what your save key is)

• Automatically Transferring Your Tax Information Using the Internal Revenue Service Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT)

The IRS DRT automatically transfers tax information into the FAFSA form. Be sure to consider this option if it’s offered to you. (If you requested an extension on filing your taxes and didn’t file until September or later, find out when your tax return information will likely be available using the IRS DRT.)

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