FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be used to determine financial aid eligibility for all U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens. If you are not sure if you are eligible to complete the FAFSA application, you are encouraged to review the  or contact the Financial Aid Office for assistance. If you plan to apply for federal and state need-based aid, like the Pell Grant or Washington College Grant, or if you're considering borrowing federal loans, you must submit the FAFSA annually.

If you are not eligible to submit the FAFSA, you may be eligible to submit the WASFA or Needs Analysis form.  For more information, please review the Undocumented Undergraduate Aid webpage.  

The 2026-2027 FAFSA is available, and we strongly encourage students to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible.

FAFSA Simplification Act

The  changed the processes and systems used to determine federal student aid eligibility. We have included some useful tools and tricks to help answer some questions you may have regarding the FAFSA application.

New Terminology

  • Contributor: anyone who is asked to provide information on the FAFSA.  A contributor could be the student, the student's spouse, parent, or stepparents, depending on your dependency status and family situation.
  • Consent: each contributor will need to provide their consent (permission) to their Federal Tax Information (FTI) being used on the FAFSA.
  • Federal Tax Information (FTI): FTI is federal tax information that is transferred directly from the IRS to populate questions on the FAFSA application.

FAFSA checklist (click the links for helpful videos on each topic!)

  1. Identify who  on the FAFSA.
  2. Create .  Both students and contributors (parents, commonly) will need accounts.
  4. Complete the FAFSA at .  We encourage you to submit the FAFSA as soon as possible.  
  5. Contact us if you need help completing the FAFSA.
   

Resources

 

 Federal Student Aid

 National College Attainment Network (NCAN)