What do you need to complete the fafsa

Do not answer this question about a stepparent, legal guardian, or foster parent. This question is used for state scholarship purposes only and does not affect the student's eligibility for federal student aid. Enter the complete name of your high school.

Enter the city that your high school is located. Select the state that your high school is located in from the dropdown. Add Your High School Manually This functionality has been updated to allow the applicant to enter the full name, city, and state of the high school in the fields on this screen.

Your search results should look like this. Search by Federal School Cose Once you select your school from the previous page, it will appear on this page. Enter your housing plan for each school selection.

If you plan to live in a dorm, your housing costs will be calculated using the amount that the school charges. If you live off-campus, you'll be awarded a housing allowance. Note: This is the first page of the Dependency Status section. Select your marital status as of today from the dropdown. Select "Yes" if you have children, or are expecting children in the year for which you are applying for aid.

Select "No" if not. If you state on the FAFSA that you are homeless, you can submit the application without including information related to your parents' income. You will be required to submit supporting documentation of this claim to the financial aid office of the school you plan to attend. This page only displays if it has been determined that the applicant is considered to be dependent. Whose Information Should I Provide? Note: This is the first view in the Parent Demographics section.

Select the marital status of your parents from the dropdown. As a point of clarification, if one of your biological parents is divorced from the other, you will only need to report the financial information of the parent who has legal custody of you. Note: This is a smart question and the response to marital status may generate additional questions.

If your parent does not have a Social Security Number, you must enter Includes your parents last name as it appears on their Social Security card s and birth certificate s.

If the name includes a suffix, such as Jr. Include your parents first initial as it appears in their first name on their Social Security card s and birth certificate s. Enter two digits for each day and month e. The system tallies the totals as the parent completes the worksheet to ensure that there are no mathematical errors.

You do not want to include your parents in this section, even if they are in college or a degree-seeking program. Adults who have already earned a degree, are in graduate or professional programs, or who are over the age of 24 will not be counted as simultaneously being in college during the same period as you. Note: This is the first view in the Parent Financials section. An additional opportunity is presented to the parent to determine if he or she would like to link to the IRS for his or her financial information or to continue to enter it manually.

This will prevent errors and help avoid any processing delays. An additional opportunity is presented to the parent to determine if they would like to link to the IRS for their financial information or to continue to enter it manually. In this example, the parent has indicated that he or she is married or living together. Note: If the parent is either ineligible or decides not to use the IRS DRT, they will be required to enter their financial information manually.

This figure can be found on either Line 11 Parents who are married, but file separate returns will need to combine their AGIs from their individual return for this field.

Note: This is a smart question and therefore might look different based on your prior inputs. If negative, enter a zero here. Note: Since the parents meet the simplified needs path determination criteria, the assets questions are optional. Parents total balance of cash: Include the current total of your cash-in-hand, and totals of your checking and savings accounts.

Parents net worth: Include the net worth of your investments, including real estate, but do NOT include the house that your parents reside. To do this, you will add the current value of all investments, subtracting any debts currently owed on them.

Note: This is a smart question and the response to your tax return type may generate additional questions and comments. IRS tax return: You will need to answer this question based on whether or not you the student did, have not yet, or will not file a tax return. You should answer this question based on your current tax filing status for the previous year.

Tax filing status: Select what your tax filing status is according to your tax return. An additional opportunity is presented to the applicant to determine if they would like to link to the IRS for their financial information or to continue to enter it manually.

Note: If the applicant is either ineligible or decides not to use the IRS DRT, they will be required to enter their financial information manually. Answer the questions whether or not a tax return was filed. This information may be on the W-2 forms or on the tax return selected in question IRS Form line Fill in your additional financial information based on these categories. If a student had income in any of the following categories during the past year, they must fill out the appropriate boxes that apply to them.

This is a smart question and may look different for users based on inputs. Include the current total of your cash-in-hand, and totals of your checking and savings accounts. Include the net worth of your investments, including real estate. Do NOT include the house you live in. Here you can confirm the information you provided is correct. If you need to go back and make any edits, you can click the hyperlinked text of the question on the left of the table.

Allows the user to select which parent will be signing the application. The choice between parents is only present if information was provided for two parents. Otherwise, this view does not display. This is where the applicant acknowledges the Certification Statement. Select "Agree" if you agree with the terms. What Is a Pell Grant? Federal Student Loans. Even if you are undecided, be sure to list whatever schools you are considering. It's important to note that the schools you apply to can't see what other schools you are applying to.

It's key to fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible, well before the June 30 federal deadline and your state's deadline, as it can play an important role in your college funding. Also, once you are done with your application, you may want to follow up with your school or contact the financial aid office if your financial circumstances change due to job loss, illness or divorce. It's also important to stay on top of future deadlines as you will be required to fill out the FAFSA every year you are a student to receive financial aid.

For additional help in determining your eligibility for financial aid, check out our FAFSA assistant tool. Department of Education and is not affiliated with Discover Student Loans. Some colleges and universities use it to determine eligibility for private student aid. Learn what's in it and why it matters with Discover Student Loans. Find out your options when considering how to afford college housing. Get advice on how to limit college expenses when choosing where to live. If your financial aid award letter falls short of the funds needed to pay for college, there are avenues to appeal.

Learn how to appeal an award letter with Discover Student Loans. Learn what the FAFSA is and how filling it out early can benefit you and your finances as you prepare for college financial aid and student loans. Learn the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans when you apply for a Federal Direct Loan, previously called a Direct Stafford Loan. Action required: Update your browser We noticed that you're using an old version of your internet browser to access this page.

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