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Money

FAFSA, step by step

The FAFSA is the free federal form colleges and career schools use to decide your grants, work-study and loans. Fill it out every year you want aid. The 2027–28 form is open now, and most people finish their own section in about 12 minutes.

Moderate1 hour to do, with a parentFree

You'll need

  • A StudentAid.gov account for you, and one for each parent who has to add information
  • Your Social Security number, if you have one
  • A parent's email address, if you're a dependent student
  • The schools you're applying to

Do it like this

  1. Make your StudentAid.gov account, using your name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card. Each parent who needs to add information makes their own account (Federal Student Aid).
  2. Start the right year. The 2027–28 form covers school between July 1, 2027, and June 30, 2028, and asks for 2025 tax information (Federal Student Aid).
  3. Answer the questions about you. The form asks questions to figure out whether you're a dependent or independent student. If you're dependent, a parent adds their own information from their own account (Federal Student Aid).
  4. Everyone who adds information must consent to having their federal tax information transferred from the IRS. Without that consent, the student won't be eligible for federal aid (Federal Student Aid).
  5. Add every school you're applying to, up to 20 online, even if you haven't been accepted yet. Schools can't see which other schools you listed (Federal Student Aid).
  6. Sign and submit. The form isn't complete until every required person has finished, signed and given consent (Federal Student Aid).
Watch out. The FAFSA is free and lives on a .gov website. If you're asked for a credit card while filling it out online, you're not on the official site (Federal Student Aid). Never share your account username or password, even with someone who's helping you (Federal Student Aid).

See it done

Start Your FAFSA® FormFederal Student Aid

Video blocked on this network? You don't need it. The written steps above are the whole lesson, and the video is extra. Watch it on YouTube later.

If it doesn't work

  • Missed a state deadline? Fill out the FAFSA anyway. Missing a state deadline doesn't affect your eligibility for federal aid (Federal Student Aid).
  • Your family's money situation changed a lot since the tax year on the form? Submit the FAFSA, then contact the financial aid office at your school to explain (Federal Student Aid).
  • Not processed right away? Processing can take one to three days. Check your email, including your spam folder (Federal Student Aid).

Good to know

Three kinds of deadlines

The federal deadline for 2027–28 is June 30, 2028. States and schools set their own, often much earlier, and some aid runs out (Federal Student Aid). File early.

Who should file

Any student who wants to be considered for federal, state or school aid, regardless of income (Federal Student Aid).

It's an estimate

The aid on your FAFSA Submission Summary is only an estimate. Schools send official aid offers after you're admitted (Federal Student Aid).

Tell the truth on it

The FTC warns that false information on a FAFSA can bring fines up to $20,000 and jail time. That's one more reason never to let a paid service fill it out (FTC).

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education (Federal Student Aid) Filling out the FAFSA form
  2. U.S. Department of Education (Federal Student Aid) FAFSA: get money to help pay for school
  3. U.S. Department of Education (Federal Student Aid) FAFSA application deadlines
  4. U.S. Department of Education (Federal Student Aid) Avoiding student aid scams
  5. Federal Trade Commission How to avoid scholarship and financial aid scams

Lesson M7.1 · Last checked October 2, 2026 against the sources listed. See a mistake?