FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the application for federal grants, loans, and work-study. Some state and institutional aid uses FAFSA data too.

A student files a new FAFSA for each award year at StudentAid.gov [WEB LINK: StudentAid.gov]. An award year begins July 1, ends June 30, and covers fall, spring, and summer. The FAFSA opens October 1 for the next award year and uses tax information from two years earlier (the 2026-27 FAFSA uses 2024 taxes).

Some aid has limited funds and may use the FAFSA submission date to prioritize awarding. Filing early leaves time to finish any verification, document requests, or corrections before the fees due date. SF sets a financial aid priority date each semester, posted on the SF Financial Aid Dates and Deadlines page at sfcollege.edu/fa/get/dates-and-deadlines.html. [WEB LINK: SF FA Dates and Deadlines page]

Creating an FSA ID

The student and every contributor each need their own FSA ID, the account used to provide FAFSA information and sign at StudentAid.gov. Creating one takes:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Social Security number*
• Email address
• Mobile phone number

*A contributor without a Social Security number, such as a parent who files taxes with an ITIN, can still create an account by choosing the no-SSN option and completing a separate identity check with TransUnion.

Each person needs their own account and a unique email address. Verification of a new FSA ID can be immediate or take a few days.

A student or contributor who has trouble creating or using an FSA ID can contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 (1-800-4-FED-AID) or the live chat at studentaid.gov/help-center/contact.

Contributors

A contributor is anyone required to provide information on a student's FAFSA: the student, and depending on the student's situation, a parent, stepparent, or spouse. Contributors provide their own income, asset, and household information and consent to having their tax data transferred from the IRS. Being a contributor does not make a person responsible for paying the student's costs, and it does not make them responsible for the student's borrowing.

Who must be a contributor depends on the student's dependency status:

If a dependent student's parents are divorced or separated and not living together, the contributor is the parent who provided more than half the student's financial support in the last 12 months. If support was equal, it is the parent with the greater income and assets. If that parent has remarried, the stepparent is a contributor too.

Every required contributor has to create an FSA ID and consent to the IRS data transfer. If any required contributor does not consent, the student is not eligible for federal aid.

Dependency Status

Dependency status decides whether a student must include parent information on the FAFSA. It is set by federal criteria, not by whether a student lives with their parents, supports themselves, or is claimed on a parent's tax return. A student cannot simply choose to be independent.

A student is dependent unless at least one of the following is true:

• Is 24 or older, which the FAFSA sets by a birth-date cutoff for each award year (see the table below)
• Married, or separated but not divorced
• Working on a master's or doctoral degree
• Currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for a purpose other than training
• A veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
• Has children who will receive more than half of their support from the student
• Has other dependents who live with the student and receive more than half of their support from the student
• At any time since age 13, had both parents deceased, was in foster care, or was a dependent or ward of the court
• Is or was an emancipated minor, or in a legal guardianship, as determined by a court (guardianship by a parent or stepparent does not count)
• Is an unaccompanied homeless youth, or is self-supporting and at risk of homelessness

When a Student Cannot Provide Parent Information

A dependent student who cannot safely contact a parent, or cannot get a parent's information at all, answers the unusual circumstances question on the FAFSA so the school can request documentation. An approved review changes the student's dependency status to independent.

If there is no unusual circumstance and a parent simply refuses to provide their information or consent, the student may still qualify for unsubsidized loans only.

After You Submit

The student receives a FAFSA Submission Summary, which shows:

• Student Aid Index (SAI). The number SF uses to measure financial need and set need-based aid. A lower SAI generally means more need-based aid, and it can be as low as -1,500. Starting with the 2026-27 FAFSA, the value of a family farm, a family-owned small business, or a family-owned commercial fishery is left out of the calculation, and foreign income counts toward income.
• An estimate of federal aid eligibility
• Whether the student was selected for FAFSA Verification
• Any comment codes that need action

An asterisk next to the SAI means the student was selected for verification. Comment codes can mean the student needs to correct the FAFSA or provide more documentation.

SF sends an email, and a text if the student opted in, with next steps once the data arrives. A student tracks their financial aid status in the Financial Aid Portal in eSantaFe [WEB LINK: eSantaFe login], under Finances > Financial Aid Portal.

A student in one of these Special Situations should raise it with the Financial Aid Office after the FAFSA data arrives.