To qualify for financial aid, you’ll need to verify your citizenship, enrollment status and financial need.
Anna Helhoski
Senior Writer | Economic news, consumer finance trends, student loan debt
Anna Helhoski is a senior writer covering economic news and trends in consumer finance at NerdWallet. She is also an authority on student loans. She joined NerdWallet in 2014. Her work has appeared in The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today. She previously covered local news in the New York metro area for the Daily Voice and New York state politics for The Legislative Gazette. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Purchase College, State University of New York.
Lead Assigning Editor Des Toups
Lead Assigning Editor | Student loans, repaying college debt, paying for college
Des Toups was a lead assigning editor who supported the student loans and auto loans teams. He had decades of experience in personal finance journalism, exploring everything from car insurance to bankruptcy to couponing to side hustles.
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When can I update my FAFSA application? The redesigned FAFSA for the 2024-25 academic year is available at FAFSA.gov. After major delays, the FAFSA corrections process opened on April 16 to students and families who submitted incorrect or incomplete forms.
You can still submit the 2023-24 FAFSA until June 30, 2024.
All college students attending eligible schools qualify to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA . You're likely to get some kind of aid if you apply, but you may not be eligible for all types. The list of requirements for need-based aid is extensive, and not meeting some can lose you aid eligibility altogether.
Here's what you need to know about FAFSA requirements and aid eligibility.
To be eligible for financial aid, you’ll need to:
Have a high school diploma or a recognized equivalency, such as a GED, or have completed a state-approved home-school high school education.
Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen with U.S. national status, or have a green card, an Arrival/Departure Record (I-94), battered immigrant-qualified alien status or a T visa or a parent with a T-1 visa.
Have a valid Social Security number. Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an eligible degree or certificate program.Maintain satisfactory academic progress in college if you’re already enrolled. Standards for satisfactory academic progress vary by school.
There are no GPA requirements for incoming students. There are also no income requirements for federal loans, but there is for need-based aid like work-study , certain scholarships and the Pell Grant .
As of the 2021-22 award year, the FAFSA no longer requires Selective Service registration prior to receiving federal financial aid; previously, males between the ages of 18 and 25 who aren't already on active military duty had to register to be eligible for aid.
Additionally individuals who were convicted on drug-related charges while receiving federal aid will not have their aid eligibility suspended. These questions are also no longer on the FAFSA as of the 2023-24 award year.
Your age may affect how much aid you can receive. That’s because your age largely determines if you’re an independent or dependent student and thus whose information you report on the FAFSA.
Federal aid programs assume dependent students have the financial support of their parents.
By age 24, you’re considered independent. For the 2023-24 school year, you’re independent if you were born before Jan. 1, 2000. Independent students have higher borrowing limits than dependent students.
You’re also considered independent if you’re married, a veteran, in a graduate program or have dependents of your own.
If you’re dependent, include both your and your parents’ information on the FAFSA. If you’re independent, report only your information. If you’re independent and married, include your spouse’s information.
You'll need to have several documents ready to complete the FAFSA and qualify for aid. If you are an independent student you do not need to include your parents' information. Necessary documents include:
Your Social Security card. Your driver’s license (if you have one). You and your parents' 2021 tax returns. You and your parents' 2021 W-2 forms. You and your parents' 2021 untaxed income records. Your parents' current bank statements.All applicants will need to create an FSA ID that you'll use to sign the FAFSA and promissory notes. This FAFSA checklist gives you all of the information you'll need to fill it out.
On the FAFSA, you'll need to sign a certification statement saying you:
Aren't in default on a federal student loan. Don’t owe money on a federal student grant.Agree that all aid will be used for educational purposes only. That includes tuition, fees and room and board.
If you're eligible for aid, accept all free money, such as grants and scholarships, then consider work-study options before taking out any federal student loans.
You’ll no longer qualify for aid if you can’t meet the basic eligibility requirements listed above. You could also lose eligibility if you:
Don’t maintain satisfactory academic progress in your program, according to your school’s standards. This might include a grade-point average minimum or number of credits completed.
Default on a student loan. Were an eligible noncitizen, but your status expires or is revoked.A specific type of aid may no longer be available to you if you:
Are no longer enrolled in a program that makes you eligible to receive funding, such as a TEACH grant.
Reach the maximum annual or aggregate lifetime loan limits for unsubsidized or subsidized student loans.
Even if you don’t qualify for more loans, you’ll need to repay any loan you’ve already taken.
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Anna Helhoski is a senior writer covering economic news and trends. Her work has appeared in The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today. See full bio.
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