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🎓 Life & College Prep Grades 11–12
FAFSA Basics
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the form that unlocks federal grants, work-study, and student loans, and many state and college scholarships too. It's free to file.
Learn How it works
The basics
- Where: only at StudentAid.gov. It's free. Never pay a site to file it.
- When: it opens October 1 for the next school year. File in the fall of senior year, and again every year of college. Some state and college aid runs out, so file early.
- Who: the student and the parent(s) each make a StudentAid.gov account (FSA ID) and give consent to pull tax info from the IRS.
- What you need: Social Security numbers, tax info from two years before (the “prior-prior year”), current bank balances and investments, and your list of colleges.
What happens next
- You get a FAFSA Submission Summary with your Student Aid Index (SAI), a number colleges use to figure out your aid. Lower SAI = more need-based aid.
- Each college sends an aid offer. Compare grants and scholarships (free money), work-study (earned), and loans (must be repaid with interest).
Homeschool students
When asked about high school completion, homeschool graduates choose the homeschool option (completed homeschooling in a setting treated as a home school under state law). You don't need a GED to qualify for federal aid. Keep your transcript and graduation records in case a college asks.
Rules change. Always check the current instructions on StudentAid.gov.
Practice Check yourself
Answer, then tap Check. You get an explanation either way.