FEDERAL STUDENT AID AT A GLANCE
Page 1 of 2
2020–21
WHAT is federal student aid?
Federal student aid comes from the federal government—
specically, the U.S. Department of Education. It’s money that
helps a student pay for higher education expenses (i.e., college,
career school, or graduate school expenses).
Federal student aid covers such expenses as tuition and fees,
room and board, books and supplies, and transportation.
There are three main categories of federal student aid: grants,
work-study funds, and loans. Check with your school’s nancial
aid ofce to nd out which programs the school participates in.
WHO gets federal student aid?
Some of the most basic eligibility requirements for students are
that you must
• demonstrate nancial need (for most programs—to
learn more about nancial need, visit
StudentAid.gov/how-calculated);
• be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen;
• have a valid Social Security number;
• be registered with Selective Service, if you’re a male
(you must register between the ages of 18 and 25);
• be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an eligible
degree or certicate program;
• be enrolled at least half-time (for most programs);
• maintain satisfactory academic progress in college,
career school, or graduate school; and
• show you’re qualied to obtain a college or career
school education by
▪having a high school diploma or a state-recognized
equivalent (for example, the General Educational
Development [GED] certicate);
▪ completing a high school education in a home-school
setting approved under state law; or
▪ enrolling in an eligible career pathways program.
See the full list of eligibility requirements
at
StudentAid.gov/eligibility.
HOW do you apply for federal student aid?
1. To apply for federal student aid, you must complete the
Free
Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA
®
) form at
The FAFSA
®
form is available every Oct. 1 for the
next school year. If you plan to attend college from July 1,
2020–June 30, 2021, submit a 2020–21 FAFSA
®
form.
Fill it out as soon as possible to meet school and state
deadlines. Schools and states often use FAFSA
®
informatio
to award nonfederal aid, but their deadlines vary.
Check with the schools that you’re interested in for their
deadlines, and nd state and federal FAFSA
®
deadlines at
n
fafsa.
gov.
StudentAid.gov/fafsa#deadlines.
2. Students and parents are required to use an FSA ID (a
username and password combination) to sign their FAFSA
®
form online and to access information about their nancial
aid on U.S. Department of Education websites. Your FSA ID
is used to conrm your identity and electronically sign your
federal student aid documents. Your FSA ID has the same
legal status as a written signature. Don’t give your FSA ID
to anyone or allow anyone to create an FSA ID for you. To
create an FSA ID, visit StudentAid.gov/fsaid.
3. After you apply, you’ll receive a Student Aid Report, or
SAR. Your SAR contains the information reported on your
FAFSA form and usually includes your Expected Family
Contribution (EFC). The EFC is a number (not a dollar
amount) used to determine your eligibility for federal
student aid. Review your SAR information to make sure it’s
correct. The school(s) you list on your FAFSA
®
form will get
your SAR data electronically.
4. Contact the schools you might attend. Make sure the
nancial aid ofce at each school you’re interested in has
all the information needed to determine your eligibility. If
you’re eligible, each school’s nancial aid ofce will send
you an aid offer showing the amount and types of aid (from
all sources) the school will offer you. You can compare the
aid offers you received and see which school is the most
affordable once nancial aid is taken into account.
Completing and submitting the FAFSA
®
form is free and quick,
and it gives you access to the largest sources of nancial aid
to pay for college or career school—federal, state, and school
sources. If you need a print-out of the FAFSA
®
PDF, call
1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or 334-523-2691 (TTY for
the deaf or hard of hearing 1-800-730-8913).
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Contact or visit the following:
• StudentAid.gov
• a college financial aid office
• 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) toll-free
• 1-800-730-8913 (toll-free TTY for the deaf
or hard of hearing)