What Happens After I Submit my FAFSA?

Once you hit the ‘Submit’ button after completing your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), you’ll receive a confirmation page. The confirmation means your FAFSA has been received by the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Processing Center and they’ll begin to review your application. A few days after that you’ll be notified that your FAFSA results have been sent to the colleges you entered on your application. You’ll also be able to review your Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR lists the information you entered on your FAFSA and allows you to determine if any changes should be made. Follow the directions provided to retrieve your SAR and read the report carefully. The first page will contain valuable information about the next steps you should take.

If you find any errors on your SAR, go to FAFSA.gov, access your online FAFSA application and make the necessary corrections. If you’re changing one of your (student)answers, click ‘I am the student’ once you’ve logged in and enter your FSA ID and Save Key. If your parent(s) are updating one of their answers, they should click ‘I am a parent.’ They will log in using your personal identifying information along with the same Save Key. Don’t let anyone else log in with your FSA ID!

Please note: If any changes need to be made to the income figures provided on the FAFSA by you or your parent(s), it’s possible that your college financial aid office may have to make the changes for you. Students and parents who utilize the IRS DRT (Internal Revenue Service Data Retrieval Tool) can download their income figures from the IRS directly into their FAFSA, which can save you time and additional paperwork. To keep your information secure, however, once figures are downloaded you are unable to see them. Only your financial aid office will be able to view the results, and only they can make any necessary corrections. If changes do need to be made, you must provide your aid officer with the Data Release Number (DRN) which appears at the top of the SAR. Remember, never give your FSA ID to anyone in the financial aid office.

The colleges you included on your FAFSA will receive the results of your application from FSA directly. They will then begin working on a financial aid ‘package’ for you by determining your eligibility for funds from various federal, state and institutional resources. A financial aid offer will be sent to you through the mail or via email. You’ll be given a deadline to respond to the offer, letting the school know if you’ll accept or decline a part or all of the aid they’ve awarded. Remember, you don’t have to accept everything offered.

You may not receive an offer from every school listed on your FAFSA. Some universities may wait to provide a financial aid offer until you’ve been admitted to their school. If you don’t receive a response from one of your schools, contact their financial aid office to ensure they’ve received your FAFSA results.

From that point on, follow the directions given to you by the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend. They’ll be your best resource for any questions you may have about the financial aid process.