High school seniors: Did you know it’s time to submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2025-26 college year? This FAFSA opened in late November, 2024.
Since submitting a FAFSA is now a requirement for graduation from an Oklahoma public high school, be sure to submit yours soon! A few days before you can submit it, though, there’s an important step you must take; all new FAFSA applicants must create an account at StudentAid.gov. When you create your account, you’ll be supplying information that is unique to you — your legal name, date of birth, Social Security (or Permanent Resident) number, a personal email address and an optional cell phone number. You’ll also create your own username and password. After you submit this information, it will be sent through a verification process with the Social Security Administration to confirm your identity. This matching process can take 2-3 days, so be sure to do this early in order to be ready to submit your FAFSA a few days later.
Most high school seniors are considered to be dependent students, meaning they will also need to include information about one or both parents on their FAFSA. To help you determine whether you will be dependent or independent on the FAFSA, see the Dependency Status Questionnaire at UCanGo2.org. If you are a dependent student, one or both of your parents will also need to set up a new account of their own. They will also need to provide unique information, which means neither their email address nor cell phone number can match yours. Some dependent students’ FAFSAs will ask for financial information from only one parent, while others will require information from both. To help you determine if one or both parents will need to set up a new account at StudentAid.gov, use this helpful interactive tool a few days before you submit your FAFSA: Who counts as a parent on the FAFSA form? You can also find a great publication at UCanGo2.org called Who Needs a StudentAid.gov Account? that will help you decide whose information must be included on your FAFSA.
Once the necessary accounts have been verified, you’ll be ready to submit your FAFSA at FAFSA.gov. You’ll need to log in with the username and password you created a few days before. Your FAFSA will let you know it’s complete after all required contributors have provided their information.
If you have questions about the FAFSA and financial aid process, call the UCanGo2 Outreach Team at 866.443.7420 or send your questions to UCanGo2@ocap.org.