Federal Student Aid (2024)

FAQs

What disqualifies you from FAFSA? ›

Other reasons for financial aid disqualification include: Not maintaining satisfactory progress at your college or degree program. Not filling out the FAFSA each year you are enrolled in school. Defaulting on a student loan.

You could be eligible for as much as $30,000 of aid

In order to receive their share of these funds, students should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Many students mistakenly believe that they do not qualify for federal aid.

Once your FAFSA form or correction has been processed, you can get a copy of your SAR by logging in to fafsa.gov using your FSA ID and selecting the “View SAR” option near the middle of the “My FAFSA” page.

If you're filling out the FAFSA form online, the form will show questions we need you to answer. You won't be able to continue through the form without answering necessary questions. If you're completing the FAFSA form on paper, the instructions will guide you towards which questions are required.

There is no set income limit for eligibility to qualify for financial aid through. You'll need to fill out the FAFSA every year to see what you qualify for at your college. It's important to make sure you fill out the FAFSA as quickly as possible once it opens for the following school year.

Some types of information that might be verified include income, taxes, education tax credits, child support, high school completion status or number of members in your household. You can reduce the chances of a verification by importing information from your FAFSA directly from the IRS's data retrieval tool.

After you submit your FAFSA form online, you can check its status immediately by going to fafsa.gov and logging in with your FSA ID (account username and password). (Note: Only the student can check the status.)

If your FAFSA form is complete and fully processed, your estimated federal student aid and SAI will display under the “Eligibility Overview” tab of your online FAFSA Submission Summary. Before completing the FAFSA form, use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to estimate your SAI.

If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, your form will be processed within 7 to 10 days. Once your form is processed, you'll receive a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR), which summarizes the information you provided on your FAFSA form. Review your SAR and make sure all of the information is complete and accurate.

Is lying on FAFSA a felony? ›

If someone purposefully lies on the FAFSA^®, they're committing student fraud. Intentionally lying on the FAFSA^® is a serious crime that the U.S. government can punish with fines of up to $20,000, a prison sentence, or both, according to Federal Student Aid.

Some colleges verify 100% of their FAFSA applications. Your application may require verification if the school finds inconsistencies or potential errors in your FAFSA form. Whether you are being verified due to random selection or due to potential errors, you will provide any documents that the school asks for.

Students must be in good academic standing to receive federal aid. The required GPA varies from school to school, but typically students need a 2.0 or higher. If your grades fall below the minimum GPA, you could lose eligibility for financial aid. See also: What GPA do you need to get a full scholarship?

There are a few common reasons why the Federal Processor will reject an application: Missing signatures, inconsistent marital status with income, taxes paid are equal to or higher than adjusted gross income, citizenship questions are blank, marital status and family members blank, etc.

Your family's taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits (such as unemployment or Social Security) all could be considered in the formula. Also considered are your family size and the number of family members who will attend college or career school during the year.