The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form that can be prepared annually by current and prospective college students (undergraduate and graduate) in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.  An overview of the application process can be watched by clicking this link.  This single application can be used for up to ten different schools.  

The window to complete the FASFA application is OPEN on January 1st; in previous years, this date was October 1st.  Each college sets its priority filing deadline; a listing of those deadlines can be found here (halfway down the page).  Remember that your FAFSA application will not be processed until you have applied (and been accepted) to the college.  Applying to college should be done first.

The first step to filling out the FAFSA is creating an ID (both student and parent); click here to begin that process.  Students and parents should click here to complete and file their FAFSA applications.  It is recommended that parents complete the FAFSA online (using a computer and not a phone application) using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).  This will reduce errors and the possibility of audit. 

For assistance, please contact the high school's Guidance Office.