5 Things You Need for the FAFSA

Questions? Contact Admissions.

The best way to make completing the FAFSA (or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) easier is to make sure you have everything you need to fill it out. Here’s a cheat sheet of the 5 things you’ll want to make sure you have before sitting down to complete your FAFSA.

1. Your FSA ID

Your FSA ID is like your digital signature for certain U.S. Department of Education websites. It’s important to create an FSA ID for the student, and another one for the parent/guardian. IMPORTANT: Don’t create an FSA ID on behalf of someone else and do not use the same email address. It can cause login issues and lead to financial aid delays. Additionally, in some situations, you may have to wait up to three days to use your FSA ID after creating it. So complete this step as soon as possible.

Create FSA ID

2. Your Social Security Number or Alien Registration Number

If you have your social security number memorized, good for you! You’re good to go! If you don’t, ask your parent to find your social security card. If you are not a U.S. citizen, but meet Federal Student Aid’s basic eligibility requirements, you’ll need your Alien Registration Number.

3. Your Driver’s License Number

If you choose to enter this information, enter the number without spaces or dashes as well as the state the license was issued from the drop menu.

If you are not a licensed driver, you may have a state-issued identification card. In this field, you can enter this optional information without spaces or dashes. Using the drop-down menu, you can add the state in which your card was issued.

Providing your driver’s license information on the FAFSA does not imply that the Department of Education or college of choice will be reviewing your driving record. It is simply a means of further providing evidence of your identity for security purposes.

4. Your Federal Income Tax Records

(If applicable, bank statements, untaxed income and records of investments)

You will probably need your parent’s help for this step. They will fill out the FAFSA using their income information, so they will need to have their tax records (from two years prior) close by. Additionally, they will want to have records of their untaxed income as well records of their current assets (savings, checking, and investments.)

Pro-Tip: Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool once you get to this section can save you a lot of time during the process. It will automatically pull in your tax return data from the previous year. Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool can also help quicken the process in the future if you are selected for FAFSA verification.

5. The FAFSA Code for schools of interest.

Finally, you will want to have the FAFSA codes of all the institutions you are interested in attending. This will ensure the colleges’ financial aid departments get your FAFSA information. You can list of up to 10 schools on your FAFSA form. Make sure you add York University. Our FAFSA code is 002567.