What to know before starting the FAFSA:
- The FAFSA takes time to fill out and 3 to 5 days to process, so it's important to complete it as soon as the student receives acceptance status in January.
- Even though applicants must complete the FAFSA, they will not actually receive federal financial aid.
- IUHPFL uses the EFC code from the FAFSA as an indicator of financial need for the disbursement of its own scholarships, thereby avoiding the need to collect extensive personal data from applicants.
- Before starting, parents/guardians should gather their most recent tax return and other documents needed to determine household income, expenses, and assets.
Even if the student is nota senior, complete the FAFSA as if he or she will be graduating from high school this year and attending college in the fall. The FAFSA is designed to help determine financial need and aid for college students.
Complete the FAFSA at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa and enter the following information:
- Completion status: High school diploma
- Grade level: Never attended college
- School code: Indiana University 001809
- Housing options: Select on-campus
- Preparer questions: choose “NO” — you are not a preparer
- If your financial situation for the upcoming year will be similar to this past year, please use the most recent tax information (W-2, 1040, etc.) that you have already filed. If your financial situation will be changing dramatically, please do your best to estimate.
- You will reach a page titled “Sign and Submit.” You have three options:
- Create a PIN (Create a PIN only if you want to save this application for your student’s future college attendance – in this case, your application will be processed and not accessible for several days.)
- Print the signature page (unnecessary for IUHPFL).
- Submit without signatures (You will receive another FAFSA application within 7-10 days; disregard that application unless your student is applying for college this coming fall).
- Select “Submit my FAFSA now.”
- The final page is titled FAFSA on the Web Submission Confirmation. It should include a line one-third of the way down that states “Your Estimated Expected Family Contribution (EFC).”
- Print (or save as PDF) two copies of this document (1-2 pages). Keep a copy for your records and upload the PDF (or image) to the IUHPFL Financial Assistance Application.
The FAFSA must be completed and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) confirmation must be saved/printed prior to completing the IUHPFL Financial Assistance Application.
On the IUHPFL Financial Assistance Application, parents/guardians will:
Enter the EFC code from the FAFSA confirmation page
Upload a copy of the FAFSA confirmation page
Answer 1 optional question and several acknowledgements
Submit the application