FAFSA 2024 Info – Complete by Dec. 31, 2023 – 3 Easy Steps

The FAFSA stands for “Free Application for Federal Student Aid.”  We recommend that all college going students and families should fill out the FAFSA. This information impacts eligibility college based scholarships and grants as well as general scholarships. The FAFSA has been updated this year (2023) for the 2024 school year to hopefully make it easier for families to complete. Read about the updated FAFSA here.

Step 1:  Apply to get your FSA ID now (early in December).  Create your FAFSA ID account here.  

• Each student needs to create an account and will need their social security number, cell phone number and email account to complete the form.
• One parent needs to create an account and they will need their social security number, cell phone number and email account to complete the form.

Step 2 (Parents): Gather the documents you may need to fill out the FAFSA  (this mostly applies to parents of the dependent child applying to college or the child if they are an independent / non-dependent child). You can get an idea of the info needed by completing the Federal Aid Estimator. 

• Federal Tax Information (e.g. IRS Form 1040) for one or both parents, if married. (The new FAFSA can automatically link to your 2022 tax filings and may be all that is needed). Parents Adjusted Gross Income (Line 11 of Form 1040)
• Student’s untaxed income such as child support received, interest income or veterans non-educational benefits
• Family savings and checking account balances, investments, stocks and bonds and real estate (not including the house you live in), business and farm assets

Step 2 (Students): Identify the colleges where you would like the FAFSA Info sent

• You can list up to 20 schools
• Read more about selecting the schools and codes here.

Step 3 (beginning on December 31, 2023): Fill out the FAFSA Information (the sooner you do this, the better).

• (Parents) The FAFSA Form will be available here later in December.
• (Students) Add in your selected schools.

Recent articles about the new FAFSA:

• From Inside Higher Education (Nov. 16, 2023)
• From Vox “What to know about the new FAFSA” (Nov. 29, 2023)

Why is it important to complete the FAFSA?

• Completing the FAFSA, and Everything You Should Know (U.S. News, March 2023)
• Why you should fill out the FAFSA (Ed Week Blog, 2016)
•  It Pays to File your FAFSA Early (Consumer Reports, 2016)
• How Financial Aid Works (Fed. Gov. 2023)

Other FAFSA Info:

• Filling Out the FAFSA Form: What to Expect and Prepare
• Federal Student Aid Estimator
• Getting Help for FAFSA

Contact us at ForwarDirections for further assistance.