Graduate Student FAFSA

To qualify for federal sources of financial aid, graduate students must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the U.S. Department of Education. Make sure you submit the FAFSA form as early as possible! Submitting the FAFSA determines your eligibility for student aid by:

• Applying a standard financial aid eligibility calculation to a student's and family's personal and financial information
• Conducting checks with other government agencies (Social Security Administration and Selective Service for example) to ensure the applicant is eligible for federal student aid.
• Electronically forwarding a record of the application to the school/schools specified by the applicant.
• Apply Online: FAFSA Online Form

For Graduate Students

Graduate students are handled differently on the FAFSA than undergraduates. Virtually all graduate students qualify as independent students, which means that parental financial information is not required to complete the FAFSA.

Before you begin filing the FAFSA (electronically or not), you will need to gather several important pieces of information:

• Your Social Security card and driver's license
• W-2 Forms or other records of income earned
• Your (and your spouse's, if you are married) Federal Income Tax Return
• Records of other untaxed income received such as welfare benefits, social security benefits, TANF, veteran's benefits, or military or clergy allowances
• Current bank statements and records of stocks, bonds, and other investments
• Business or farm records, if applicable
• Your alien registration card (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

School information on the FAFSA

One important piece of information that applicants provide on the FAFSA is the school/schools that you are interested in attending. By entering the information on the school section of the FAFSA, the information is electronically forwarded to the schools' financial aid office allowing them to begin making an award.

After submitting your graduate student FAFSA

Once you submit the FAFSA to the Department of Education, the information you provide is processed to determine your EFC and check other requirements of aid eligibility. The FAFSA processor forwards an electronic record of your application to the schools you indicated. You will also receive a notification, called a Student Aid Report (SAR), from the Department of Education that allows you to review the information provided on the application and make corrections to the information - if needed.

Once you've completed the FAFSA and received your SAR, the Department of Education will transmit your FAFSA information to the graduate schools you've chosen to notify on your FAFSA application. They in turn will "package"' a financial aid award letter and send it to you for acceptance. Once you've accepted the award letter, you can begin to apply for graduate Stafford loans, graduate PLUS loans, and graduate private student loans.

Request a Graduate Student Loan Application