FAFSA complete? How to track your application’s status and much more

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Answers to FAQs about completing the FAFSA.

Congrats on completing your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is an important first step to securing financial aid for college. Now what? Here’s what you can expect to happen next.

When will I get my copy of the Student Aid Report (SAR)?

Your student should receive a copy within a couple of weeks. This is a summary of the information you and your student provided in the FAFSA. Review it together to make sure it’s accurate and complete, as it will be sent to the colleges your student listed in the FAFSA.

Colleges will use the information in your SAR to determine how much aid your student is eligible to receive and to create their financial aid award package.

How do I make a correction to my FAFSA?

You can make corrections to your FAFSA online, even after submitting it. Log in, then click “Make FAFSA Corrections.” You can add or remove colleges from your application, change your email or mailing address, and correct any other field in your FAFSA except your Social Security number.

How do I check the status of my FAFSA?

If you submitted your FAFSA online, then your application would be processed within 3–5 days. You can check the status of your FAFSA any time after submitting it online. Once logged in, your FAFSA status displays on the “My FAFSA” page.

If you submitted a paper FAFSA, your application will be processed within 7–10 days, at which time you can check your status.

When can I expect to receive information about my financial aid?

The colleges you list on your application will have access to your FAFSA information about one day after your application is processed. They use this information to determine aid eligibility, but each college has its own time frame for assessing and awarding funds.

After you submit your college application to the school, the college will create a financial aid award letter for you, based on your FAFSA application. Most colleges send award letters around the same time as admission letters. But timing can vary: Contact the school’s financial aid office to learn when you should expect to receive your award letter.

It’s important to know colleges don’t necessarily create an award package for every student who lists them on their FAFSA. Again, be sure to contact the college you plan to attend to learn about the process of applying for financial aid.

Find answers to more common FAFSA questions on the Federal Student Aid website.

Want to read more about completing the FAFSA?

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