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Financial Aid

Preparation for FAFSA 

 

MWHS College & Career Center

 

Creating an FSA ID

We strongly recommend you create an FSA ID, a username and password combination that allows you to sign your FAFSA® form electronically. Your FSA ID also can be used to access the myStudentAid app, sign loan contracts, and access certain information online. While you can get your FSA ID as you are completing the FAFSA form online, getting it ahead of time and using it to begin your FAFSA form on fafsa.gov or on the myStudentAid mobile app cuts down on errors and delays. Find out how to get an FSA ID and what to do if you forgot your FSA ID.

Important note: If you are a dependent student, one of your parents whose information is reported on the FAFSA form will also need an FSA ID so that he or she can sign your application electronically. If your parent does not have a Social Security number (SSN), your parent will not be able to create an FSA ID (which requires an SSN). This means you will have to select the option to print a signature page when you get to the end of your online FAFSA form.

 

Gathering the Documents Needed to Apply

  • The FAFSA questions ask for information about you (your name, date of birth, address, etc.) and about your financial situation. Depending on your circumstances (for instance, whether you’re a U.S. citizen or what tax form you used), you might need the following information or documents as you fill out the application:
  • Your Social Security number (it’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA form!)
  • Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student
  • Your driver’s license number (if you have one)
  • Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
  • Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you (and your spouse, if you are married),
  • and for your parents if you are a dependent student: IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ
  • Foreign tax return
  • Tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau
  • Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans non-education benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student
  • Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (but not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student.