FAFSA Guide

Financial aid is important, but it can sometimes be a confusing process. With this guide, we’ll help walk you through one of the most important parts of applying for financial aid: filling out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.^®.

In order to apply for any federal aid for college, you must first fill out and submit a FAFSA, which is used by the federal government to determine your eligibility for grants and Federal Direct loans. You need to file a FAFSA application for each award year that you want to apply for aid.

This guide is meant to be used while you are filling out the FAFSA application online at studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa and refers specifically to actions you’re directed to take and questions you’re asked to answer on this site. Because the FAFSA application is long and somewhat detailed, this guide will address helpful tips and frequently asked questions. If you have further questions or issues, please contact your school’s Financial Aid department. Please note that financial aid is available to those who qualify and is tied to your personal financial situation. Depending on where you work, military service, or other factors, your financial aid package may also include employer tuition reimbursement, military benefits and any other sources of funding you may be eligible to receive.

For the Financial Information section of the application, you may want to have a copy of your last two recent tax return(s) and/or W-2s on hand for easy reference. Additionally, you and any identified contributors will need to consent to authorize the FAFSA to retrieve your Federal Tax Information (FTI) from the IRS. Without consent, you are ineligible for Federal Student Aid.

• Contributors
• Create an FSA ID
• Getting Started
• School Selection
• Independent or Dependent?
• Finishing the Application

Contributors

A contributor is anyone (you, your spouse, a parent, or your parent's spouse) who is required to provide information on the FAFSA. Each identified contributor needs a StudentAid.gov account before accessing and completing their section of the online form. Contributors can access their StudentAid.gov account by using their FSA ID (account username and password).

• A contributor is invited by you during your FAFSA application process. You will need to have a valid email address, name, date of birth, and Social Security Number for your contributor in order to invite them to complete their section on the FAFSA.
• For contributors without Social Security Numbers, you can select the check box to indicate the Social Security Number is not available for that individual.
• Contributors are invited by email to fill out their section on your FAFSA. When they receive the email invitation, they are given a link to their portion of your FAFSA, and are asked to set up their own FSA ID. They will need to provide some of their personal and financial information. By providing their information, it does not mean they will become financially responsible for your education.
  • Contributors consent and approval is needed to retrieve and disclose federal tax information (FTI). With their consent and approval, tax return information can be obtained automatically from the IRS to help complete their section of your FAFSA form. If they do not provide consent and approval, you will be ineligible for federal student aid, including federal grants and loans. A contributor must provide consent and approval even if they did not file a U.S. federal tax return or any tax return at all.
  • Contributor information must only be completed by the contributor. You cannot complete the section on behalf of the contributor.

Create an FSA ID

A FSA ID (account username and password) is required to access the FAFSA form. You will need to go to “https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch” to create your FSA ID. You will need to provide your name (exactly as it appears on your Social Security card), date of birth, Social Security Number (if applicable), and an email address.

Any identified contributors on your FAFSA will also need to create their own FSA ID in order to access their portion of the FAFSA. Your contributors are identified during the FAFSA process, and you will be able to invite your identified contributors, via email, directly from your FAFSA.

Getting Started

You and any of your identified contributors might need to provide the following information or documents for the FAFSA:

• Personal identifiers, such as social security number, date of birth, and email address
• Financial information, including tax returns, records of child support received, current balances of cash, savings, and checking amounts, and net worth of investments, businesses, and farms.

To begin, go to studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa and select “Start New Form” and enter your login information to begin the FAFSA.

Once logged in, you will be given the option to select your applicable role to fill out the FAFSA form: “Student” or “Parent”. You should select “Student” and your parent, if applicable, should select “Parent”.

When completing the FAFSA, you will be asked to review and provide:

• Demographic information
• Consent for Federal Tax Information (FTI)
  • Consent and approval is required to retrieve and disclose federal tax information from the IRS, even if you did not file a tax return
  • If the FAFSA is unable to link your IRS data to the FAFSA, you may be asked to manually enter tax information on the FAFSA
• Financial information, including asset information
• Personal or unusual circumstances
• Contributor invitation
  • You will need to provide the social security number and email address for each required contributor

Select the appropriate FAFSA based on the guidelines provided. Depending on the time frame that you are attending, you may need to complete a FAFSA for two award years.

School Selection

Enter the Federal School Code for the college or university you plan to attend.

• AIU Atlanta: E01743
• AIU Houston: E01051
• AIU Online: 014720

Independent or Dependent

If you have turned at least 24 before January 1st preceding the beginning of the FAFSA award year, then you will be considered independent.

If you are not 24 by that date then the Department of Education will consider other circumstances to determine your dependency status. Based on the questions, the FAFSA will determine if you are independent, provisionally independent, or dependent.

If the FAFSA determines that you dependent after you answer the questions listed, you will be asked to invite your parent(s) as a contributor on the FAFSA.

If the FAFSA determines that you are provisionally independent, your Financial Aid Advisor will inform you on next steps.

Once you have entered the information, click Next.

Finishing the Application

After you complete your required section on the FAFSA, you will need to acknowledge the terms and conditions of the form and sign your FAFSA. If you have contributors, your FAFSA will not be considered complete until all required contributors provide their information on the FAFSA, including providing consent and approval to transfer federal tax information into the FAFSA, and provide their signatures.

Once you submit the FAFSA, you will see a confirmation page that displays your completion date, data release number, and next steps. You will also see your estimated Student Aid Index (SAI), estimated Federal Pell Grant eligibility, and information about other federal student aid for which you may be eligible. The confirmation page is emailed to you for your records.

Note: The SAI on the confirmation page is only an estimate. The official SAI will appear on the FAFSA^® Submission Summary. Filling out the FAFSA does not guarantee eligible for federal student aid. Once our FAFSA is processed and AIU receives the information (typically 2-3 business days), your Financial Aid Advisor will inform you of your eligibility and communicate any next steps.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact one of our Financial Aid Advisors at 1.877.221.5800, option 4.

Financial Aid is available for those who qualify.