FAFSA Basics - Financial Aid

FAFSA: You're Worth It

There's a whole community ready to help you pay for college

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is the key to unlocking college financial aid from federal, state, and local sources. If your immigration status prevents you from qualifying for federal aid, you might still be eligible for aid through the Massachusetts Application for State Financial Aid (MASFA), which can help you attend public institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Apply for financial aid helps keep college an option for the fall but does not commit you to enrolling. Fill out the FAFSA or MASFA as early as possible to maximize the aid you'll receive!

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is what colleges use to determine your eligibility for federal aid. It is also what Massachusetts uses to award state aid, and many colleges use it to award their own aid.

Filling out the FAFSA as soon as possible will you give the best chance at more financial aid. Even if you missed your college's priority deadline for financial aid applications, it's still worth filling out the FAFSA, because there may still be aid available.

Filling out the FAFSA does not commit you to enrolling in college or taking out any loans. What it does is keep college an option by connecting you with financial aid.

Filling out the FAFSA requires a lot of documents, but there is a community of people who can help, starting with your school counselor. In addition, see the Resources and Events tabs on this website for more information.

Here are some of the documents that the Federal Student Aid office says you might need to have on hand in order to complete the FAFSA:

Your Social Security number
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
The following federal tax information or tax return forms, including Internal Revenue Service (IRS) W-2 information, for you and for your parents if you are a dependent student:
- IRS 1040
- Foreign tax return, IRS 1040NR, or IRS 1040NR-EZ
- 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 (This includes child support received, interest income, and veterans noneducation benefits, for you and for your parents if you are a dependent student.)
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

You won't need to send the documents in, but you'll need information from them.

Once you're ready to fill out the FAFSA, remember to connect with your school counselor and check the links on the Resources and Events section of this website. You're on your way!

Last Updated: May 24, 2024