{"id":784,"date":"2026-03-28T13:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/?p=784"},"modified":"2025-12-18T13:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T18:12:18","slug":"fafsa-requirements-and-how-to-get-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/2026\/03\/28\/fafsa-requirements-and-how-to-get-started\/","title":{"rendered":"FAFSA 101: What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<div  class=\"herdpress-block wp-block-herdpress-html has-white-background-color has-background   \">\n\t\t\t<p>If you\u2019re planning to go to college (or you\u2019re already here), filling out the FAFSA is one of the most important things you can do each year. It\u2019s your gateway to federal financial aid, and it can open the door to grants, work-study jobs and loans to help cover the cost of school.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you think you might not qualify for aid, it\u2019s still worth filling out. Here\u2019s what you need to know to make the process way less intimidating.<\/p>\n<p><strong>First, what is the FAFSA?<\/strong><br \/>\nFAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It\u2019s a form you fill out each year to apply for financial aid from the federal government \u2014 and a lot of states, universities (including Marshall) and scholarship programs use your FAFSA info too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who should fill it out?<\/strong><br \/>\nShort answer: pretty much everyone.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re planning to use financial aid to attend college, including Marshall, submit a FAFSA, even if you think you won\u2019t qualify. You might be eligible for more than you expect, and many scholarships require it as part of their application process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What you need before you start<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gather this info ahead of time so filling it out goes smoothly:<\/li>\n<li>Your FSA ID (you can create one at <a href=\"http:\/\/studentaid.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">studentaid.gov<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Your Social Security number<\/li>\n<li>Your parents\u2019 Social Security numbers (if you\u2019re a dependent)<\/li>\n<li>Tax info (usually for the past two years)<\/li>\n<li>Records of untaxed income<\/li>\n<li>Bank account balances and other financial info<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How to fill it out<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to <a href=\"http:\/\/StudentAid.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">StudentAid.gov<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Log in with your FSA ID<\/li>\n<li>Add your personal and financial info<\/li>\n<li>List any schools you\u2019re considering \u2014 even if you haven\u2019t applied yet<\/li>\n<li>Sign and submit<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Heads up: If your parents are helping you fill it out, they\u2019ll need their own FSA ID and financial details too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Important deadlines<\/strong><br \/>\nThe FAFSA opens every year on October 1, and you should submit it as early as possible. Aid is often first-come, first-served, so don\u2019t wait!<\/p>\n<p>Deadlines vary:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Federal deadline:<\/strong> Usually June 30 (for the following school year)<\/li>\n<li><strong>State and school deadlines:<\/strong> These can be much earlier, so check Marshall\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/sfa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Financial Aid<\/a> page to stay on top of them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Common FAFSA mistakes to avoid<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Missing deadlines<\/li>\n<li>Using the wrong tax year<\/li>\n<li>Forgetting to sign and submit<\/li>\n<li>Leaving out schools<\/li>\n<li>Skipping the FAFSA altogether!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Double-check everything. Even small errors can slow down your aid.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What happens after you submit your FAFSA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll get a confirmation and then a Student Aid Report (SAR), which summarizes the info you entered. From there, schools will use your data to calculate your Student Aid Index (SAI) and send you a breakdown of your aid package.<\/p>\n<p>That includes grants, loans and any work-study offers. Once you get offers from the schools you listed, you can compare them and choose what works best for you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Have questions or need help along the way?<\/strong> Reach out to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/sfa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marshall\u2019s Office of Student Financial Assistance.<\/a> They\u2019ll walk you through the process, help you avoid common pitfalls and make sure you\u2019re getting every dollar you qualify for.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":945,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/945"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":786,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784\/revisions\/786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}