Current RWU Students
This page provides step-by-step instructions for returning Roger Williams University students interested in applying for federal financial aid. To be considered eligible for any financial aid, a student must be enrolled in a degree/or eligible program and be a U.S. Citizen or Eligible Non-citizen.
By completing your FAFSA, you are applying for grants, loans, and work-study. Follow the steps below to apply for your aid. The FAFSA does not include scholarship opportunities. Current students may research and apply for scholarships on the Financial Aid scholarships page.
When to Apply for Federal Financial Aid
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) The FAFSA is available starting on October 1 of each year. Since funding for various programs is limited, we recommend that students apply by January 15 to meet the February 1 priority filing date.
2024-2025 FAFSA Release: The U.S. Department of Education has launched the 2024-2025 FAFSA and colleges have just begun receiving students' FAFSA data from the U.S. Department of Education as of mid-March. Students who have already submitted their 2024-2025 FAFSA and need to make corrections will not be able to until mid to late April. Specific timelines will be announced when the U.S. Department of Education provides them. For more information and updates, please visit studentaid.gov. To accommodate the additional time needed to process the backlog of applications we'll receive, we expect to be able to begin notifying students that RWU has received their FAFSA shortly after students are registered for fall 2024. If you have not submitted your 2024-2025 FAFSA please do so as soon as possible.
Where to Apply
Go to studentaid.gov to complete your FAFSA. Be sure the information is for the appropriate year.
What You Need
When completing the FAFSA, you will need a copy of the prior-prior year’s federal tax return for both you, and if you qualify as a dependent, your parent(s). If you or your parent(s) have not yet filed tax returns, you may use estimated tax figures. You will also need the RWU school code, which is 0034100
Whether you’re a student, parent, or borrower, you’ll need to create your own account to apply for, receive, and manage your federal student aid. An FSA ID consists of an account username and password that you create in order to gain access to the U.S. Department of Education’s online systems, including StudentAid.gov. An FSA ID can also serve as your legal signature when completing electronic documents.
You’ll need your Social Security number (SSN) (if applicable) and your own email address to create an FSA ID.
Beginning with the 2024–25 FAFSA form, all contributors must create their own FSA ID to access and complete their portion of the FAFSA form. Starting December 2023, contributors without an SSN can create an FSA ID.
After Submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
The federal processor will send a confirmation email to the student with a link to the student’s FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS). Students must review the report for accuracy and make any corrections or changes according to the instructions.
In addition to reviewing the information for accuracy, it is recommended that students review the FSS Comments listed at the top of the FSS. The FSS Comments will inform the student if additional information is needed to continue processing the FAFSA, if required information is missing or incorrect, if the student is near, at, or exceeding his/her lifetime Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Student Loan limits.
The Roger Williams University Office of Student Financial Aid will receive your FAFSA information electronically within 2-3 weeks from the date you filed the FAFSA.
Students who need to make a 2024-2025 FAFSA corrections will not be able to until mid to late April. Specific timelines will be announced when the U.S. Department of Education provides them. For more information and updates, please visit studentaid.gov
How You Are Notified
Once you are registered for future semesters in a new academic year at Roger Williams University, the Office of Student Financial Aid will review your FAFSA/FSS information and notify you if additional information is needed, or determine the types and amounts of aid for which you are eligible. You will receive a Financial Aid award letter, which lists the aid you may receive while attending Roger Williams University for the upcoming year.
FAFSA Simplification - Are You Ready?
Big changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application for the upcoming 2024-2025 aid year! The FAFSA Simplification Act was passed by Congress in 2020 and represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid. This includes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, the need analysis that determines federal aid eligibility, changes in terminology, and many policies and procedures for schools that participate in federal student aid programs.
There are a number of benefits of the FAFSA simplification act, including a more streamlined application process and a better user experience for the FAFSA, expanded eligibility for federal student aid, and reduced barriers for certain student populations (e.g., homeless and unaccompanied youth, incarcerated students, English language learners, and students from low-income backgrounds).
Some fundamental changes include, but are not limited to:
- The FAFSA will be shorter and more user-friendly. The number of questions will be reduced from 108 to 46 and prior-prior year tax information will be automatically transferred from the IRS database through a process called Federal Taxpayer Information (FTI).
- Students, spouses, parents and stepparents will now need to provide their consent in the new "Consent to Retrieve and Disclose Federal Tax Information" section of the FAFSA for federal student aid eligibility.
- This consent will allow the IRS to share FTI.
- Historically, the FAFSA calculated a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which was used to determine a student's eligibility for need-based federal and state aid. Most notably, a student's EFC needed to be below a specific threshold to qualify for the Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG). The EFC is being replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI). Federal Pell Grant eligibility will now be determined by family size and family income in relation to the federal poverty level.
- If any contributor to the FAFSA form (students, spouses, parents or stepparents) does not provide consent in the new "Consent to Retrieve and Disclose Federal Tax Information" section, submission of the form will still be allowed. However, an SAI — the amount of need-based financial aid the student is eligible to receive — will not be calculated.
- The EFC was calculated based on several primary factors, including: household size, number of students in college, and prior-prior year taxable and untaxed income and assets — for both a student and for the parent(s) of a dependent student. The SAI will no longer take into account most sources of untaxed income. The SAI will also not take into account the number of students in college. This could impact a student's eligibility for federal need-based financial aid (i.e. Pell Grant, SEOG, Federal Work Study, the subsidy on the Federal Direct Student Loan).
- In the past, for divorced or separated parent families, the custodial parent (typically the parent the student lived with) provided their information on the FAFSA. Beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA form, the parent who provided the greatest financial support (regardless of living arrangements) will be required to list their information on the FAFSA. If financial support is split 50/50 between both parents, the parent who has the higher income is required to provide their financial information on the FAFSA.
- Family farms and small businesses must be reported as assets. When required, families must now report the value of their small business or family farm. If the family farm includes the principle place of residence, applicants should determine the total net value of all farm assets and subtract the net value of their principle residence to determine the financial value of their farm assets.