Financing Your University College Education

• Student: An FSA ID is your account username and password. You need it to sign the FAFSA form online. If you don’t have an FSA ID, you can create an FSA ID online to complete federal student aid tasks. It takes about 10 minutes to create an FSA ID. 
   
• Parent: If you are the parent, you need to create your own FSA ID to sign your child’s FAFSA form online. Create an FSA ID . As a parent, you’ll be able to use your FSA ID right away. 

Some of the most common FAFSA errors occur when the student and parent mix up their FSA IDs. If you don’t want your financial aid delayed, it’s extremely important that each parent and each student create his or her own FSA ID and not share it with anyone, including each other. 

The FAFSA is available online at studentaid.gov.

• If you are the student, select “I am a student and want to access the FAFSA form.” Then, log in using your FSA ID. 
   
• If you are the parent, select “I am a parent filling out a FAFSA form for a student.” After selecting the parent role, you will need to provide your child’s name, their date of birth, and their Social Security number. 

TIP: If you see the option to complete a “renewal” FAFSA form, choose that option. When you choose to renew your FAFSA form, your demographic information from the previous year will roll over into your new application, which saves you some time. 

Create a save key.

• Unlike the FSA ID, you can share the save key. A save key is a temporary password that allows you and your parent(s) to “pass” the FAFSA form back and forth. It also allows you to save the FAFSA form and return to it later. The key is especially helpful if you and your parent are not in the same place. 

Remember, the FAFSA form is not a “one-and-done” event. You must complete a FAFSA form each school year. 

The Student Demographics section includes your name, date of birth, etc. If you either completed the FAFSA form in the past or logged into the FAFSA form with your FSA ID, most of your personal information will prepopulate to save you time. Make sure you enter your personal information exactly as it appears on your Social Security card. (That’s right, no nicknames.)

Parents:
Remember that the FAFSA form is the student’s application and not yours. When the FAFSA form says “you” or “your,” it’s referring to the student (unless otherwise noted). Pay attention to whether you’re asked to provide student or parent information.

You can add up to 10 schools at a time.

RWU's School Code: 003410 

In the dependency status section, you’ll need to respond to a series of specific questions that determine whether you need to provide parent information on the FAFSA form. 

The U.S. Congress sets the dependency guidelines. They are different from the guidelines the IRS uses. Even if you live on your own, support yourself, and file taxes on your own, you may still be considered a dependent student for federal student aid purposes. If you are a dependent student, you’ll need to report information about your parent(s). If you are an independent student, you won’t have to provide parent information, and you can skip the next step. Learn about these dependency status questions and whether you’re a dependent or independent student. 

Your dependency status determines whose information you must report when you fill out the FAFSA form.

• If you’re a dependent student, you will report your and your parents’ information.
• If you’re an independent student, you will report your own information (and, if you’re married, your spouse’s).

Undergraduate students who are under the age of 24 are considered to be dependent for federal student aid purposes unless they are married, have dependents other than a spouse for which they provide more than half of their support, are an orphan or ward of the court, are a veteran or active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces, or satisfy other very limited criteria. 

Next, you and your parent(s) (if applicable) will provide financial information. This step is incredibly simple if you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT). The IRS DRT allows you to import your IRS tax information into the FAFSA form with just a few clicks. Also, using this tool may reduce the amount of paperwork you need to provide to your school. So, make sure to use it, if you’re eligible. 

Once you have indicated that you have completed your taxes, you may be eligible to use the IRS DRT. If so, select the button to link to the IRS and follow the prompts. 

You’re not finished with the FAFSA form until you (and your parent, if you’re a dependent student) sign the form. The quickest and easiest way to sign your FAFSA form is online with your FSA ID. 

Note: If you (the student) logged in to the FAFSA form with your FSA ID at the beginning, you won’t need to provide it again on this page. But, if you’re a dependent student, your parent will still need to sign it before you can completely submit the form. 

Sign and Submit Tips:

• If you or your parent forgot your FSA ID, you can retrieve the account username and password. 
• Make sure you and your parent don’t mix up your FSA IDs. This is one of the most common errors we see. This mistake is why it’s extremely important for each person to create his or her own FSA ID and not share it with anyone. 
• Make sure the parent who is using his or her FSA ID to sign the FAFSA form chooses the right parent choice from the options. 
• Here’s what you should do if you get an error saying that your FSA ID information doesn’t match the information provided on the FAFSA form. 
• If you have siblings, your parent can use the same FSA ID to sign FAFSA forms for each child. Your parent can also transfer his or her information into your sibling’s application by choosing the option provided on the FAFSA confirmation page.