Office of Financial Aid

• Contributor: anyone who is asked to provide information on the FAFSA -- student, student spouse (if married), parent(s), and stepparent(s) for example.
• Consent: each contributor will now need to provide their consent to their Federal Tax Information (FTI) being included in the FAFSA, even if they did not file a U.S. tax return.
• SAI: Student Aid Index (SAI) replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
• FTI: Federal Tax Information (FTI) transferred directly from the IRS.

• More streamlined application process with fewer questions and an easier way to transfer the tax information directly from IRS.
• For students whose parents are divorced or separated, the Custodial Parent on your FAFSA will be the parent who provides you with the most financial support and will no longer be the parent with whom you lived with the most over the past 12 months.
• Foster, homeless, and unaccompanied youth -- as well as applicants who cannot provide parental information -- will be able to complete the form with a provisional independent student determination and receive a calculated SAI, however these students must meet with a financial aid counselor before an offer letter can be created.
• The number of family members in college will no longer be used in determining need-based aid eligibility calculation.

All FAFSA contributors must have their own FSA ID to log into the online FAFSA form. Your FSA ID will serve as your legal signature when completing electronic documents. You can create your FSA ID at any time at studentaid.gov. We encourage you to complete this step as soon as possible.

When you are creating your FSA ID account, you will be required to enter a mailing address and a personal email address. You are unable to use an email address that is already connected to another FSA ID.

If the parent and student have already completed a FAFSA in the past, you already have your own FSA ID. For assistance retrieving your FSA ID and/or password please visit studentaid.gov.

All FAFSA contributors regardless of citizenship status must have their own FSA ID to log into the online FAFSA form. Your FSA ID will serve as your legal signature when completing electronic documents. You can create your FSA ID at any time at studentaid.gov. We encourage you to complete this step as soon as possible.

When you are creating your FSA ID account, you will be required to enter a mailing address and a personal email address. You are unable to use an email address that is already connected to another FSA ID.

Studentaid.gov Account Creation Instructions (step-by-step) for individuals WITHOUT a Social Security Number (SSN)

Step 1: An individual should visit studentaid.gov, select "Create Account" and complete all steps, including answering 1-4 knowledge-based verification questions via TransUnion.

Step 2: Upon completing the Create Account process, the individual will see a confirmation page with the results of their identity verification. If they fail the TransUnion process, the individual will be informed that FSA was unable to verify their information and that they must contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243.

Note: The individual will also receive an email from FSA informing them to call FSAIC for next steps and verify their identity.

Step 3: Once the individual contacts FSAIC, FSA will create a case number and send them a verification email, which will include guidance on how to submit copies of unexpired acceptable documentation (listed below) to verify their identity. Individuals will also be required to submit an attestation and validation of identity form along with their approved identity documentation. This form will be available on studentaid.gov.

Acceptable Documents to Establish an Individual's Identity:

Provide one (1) of the following documents to establish identity:

• U.S. Driver's License
• U.S. State/City Identification
• Card Foreign Passport

Or One (1) set of documents below to establish identity:

• Municipal Identification Cards + utility bill
• Community ID + utility bill
• Consular Identification Cards/Matricula Consular + utility bill

Step 4: Upon receipt of the email that FSA was unable to verify their identity, an individual is then required to submit one or a combination of their acceptable documentation from the list above and a signed attestation form to: IDVerification@ed.gov

Step 5: FSA will review an individual's submitted documentation and signed attestation form to ensure it is acceptable and matches the account information provided during the Create Account process. If there is a successful match, the Department will finalize the account creation. The individual will receive an email indicating their identity has been verified and that they may now use their account username and password (FSA ID) to log in at StudentAid.gov and complete applications for student financial assistance programs.

• Each contributor (student, student spouse, parent(s) and/or stepparent) will have to provide consent.
• If any contributor does not provide their consent the Student Aid Index (SAI) will not be calculated, and we will not be able to determine your eligibility for federal and state financial aid.