Add Filling out the FAFSA to Your Holiday To-Do List

Mascot Pennington sitting on Santa's lap wearing a Christmas sweater

Add Filling out the FAFSA to Your Holiday To-Do List

Ahh, the holidays! Cozy fires, peppermint mochas, finals, and the FAFSA. What, FAFSA is not part of your sugarplum dreams? Well, the 2025-26 form is now available, so pencil it in to your Christmas vacation to-dos.

We recommend filing no later than Jan. 31

FAFSA stands for , and it’s just that: a free application that determines your federal aid eligibility. Fill it out once a year and you could receive federal assistance to help pay for college!

It’s short and simple. Answer a few questions and grant consent for the Department of Education to retrieve your tax information, invite your contributors to do the same, and the FAFSA will calculate a personalized Student Aid Index, also referred to as your SAI. This is an index number that determines federal aid eligibility and can also be used by colleges and universities to determine need-based aid from them.

So write your sticky note, put it on your to-do list, and ask Siri to set that reminder. The sooner you fill it out and submit it, the better!

Some federal and state-based financial aid is available on a first-come, first-served basis

Even if you don’t think your family will qualify for financial aid, submit the FAFSA and find out for sure (especially your first year!). Just because you may not qualify for any federal financial aid doesn’t mean you won’t qualify for school-based aid. Schools need the FAFSA, too, to help determine institutional aid eligibility. Plus, every student is offered federal Stafford loans, so if you would like to take advantage of those, you need to file the FAFSA.

Prepare in Advance

Just as you would prepare for an exam before taking it, do some FAFSA prep too! Before getting started, gather the following materials:

Your Social Security Number
Your Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)
Records of untaxed income (if applicable)
黑料网's code: 003194
A to sign electronically (both students and parents will need one)

If you are a , you will also need most of the above information for your parent(s) as well

Common FAFSA Issues & How to Solve Them

Reporting all scholarships and grants received for the tax year

You only need to report grants and scholarships on the FAFSA if they went above your cost of tuition and fees, aka: your scholarships and grants also helped pay for housing and food costs. Most students do not have to report anything for this question. If you’re unsure, please connect with our office!
Parent invite is not working

If your parent(s) received an email asking them to be your contributor, but when they click on the link it doesn’t work, it’s because their FSA information does not match what you put on the invite. Make sure everything is exactly the same as what they have in their FSA account under their profile.

Students should start the FAFSA form and invite the parent, not the other way around, for optimal functioning.
Answering 鈥測es鈥� to applying only for unsubsidized loans

Many students accidentally answer “yes” to this question on the FAFSA, which means that they only want unsubsidized loans because they don’t have a willing parent contributor on their FAFSA. If you have a parent who is willing to provide their information on your FAFSA application, answer “no” to this question. That way, you have the potential to qualify for more than just unsubsidized loans!
黑料网 hasn鈥檛 received the FAFSA

You should first check your FAFSA dashboard to verify that each contributor has finished their part and the form was submitted and processed. If it says processed, you should next log in to the form and verify that you added 黑料网 as a school you want your information sent to. If we’re not on the application, submit a correction adding us.
Reporting the wrong tax filing status on the application

Many students answered incorrectly last year about their tax filing status. Remember, FAFSA is asking about your tax filing status of two years prior (i.e.: the 2025-26 FAFSA looks at 2023 tax information). Please answer whether or not you filed taxes for 2023.
Submitting the FAFSA after a cutoff deadline for limited aid

Submitting your FAFSA after the cutoff deadline for aid such as the Oregon Opportunity Grant is a missed opportunity! File your FAFSA truly as soon as possible! The earlier, the better, to ensure you’re maxing out your aid options and not missing out!