2026-2027 FAFSA

Important Updates for New Students and Families

Overview
Apply
Verification
Important Dates

What is the FAFSA?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, is the form you complete every year to apply for federal financial aid (grants, loans, work-study). OSU also uses your FAFSA information to determine your eligibility for different institutional grants and scholarships. The FAFSA will ask you for details about your family and pull income and tax data from the IRS. The 2026-27 FAFSA form is available now!

If you are attending during the 2025-2026 academic year and need to apply for aid, please refer to our 2025-2026 FAFSA Updates. 

Other Financial Aid Applications

2026-2027 ORSAA

The Oregon Student Aid Application is an alternative to the FAFSA for some Oregon residents who are not eligible to submit a FAFSA. The 2026-27 ORSAA opened on October 1, 2025. You can check for updates from Oregon Student Aid and take this quiz to decide which financial aid application is right for you!

OSU ScholarDollars

Oregon State University uses our ScholarDollars system to award additional scholarships to students. ScholarDollars is the best place to find and apply for scholarships through OSU. Most applications open on November 1 with February 15 as the most common deadline. Don't miss your chance to apply for more funding!

OSAC Scholarship Application

The Office of Student Access and Completion hosts over 600 scholarships that Oregon residents can apply for. The OSAC Scholarship Application opens on November 1 and is due by March 2. However, students are encouraged to have both their scholarship application and their FAFSA or ORSAA completed by the early bird deadline of February 17 for a chance to receive additional funding. 

 
female student sitting in room looking at her phone

2026-27 FAFSA Updates

The 2026-2027 FAFSA is available now!

The Department of Education began beta testing the 2026-27 FAFSA in August 2025. During testing, there were multiple phases with the beta form being available to various populations before opening the FAFSA to the general public on September 24, 2025. 

The OSU Office of Financial Aid is currently on track to be able to begin processing FAFSA information and sending aid offers to incoming students in March and April. 

 

Why should I fill out a FAFSA?

The FAFSA helps create a team between you, OSU, and the Department of Education. When you complete a FAFSA, you make sure you're in the running for the most support possible to cover your college expenses.

     

You and your family

Your family needs it to know what college will cost once financial aid sources are factored in.

    

The Department of Education

The federal government needs it to determine which federal financial aid programs you’re eligible to receive.

    

Your college or university

OSU needs it to consider you for need-based aid from the university.

How Do I Submit
My FAFSA?

File your 2026-27 FAFSA at studentaid.gov

You will need the following:
  1. 2024 tax, income and current bank information might be useful. (Tax information should automatically download into your FAFSA, but have your 2024 tax data ready in case there is an issue)
  2. Your Social Security number
  3. Documentation of your eligible non-citizen status (if you are not a U.S citizen)
  4. An FSA ID account to sign your FAFSA electronically (all your contributors will need to create FSA IDs, too)

Tip: Your FAFSA application will ask you things such as your family’s income and how many people are in your family. These questions help determine how much aid you’re eligible for. You have to submit a FAFSA every year because your circumstances will change. But don’t worry, it takes only about 30 minutes to fill out the FAFSA application and there are plenty of resources to help you. Start with this FAFSA guide and review the Pro Tips for the FAFSA® Form to help get started.

Watch this instructional video on how to submit the FAFSA.

Need help filing your FAFSA?

Review our FAFSA Filing Guide for an overview of the application process or Contact Us for personalized help!

Frequently asked questions

There are no income requirements to be considered for federal student aid. Many factors beyond income are important to determine eligibility, so we recommend that all students complete a FAFSA to be considered for the maximum amount of aid. Additionally, some OSU scholarships require financial need, so students without a FAFSA or ORSAA on file cannot be considered for those awards.

Most international students are not eligible to receive federal student aid, but there are opportunities to find private aid, such as scholarships. The FAFSA is open to all U.S. citizens and eligible noncitizens.

 

The FAFSA is available to U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens. The ORSAA is available to some Oregon residents who are not eligible to submit a FAFSA. Take this quiz to decide which financial aid application is right for you.

Although the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has not provided an exhaustive list of reasons a FAFSA contributor might be asked to manually enter financial information on the FAFSA, NASFAA is aware of the following examples:
  • The contributor’s marital status has changed since filing their Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax return for the applicable tax year (e.g., parents filed a joint tax return but are separated, divorced, or remarried when filing the FAFSA);
  • The contributor filed taxes in a U.S. territory (Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands), commonwealth, or foreign country;
  • The contributor indicates on the online FAFSA that they have not filed a tax return but plan to;
  • The contributor is a victim of IRS tax-related identity theft;
  • The contributor did not provide consent to transfer federal tax information (FTI);
  • The contributor's identifiers do not match IRS records (IRS Response Code 203);
  • The FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) transfer of FTI was incomplete (IRS Response Code 206; reason unknown);
  • The IRS was unable to confirm tax return data (IRS Response Code 212; reason unknown); and
  • IRS data is unavailable for an IRS system-related outage at the time the FAFSA is being completed.
 

Figuring out who is your parent contributor on your FAFSA can get tricky. If you need help, we recommend the Reporting Parent Information page.

The Department of Education has compiled some frequently asked questions related to the 2026-27 application. 
 
 
     

FSA ID Requirement

All contributors must have their own unique FSA ID to complete their section of the FAFSA. If you have not already, create your FSA ID today. You, and any contributor, will need to have an FSA ID before you start the FAFSA. 

 

What happens after I submit my FAFSA?

After submitting your FAFSA, the Department of Education will process the information received and send it out to the schools you listed on your form. We typically receive applications within a week of the submission date.  After we receive your application, we may need to confirm some information on your FAFSA so that you are offered the correct financial aid. This is called "verification," and it’s a common thing. If we need more information, you’ll be contacted via your OSU student email. We hit pause on processing your financial aid during this time but start up again after you’ve submitted the documents we need.

What if my financial situation has changed?

The 2026-27 FAFSA uses 2024 tax and income information. If you and your family's financial situation has changed since 2024 and the FAFSA is no longer using accurate information, please look into our Special Conditions Appeal process. Depending on your situation, we may be able to adjust the information reported on your FAFSA and you could potentially gain eligibility for additional financial aid. 

 
student sitting on bench typing on laptop

Additional Student Loans

Some OSU students and their families choose to borrow additional loan funds to help cover their educational expenses. In most cases, this means either a Parent PLUS Loan or a private student loan. If you are a parent of an incoming student, a Direct Parent PLUS Loan through the Department of Education may be an option you want to look into. Please remember you cannot apply for a 2026-27 Parent PLUS Loan until May 1, 2026! Some students and families choose to pursue a private student loan through a bank, credit union, or other loan lender instead. If you need help finding potential loan lenders, ELMSelect can show you a historical list of lenders that OSU students have commonly used. The Office of Financial Aid is happy to chat with folks about these options to see which may be a better option for your specific situation. 

 

OSU FAFSA and ORSAA calendar and deadlines

  • September and October 2025

    • FAFSA and ORSAA open

    • The 2026-2027 FAFSA opened on September 24, 2025. The ORSAA opened on October 1, 2025. The earlier you submit, the more financial aid you’ll be considered for. Get started on yours as soon as possible!

 

  • February 28, 2026

    • FAFSA and ORSAA priority date 

    • Oregon State University's FAFSA Priority Filing Deadline for the 2026-27 year is February 28, 2026! Submit your FAFSA or ORSAA before OSU's priority filing date to maximize the amount of aid you will be considered for. Eligible students who apply by this date have a greater chance of receiving need-based aid. We only need you to complete the FAFSA or ORSAA application by this date. It is fine if it is still being processed or you are working with us in the verification process after this date.

 
 
 
 

If you have any questions please reach out to us

  Call financial aid at 
541-737-2241

  Email financial aid at
[email protected]