Steps to
completing your FAFSA
How to File Your 2025-2026 FAFSA
Overview
The FAFSA, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the first step you need to take to apply for financial aid each academic year. Students and their families answer questions about their demographics and financial situation which are used to calculate a Student Aid Index. The SAI is one of the main measurements used by schools and state agencies to award financial aid.
Accuracy Matters
Making mistakes on your FAFSA can lead to inaccurate and late aid offers. Without quality information on your financial aid, it can be difficult to decide if attending college is right for you or not. Our hope is that this page can help prevent any errors on your FAFSA and keep you on track to receive an accurate and timely aid offer.
Getting Started
The 2025-26 FAFSA application is available now! You'll want to make sure you have your 2023 tax information, current bank information and Social Security Number or Alien Registration Number available for when you file your FAFSA. OSU's priority deadline to have your FAFSA submitted by is February 28, but getting started and submitting your FAFSA early is best! We'll preview what you can expect to see when filing your FAFSA here as well as some helpful information to understand its purpose.
Your studentaid.gov Account
Each student will need a unique account with studentaid.gov to file their FAFSA. Often referred to as an FSA ID, the account serves as a hub to see your federal financial aid history, including your outstanding student loan balance and current repayment status. It also works as a legal signature, allowing you to electronically sign documents.
Anyone who will be a "contributor" on your FAFSA will also need an account. If you are a dependent student, your parent(s) will need to contribute to your FAFSA. Be sure you understand who is considered a parent on the FAFSA! Independent students who are married will need their spouse to contribute.
Your FAFSA and OSU
Don't forget to make sure your FAFSA has OSU listed as one of the schools you want to send your information to! We use the information provided on your FAFSA to create your financial aid offer. Without a valid FAFSA, we cannot award you the federal, state, or institutional aid you are eligible for. Be sure to either search for us or add our school code (003210) on your form to have it sent to us.
FAFSA Questions
Questions
The first section of the FAFSA is all about you! You'll be asked to provide your basic personal information such as name, address, and birthday. You'll also be asked about your marital status, what type of degree you are pursuing, family situation and other questions to help understand your personal circumstances and educational goals. Finally, you will also be asked to confirm that you have graduated from high school or completed some sort of equivalent accomplishment.
Purpose
These questions serve multiple purposes. They're asked so that we can determine what aid you are eligible for and ensure that it is sent to you and not someone else. They also determine your dependency status so see if you will need to include parental information on your FAFSA or not. There are also some general demographic questions that are not used to determine your eligibility. Instead, they are used to help the Department of Education help track FAFSA participation with various populations.
What You Need
Just yourself! The first section won't ask you to answer any questions that you would need to have documentation prepared for.
Questions
The second section of the FAFSA addresses your current financial situation. You will be asked to give consent for the Department of Education and Internal Revenue Service to share some data allowing for a Direct Data Exchange. Even if you are going to manually input your tax information, you must give consent or your FAFSA will be rejected. You will be asked questions about your income and taxes from 2023 and your current cash savings, investments, and other assets. You will also indicate if you are receiving any federal means tested benefits such as TANF or SNAP. Here you will also indicate which schools you want to receive your FAFSA information. Make sure you include OSU or we won't know that you've filed your FAFSA!
Purpose
Financial aid is built around the idea that students and their families are primarily responsible for funding a student's education. These questions are designed to help the Department of Education estimate your financial strength and how much you could theoretically contribute to paying for your education. They are NOT used to determine any specific dollar amount that you must contribute to your education.
What You Need
Your 2023 tax information, current bank statements, and current investment net worth. In many cases, your tax information can be pulled over from the IRS directly through the Direct Data Exchange without you needing to input it yourself. We do recommend you know how to access your records if you need to manually input the information. Please remember that while tax information is from 2023, your assets are as of the day you are filing your FAFSA! You will also want to know the different schools you want to receive your FAFSA information. In this section, you will search for schools by name and location or by their federal school code. OSU's school code is 003210 for students at all OSU campuses. If a school is not listed on your FAFSA, they will not receive your information.
Questions
If you are married, your spouse is required to be a contributor on your FAFSA. You will input their information and an email invitation will be sent to them to access your FAFSA. They need to provide their basic demographic information, 2023 tax information, and current asset information. They will also need to give consent for the sharing of information between the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service for the FAFSA to be considered valid.
Purpose
As the student and their family is primarily responsible for paying for a student's education, spouses are required to provide their information. Both the student and their spouse's information is used in the calculations that determine how much and of what kinds of financial aid the student is eligible for. Completing this section does NOT obligate a spouse to contribute any dollar amount towards a student's education.
What You Need
A spouse needs to know their 2023 tax information and current estimated value of their assets. The same as the student themselves, spouses may be able to directly pull their tax information from the IRS instead of inputting it manually. We still recommend knowing how to access the information in case you will need to manually input it.
Questions
If you are a dependent student, your parent(s) are required to be contributors on your FAFSA. You will input their information and an email invitation will be sent to them so that they can access their portion of your FAFSA. They will need to provide their basic demographic information, 2023 tax information, and current asset information. They are also required to give consent for some data sharing between the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service.
Purpose
As the student and their family is primarily responsible for paying for a student's education, parents are required to provide their information. Both the student and their parent's information is used in the calculations that determine how much and of what kinds of financial aid the student is eligible for. Completing this section does NOT obligate a parent to contribute any dollar amount towards a student's education.
What You Need
A parent needs to know their 2023 tax information and current estimated value of their assets. The same as the student themselves, parents may be able to directly pull their tax information from the IRS instead of inputting it manually. We still recommend knowing how to access the information in case they will need to manually input it.
Questions
Depending on your parent's marital status, their spouse may be required to be a contributor as well. If required, you will input their information and an email invitation will be sent to them so that they can access their portion of your FAFSA. They will need to provide their basic demographic information, 2023 tax information, and current asset information. They are also required to give consent for some data sharing between the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service.
Purpose
As the student and their family is primarily responsible for paying for a student's education, parents are required to provide their information. Both the student and their parents' information is used in the calculations that determine how much and of what kinds of financial aid the student is eligible for. Completing this section does NOT obligate an individual to contribute any dollar amount towards a student's education.
What You Need
They need to know their 2023 tax information and current estimated value of their assets. The same as the student themselves, they may be able to directly pull their tax information from the IRS instead of inputting it manually. We still recommend knowing how to access the information in case they will need to manually input it.
Questions
If you as the student hire and pay someone to help you file your FAFSA, they are required to disclose that they have been hired to be a preparer. Preparers will need to provide information that can be used to identify them at the end of the FAFSA. Typically, this includes some demographic information, contact information, and details of any company they are providing the service through.
Purpose
Preparer information is gathered for data tracking purposes and does not impact your eligibility for financial aid in any way.
What You Need
Your preparer should be aware of this section and have their information readily available. You, as the student, do not have to provide anything in this section of your FAFSA.
Reminder from OSU
If you need help filing your FAFSA and do not wish to hire someone, please contact us and we can help guide you through the process without charging any fees.
Other Considerations
How Can I Get Help With My FAFSA?
If you need help with your FAFSA, there are a number of different places you can find it:
The Federal Student Aid Help Center is always a great starting point with a wide range of information. If you are dealing with technical issues with your FAFSA or FSA ID, contacting them is the best way to get the help you need.
If you are confused on a specific question in the FAFSA, look for the information icon next to the question. There you'll find clarification on specific terms and what information is being requested for each individual question.
OSU is also willing to assist where we can. We do have a video library with various tutorials that may help answer your questions. You can also contact us to get more help with your particular situation.
What do I do Now That I Submitted My FAFSA?
You've completed the first step to applying for financial aid! Now, you'll want to focus on applying for as many different scholarships as possible! Scholarships will help provide you with additional aid beyond what you are awarded based on your FAFSA. Applying for more scholarships can help reduce or eliminate any out of pocket expenses or the need to borrow student loans.
Be sure to review our Important Dates to make sure you are keeping up with your financial aid and not missing any opportunities.
My Financial Situation Changed. What Now?
As the FAFSA uses older tax information and can be filed almost a full year before students will be enrolling in classes, it's common for folks' current situation to be different than what's been reported on the FAFSA. If, for example, you have had a reduction or loss of income, unexpected and large expenses, or received a one-time payment inflating your typical income, OSU may be able to update your FAFSA to better reflect your current financial status. Our Special Conditions Appeal process allows folks to reach out and request that we look into updating the FAFSA and, hopefully, gaining additional financial aid.
How is My FAFSA Data Used?
The information reported on your FAFSA is kept secure. The US Department of Education only shares the information to the specific schools you request them to on your application. Depending on the state those schools are located in, your FAFSA may also be shared with that state's agency that administers financial aid. Once a school or state agency receives your information, only select people will have access to your data and are limited on what and when they can share that information.