AIE — Adventures In Education

High School Students

FAFSA Types

Use either format of the FAFSA: electronic or paper.

The FAFSA is available in two formats: electronic and paper.

Electronic FAFSA (FAFSA on the Web)

The majority of students now use the Department of Education's FAFSA on the Web to apply for federal financial aid.

FAFSA PIN

The student and his or her parent sign the FAFSA on the Web using an electronic signature (Personal Identification Number, or PIN). It is recommended that students and parents get their PINs before completing the FAFSA on the Web, as early as November. (Without the PIN, the student and parent must print, sign, and mail a signature page.)

The PIN can be obtained at http://www.pin.ed.gov.

The FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.ed.gov) is an Internet application that students use to apply electronically for federal financial aid. The FAFSA on the Web offers applicants distinct advantages over the paper format:

It is easy to use.
There is no software to download or install.
Its built-in edits help applicants detect and correct errors before submitting the application.

This feature significantly reduces the number of applications rejected by the Department of Education due to incorrect or missing information (less than half of a percent of electronic FAFSAs are rejected, compared to 12% of paper applications).

Its skip logic allows students to answer only those questions that apply to them, and skip those questions that do not apply to them.
Students can access the application on with a web browser.

Other Electronic Resources

The following online resources located at the FAFSA on the Web site are available to both electronic and paper applicants.

Check status of a submitted FAFSA*
Make corrections*
Print Student Aid Report (SAR)*
State deadlines
Find my school codes (federal school code search)

* PIN required.

Paper FAFSA

Students obtain the paper application from their high school guidance offices, local libraries, or any college financial aid office. The paper FAFSA also contains an envelope with the Department of Education's pre-printed address.

La FAFSA en español

A Spanish version of the paper and electronic FAFSA is available for students and families who are more comfortable applying in Spanish.

To access the Spanish FAFSA on the Internet, visit http://www.fafsa.ed.gov, and select "Llenar una FAFSA en Español" under "Filling out a FAFSA."

Renewal FAFSA

The Department of Education also provides a Renewal FAFSA (available in paper and electronically) to students who applied for federal aid during the previous award year.

For example, students who applied for federal financial aid in 2003-2004 may complete a Renewal FAFSA for 2004-2005.

The Renewal FAFSA includes the same questions as the initial FAFSA; however, certain data items that are likely to remain constant from year to year are pre-populated with the student's prior year responses.

The student is prompted to update or complete the information for those questions that generally do not remain constant from year to year.

FAFSA Info Center

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The Process

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