FAFSA Application Process

Creating an FSA ID  

We strongly recommend you create an FSA ID, a username and password combination, that allows you to sign your FAFSA form electronically. Your FSA ID also can be used to complete your MPN, Loan Counseling and access certain information online. While you can get your FSA ID as you’re completing the FAFSA form online, getting it ahead of time and using it to begin your FAFSA form on studentaid.gov cuts down on errors and delays.  

Important note: If you’re a dependent student, one of your parents whose information is reported on the FAFSA form will also need an FSA ID so that he or she can sign your application electronically. If your parent doesn’t have a Social Security number (SSN), your parent won’t be able to create an FSA ID (which requires an SSN). This means you’ll have to select the option to print a signature page when you get to the end of your FAFSA form on studentaid.gov.  

Creating your FSA ID before you begin the FAFSA® form only takes a few minutes and could prevent processing delays.   

Tip: Use your FSA ID to start your FAFSA form.  

When you create your FSA ID, be careful to enter your name and Social Security number exactly as they appear on your Social Security card. When you go to studentaid.gov to start your FAFSA you will use your FSA ID to log in.  

When you log in with your FSA ID, certain information (including your name, Social Security number, and date of birth) will be automatically loaded into your application. This will prevent you from running into a common error that occurs when your verified FSA ID information doesn’t match the information on your FAFSA form. Additionally, you won’t have to provide your FSA ID again to sign your FAFSA form electronically.  

The student is the one applying for financial aid, so be sure it’s the student entering his or her FSA ID in the “I am the student” tab. Do not start the FAFSA form by supplying the parent’s FSA ID.  

Gathering the Documents Needed to Apply  

The FAFSA questions ask for information about you (your name, date of birth, address, etc.) and about your financial situation. Depending on your circumstances (for instance, whether you’re a U.S. citizen or what tax form you used), you might need the following information or documents as you fill out the application:  

  • Your Social Security Number 
  • Your A-Number (if you're not a U.S. citizen) 
  • Federal income tax returns; records of child support received; and your current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts (Note: You must provide consent and approval to disclose your federal tax information to be eligible for federal student aid.) 
  • Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable) 
  • Records of net worth of investments, businesses, and farms 
  • Records of untaxed income (if applicable) 
  • An FSA ID (account username and password) to log in to StudentAid.gov and start the FAFSA form electronically 

If you’re a dependent student, then your parent(s) will need most of the above information 

If you’re a married student who did not file a joint tax return with your spouse, then your spouse will need most of the above information. 

Keep these records! You may need them again. Do not mail your records to us.  

Starting Your FAFSA Form and Providing Your Basic Personal Information  

The 24/25 FAFSA form was made available to students to file on January 1, 2024. The FAFSA form can be made available to file as early as October 1st each year for the next school year. We encourage students to complete the FAFSA as soon as it is available to meet FAFSA and state deadlines. 

FAFSA® Filing Options  

You may choose any of these methods to file a FAFSA form:  

  • Log in at studentaid.gov to apply online or  
  • Complete a 2024-2025 PDF  (note: you must print out and mail the FAFSA PDF for processing) or  

If you are applying for a summer session, since Summer is a trailer at Fisk, you would complete the FAFSA that was filed for the previous Fall and Spring semesters. (For example, Summer 25 would file the 24/25 FAFSA, Summer 26 would file the 25-26 FAFSA.) Please contact the financial aid office with any other questions regarding which year FAFSA to file for Summer. 

If you are starting the 2024–25 FAFSA form for the first time on studentaid.gov, select “Start New Form” and enter your account username and password to access the FAFSA form. As you begin, keep the following in mind:  

  • Your name and Social Security number must match those on your Social Security card.   
  • If you’re concerned about providing your personal information on the log-in page, choose the virtual keyboard option for additional security.  
  • To ensure the application functions properly, make sure the pop-up blocker in your browser allows pop-ups from studentaid.ed.gov.   

Listing Colleges and/or Career Schools  

While completing the FAFSA form, you must list the Fisk University school code so the university can receive your information. Fisk University will use your FAFSA information to determine the types and amounts of student aid you may receive. The Fisk University School Code is 003490. 

For federal student aid purposes, the order of schools for your college list does not matter. However, to be considered for state aid, TSAC (Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation) requires you to list the Fisk University school code first so the university can receive your information to certify any state grants and scholarships, TN state residents may be eligible for. 

You can list up to 20 schools online or up to 10 schools on a FAFSA PDF (paper form). (You can add or delete schools on your FAFSA form later.) Fisk University will receive your FAFSA results electronically, about 2-3 days after the FAFSA has been filed. 

You should add the Fisk University school code to your FAFSA even if you haven’t been accepted yet. Once a student has been admitted, the financial aid office will then work on developing the aid offer.  

Determining Your Dependency Status  

The FAFSA form asks a series of questions that determine whether you are a dependent or independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid. If you are a dependent student, you must report parent information, as well as your own information, on your application.  

Reporting Parents’ Information  

If you’re a dependent student, you’ll need to report parent information on your FAFSA form.  

Who is my parent on the FAFSA® form? 

If you need to report parent information on the FAFSA form, here are some guidelines to help you: 

  • If your parents are married (not separated), both of your parents’ information must be included on the FAFSA form, regardless of whether your parents are of the same or opposite sex. If your parents didn’t file taxes jointly, then both of your parents are contributors. If your parents filed taxes jointly, only one parent is required to be a contributor and will report information for both parents. 
  • If your parents are not married to each other and live together, both of your parents are contributors and their information must be included on the FAFSA form, regardless of whether your parents are of the same or opposite sex. 
  • If your parents are divorced, separated, or never married, and don’t live together, the parent who provided more financial support during the last 12 months is the contributor and must provide their information. If both parents provided an equal amount of financial support or if they don’t support you financially, the parent with the greater income and assets is the contributor and must provide their information. 
  • If your parent is widowed, that parent is the contributor and must provide their information. 

 

How ED Keeps Your Information Safe 

We care about the privacy of your personal information. The information you share with us via our secure websites goes through a process called encryption. Encryption uses a mathematical formula to scramble your data into a format that is unreadable to a hacker. This is how we do our part to keep your information safe—but you need to do yours as well. 

Providing Financial Information  

The FAFSA form asks for financial information, including information from tax forms and balances of savings and checking accounts.  

  • The 2024-25 FAFSA form asks for 2022 tax information.  
  • The 2025–26 FAFSA form asks for 2023 tax information. (Available December 1, 2024) 

Note: If your or your family’s financial situation has changed significantly from what is reflected on your federal income tax return (for example, if you’ve lost a job or otherwise experienced a drop in income), you may be eligible to have your financial aid adjusted. Complete the FAFSA questions as instructed on the application (including the transfer of tax return and income information), submit your FAFSA form, then contact the financial aid office at Fisk University to discuss how your current financial situation has changed. The student may be eligible to request a professional judgement. Note that the school's decision is final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.  

What to Do If Your Parents’ (or Your) Marital Status Has Changed Since Taxes Were Filed  

Here are some tips for this type of situation using the example of the 2024-25 FAFSA form:  

  • The FAFSA form asks for marital status “as of today” (the day it’s filled out). So, if the student or parent is married now but wasn’t in 2022 (and therefore didn’t file taxes as married), the spouse’s 2022 income will need to be added to the FAFSA form.  
  • Similarly, if the student or parent filed 2022 taxes as married but are no longer married when filling out the FAFSA form, the spouse’s income will need to be subtracted.  
  • And, if the student or parent was married when filing 2022 taxes, then got divorced and is now married to someone else, there’s a bit more math to do: Subtract the ex’s income, then add the new spouse’s income.  

The FAFSA help text covers all these situations in more detail as you’re filling out the application.  

Automatically Transferring Your Tax Information 

Your contributor’s federal tax information will be transferred from the IRS into your FAFSA form. 

All contributors must provide consent and approval for the U.S. Department of Education to 

  • disclose their personally identifiable information provided on the FAFSA form to the IRS to match their information with their tax information; 
  • obtain their federal tax information from the IRS and include with the FAFSA form; 
  • use their federal tax information to determine your Student Aid Index and Pell Grant eligibility 
  • share their federal tax information with colleges, career/trade schools, and state higher education agencies for use in awarding and administering financial aid; and 
  • reuse their federal tax information on another FAFSA applicant's form (e.g., if a parent has multiple dependent students or for a parent's own FAFSA form as an aid applicant). 

Even if contributors don't have an SSN, didn't file taxes, or filed taxes outside of the U.S., they will still need to provide consent and approval. 

IMPORTANT: If a required contributor doesn't provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA form, you (the student) will not be eligible for federal student aid, even if the contributor manually enters tax information into the FAFSA form. 

To ensure the information is secure, the federal tax information won't display on the FAFSA site or the FAFSA Submission Summary. 

Signing and Submitting the FAFSA Form  

After you complete your required section of the FAFSA form online, you’ll acknowledge the terms and conditions of the form and electronically sign your section. You can then submit your section of the FAFSA form. However, your FAFSA form won’t be considered complete until all required contributors provide their information on the FAFSA form, give their consent and approval to transfer federal tax information into the form, and provide their signatures. 

After you and your parent (and/or any other required contributor) sign and submit the FAFSA form, the form will be considered complete and will be submitted for processing. 

If you submit the FAFSA form, you’ll see a confirmation page that displays your completion date, data release number, and next steps. You’ll also see your estimated Student Aid Index (a number used by colleges universities, and career/trade schools to determine your eligibility for federal student aid), estimated Federal Pell Grant eligibility, and information about other federal student aid for which you may be eligible. This confirmation page is emailed automatically to you for your records. 

Note: The Student Aid Index on the confirmation page is only an estimate. The official Student Aid Index will appear on the FAFSA Submission Summary. 

Taking the Next Steps  

Once you’ve completed your FAFSA form, there are more steps you must take before you receive financial aid. Make sure you know what happens after you submit your FAFSA form. 

  1. Check Your FAFSA® Form Status 

Check the status of your form by logging in to your StudentAid.gov account and selecting your FAFSA submission from the “My Activity” section of your account Dashboard. 

If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, you can check its status after it has been processed (roughly 7–10 days from the date mailed). 

The status of your application will be one of the following: 

  • Draft: Your section of the FAFSA form is incomplete. 
  • In Progress: You provided your consent, approval, and signature to your section of the FAFSA form, but the FAFSA form has not been submitted yet. 
  • In Review: The FAFSA form was submitted but hasn’t been processed yet. 
  • Action Required: You are missing your consent and approval or signature; or the FAFSA form was processed, but a correction is required. 
  • Processed: Your application was processed successfully. No further action is needed. 
  • Closed: Your FAFSA form was never submitted and can no longer be submitted because the federal FAFSA deadline passed. 
  1. Review Your FAFSA Submission Summary 

The FAFSA Submission Summary is a summary of the FAFSA data you submitted. You (the student) will get your FAFSA Submission Summary after your FAFSA form is processed. Look over your FAFSA Submission Summary carefully, make sure you didn’t make a mistake on your FAFSA form, and make corrections to your FAFSA data if necessary.  

What Not To Expect From the FAFSA Submission Summary 

The FAFSA Submission Summary won’t tell you how much financial aid you’ll get. Also, if you provided consent and approval to obtain your federal tax information from the IRS, the FAFSA Submission Summary won’t show the details of your (or parent) income and tax information. 

Correcting Your Form 

After your FAFSA has been processed, you can correct your FAFSA form online or on paper. 

  • Log in to your Student Aid.gov account to make changes online. If you’re a dependent student and you change information about your parent(s), they must re-sign your FAFSA form electronically using their own StudentAid.gov account. 
  • If you received a paper FAFSA Submission Summary by mail, you can make your changes, sign it, and send it to the address listed on your FAFSA Submission Summary. 

You can also contact Fisk University and ask us to assist with making the changes. 

Note: Federal tax information transferred directly from the IRS cannot be changed on your online FAFSA form. If you filed an IRS Form 1040-X amended return, contact the Fisk University financial aid office to discuss whether it would be appropriate for the school to adjust the information on your FAFSA form. 

If FAFSA® Form Is Missing a Contributor’s Consent and Approval 

If your FAFSA form is missing a contributor’s consent and approval, your contributor must do the following: 

  1. Log in and go to their account Dashboard. 
  2. Select the FAFSA form that indicates “Action Required” under the “My Activity” section. 
  3. Select “Approve.” 
  4. Provide their consent and approval. 
  5. Navigate through the form. 
  6. Sign and submit their section of the form. 

If Your FAFSA® Form Is Missing One or More Required Signatures 

All required contributors (you, your parent[s], your spouse) must provide a signature on your FAFSA form. If your form is missing one or more required signatures, it isn’t complete, and you won’t be eligible for federal student aid. 

Once your form is processed, you and your contributor(s) can follow these steps to add a missing signature: 

  1. Log in and select the FAFSA submission from the “My Activity” section of your account Dashboard. 
  2. Under “FAFSA® Form Processed,” select “Provide Signature.” 
  3. On the “Correct Your FAFSA® Form” page, select “Provide Signature.” 
  4. On the “Review Changes” page, select “Continue.” Note: If a missing signature is your only error, you’ll be taken directly to this page. If your section of the form has other errors, you’ll be taken to the first page that needs additional information and will reach the “Review Changes” page once you’ve fixed all issues. 
  5. On the “Signature” page, select “Sign and Submit.”