Early Birds! You Can Now File your FAFSA!

Moraine Park male student in FAFSA ad

You can file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) now if you are going to school between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018.

Two Big Changes to This Year’s FAFSA

  • The FAFSA launched on October 1, three months earlier than in previous years. Complete your FAFSA as soon as possible to maximize your financial aid eligibility.
  • The 2017–18 FAFSA asks for older (2015) income and tax information than in previous years. This makes it easier to complete your FAFSA because, at this point, most people have already filed their 2015 taxes and can transfer their tax information directly into the FAFSA right away using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. This is fast, accurate, and lessens the amount of paperwork that may be required by your school.
  • Start Your FAFSA
  1. Go to gov.
  2. Click the green “Start a New FAFSA” button.
  3. Enter your (the student’s) FSA ID (username and password) on the left side. Remember: Do not share your FSA ID with anyone, including your parents.
  4. From the “Get Started” page, click the “FAFSA Renewal” button to begin.
  5. Create a save key. This is a temporary password that will let you (a) return to the application later if you don’t complete it right away, and (b) share your application with your parent.

Fill Out and Submit Your FAFSA

Help is available for every question in the “Help & Hints” boxes on the FAFSA.

  • Much of your information will be carried forward from last year. Review that information and update it as needed.
  • Your income and tax information won’t be carried over, but you can easily transfer the information from the IRS in the “Financial Information” section. Just select that you’ve “Already completed” taxes, then click “Link To IRS.”
  • Once you are done entering all your information, be sure to sign and submit the form. You aren’t done until you reach the “Confirmation Page,” which you should read carefully and save for your records.

Moraine Park will begin loading FAFSA information for 2017-2018 into our system starting in February 2017. At that time, our office will send you a letter in the US Mail outlining your next steps.   Once you have received that letter, staff will be able to view the information you provided and answer questions that you may have.

 

Written by Julie Waldvogel-Leitner
Director of Admissions