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Ingraham High School/Resources/Graduation, College, and Career Dashboard/Financial Aid/FAFSA & WASFA Information

FAFSA & WASFA Information

FAFSA & WASFA Information

Applications will open December 1, 2024

The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will open on December 1, 2024. The WASFA will follow a similar timeline regarding its opening.

During the delay, students and parents can still take their first step to filing a FASFA by creating their FSA ID. The 12th Year Campaign will be hosting virtual financial aid nights where students and parents can receive support creating their FSA ID. These free events will be held in English and Spanish and are open to all students.

Information on Financial Aid 

For seniors interested in college, completing an application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) or Washington State Financial Aid (WASFA) as early as possible is one of the first steps to receiving aid. Families will need to gather documents (Social Security Number, Copy of Tax Returns, W-2’s, Driver’s License Number, and FSA ID (to sign in) before completing the forms.  

Important changes to the financial aid form include:  

  • Parents and stepparents are called contributors on the new form 
  • Contributor tax information will be transferred from IRS  
    • Fewer questions are asked about your parents’ financial information. Consent and approval for the transfer of tax information is required to receive federal aid.    
  • The calculation to determine aid eligibility has been reformulated and renamed  
    • The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) has been reformulated and given a new name, the Student Aid Index (SAI). This calculation determines a student’s eligibility for certain types of aid.   

If you are unsure which to apply for, you can visit the Washington Student Achievement Council website for more information. 

Resources

  • Follow @federalstudentaid on Instagram. They are regularly posting the times in which the FAFSA will be open and other updates and resources to their story.
  • The Federal Student Aid website has a FAFSA issue alerts page where they are logging open and resolved issues relating to the 24-25 FAFSA. They even provide workarounds for some issues.

Videos

As a reminder, colleges and universities will not receive FAFSAs until early March 2024 so it will not be possible to verify if anyone has gotten your FASFA until after that date.

Student with backpack, student in wheel chair all waiting in line.
Online FAFSA Waiting Room

FAFSA Waiting Room

When the Federal Student Aid website is experiencing high traffic, a waiting room will be enabled. This waiting room does not include an estimated amount of time before being able to access the website. 

Additional Notes

  • Students that complete the 2024-25 FAFSA during the soft launch will receive a confirmation email with an estimated Student Aid Index (SAI) and estimated eligibility for Federal Pell Grants.
  • Students and families will have ample time to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA, and do not need to rush to fill out the form immediately when the soft launch period opens, as FSA will not transmit results to schools until early March 2024.
  • The schools a student selects will receive their FAFSA eligibility information after March 2024.  Students will receive an email informing them when that information has been sent to the schools.
  • Students should begin to receive aid information from schools they have been accepted to several weeks after the school received their FAFSA information.

Commonly Asked for Resources and Links

WASFA Form Available

The WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid) is available. Simpler, more generous 2024-25 financial aid applications now available—but process will be slower. Learn more about financial aid available on the Wa Student Achievement Council site.

Resources

Final Tips

  • Do not replace FAFSA with WASFA! WASFA is a state aid application for people who are ineligible for federal aid.
  • If you start a financial aid application and don’t finish within 45 days, you will have to start over.
  • Most colleges have priority deadlines. Even if you miss them, still apply for financial aid.

You can get help from colleges, your school counselor, Federal Student Aid, or local/virtual financial aid events! Find more detailed info on the WSAC website.