Financial Aid

You’ve submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or the FAFSA) after a grueling few hours at your computer. Now what happens?

First, the information in your FAFSA is submitted to the Department of Education’s Central Processing System.

If you submitted the FAFSA online, using a PIN for your signature, you can check the status of your application at www.fafsa.ed.gov within 3-5 days. If you submitted a paper signature by mail, it’ll take 7-10 days to be able to see the status of your FAFSA online.

If you submitted the FAFSA online and provided an email address, once your application has been processed, you should receive an email notification with a link to an online document called the Student Aid Report (SAR). Using the PIN you set up to electronically sign the FAFSA, you can view the SAR online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

You’ll also get this same email notification if you submitted the FAFSA by mail and provided an email address, but it could take about 14 days longer.

At the same time that you can view it, your SAR is made available to the schools you listed on the FAFSA. The Financial Aid Office can then start evaluating your Expected Family Contribution, requesting more information from you if needed, and determining your financial aid award.

If you find that you made a mistake when filing, don’t worry! You can make corrections after the application has been processed. You MUST do this online, with a PIN. You may want to notify the schools who received your SAR so they know to expect an updated version.

You may start hearing from schools before you have decided to enroll, or even before you have been accepted. You may receive offers of financial assistance, or award letters, with a wide range of gift or self-help aid options. Be sure to carefully read the information you receive from each school so you understand the amount and types of aid that’s available to you.