FAFSA & Cal Grant Information

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is one of the most important financial aid applications to fill out. It’s used to apply for financial aid from the federal student aid program which is offered by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid. However, many state governments, and most colleges and universities use the information provided on the FAFSA to also award financial aid from their own programs. The federal student aid programs offer accessibility to federal grants, federal loans, and federal work-study. All other aid offered through other sources (like your state or school) will vary but may also include grant and loan opportunities.

The new 2025-2026 FAFSA will be available starting December 1st. Here are 10 Steps To File:

After creating FSA IDs, students must visit StudentAid.gov to file the 2025-2026 FAFSA.

1. Gather Necessary Information: Before starting the application, gather the necessary documents, including:

Student and parent FSA IDs (Begin at StudentAid.gov.)
2023 Federal Tax Return or other income documentation for student and parent(s)
Social Security number(s)
Driver’s license (if any)
2023 untaxed income records, such as child support received and veterans’ non-education benefits
Current information on checking and savings account balances; stock, bond and other investments; and business and farm assets

2. Start Early: The FAFSA became available in December 2024 for the following school year. It's a good idea to fill it out as soon as possible since some funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

3. Visit the Official FAFSA Website: Go to the official website at StudentAid.gov to begin the application process. Be sure to select the 2025-2026 FAFSA when filing. California priority deadline and Cal Grant submission is March 2, 2025

4. Choose Your Schools: You'll be asked to list schools you're interested in attending (list up to 20 different schools). These schools will receive your FAFSA results and will use the information to determine the financial aid they can offer you.

5. Answer Dependency Questions: The FAFSA will determine if you are a dependent or independent student. Dependent students must provide parent financial information.

6. Fill Out Financial Information: Use the documents you've gathered to provide accurate financial information. By providing student and parent financial information, you are determining the federal and state financial aid you qualify for.

7. Sign and Submit: Once you've completed all sections, you'll need to sign the FAFSA. If you're a dependent student, you will invite your parent(s) to complete separate section(s) of the FAFSA. The 2025-2026 FAFSA will be considered finished once all sections have been successfully completed, signed and submitted.

8. Review Your FAFSA Submission Summary: After submitting the FAFSA, you'll receive a FAFSA Submission Summary summarizing the information you provided. Review this for any errors and make corrections if necessary.

9. Stay Informed: Check the status of your FAFSA, and make sure to respond to any requests from schools or the federal government for additional information.

10. Renew Annually: The FAFSA isn't a one-time task. It is a requirement to submit a new application each year.

How to create an FSA ID

Creating an FSA ID only takes a few minutes and will make you and your student’s FAFSA process smoother:

For Students and Parents with a Social Security Number,

Visit studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
Click “Get Started”
Enter Personal Information
Create Username and Password
Verify your Email Address
Complete Challenge Questions
2-Step Verification
Review and Submit
Make sure that you write down or take a picture of your FSA ID username and password as a reminder!
Repeat the process and have your student create an FSA ID, too! They will need to input their information and a separate email address

For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, parent(s) and spouses who need to contribute to a FAFSA who don’t have a Social Security Number will be able to create an FSA ID but will need to take a few additional steps to verify their identity. Note: Students must still have a Social Security Number to complete the FAFSA. Click here to be redirected to the California Dream Act Form (CADAA) for students who do not have a SSN.

Understand the New FAFSA

Video (in English): What’s changed for the 2025-26 FAFSA form?

What are some new terms you may see and what do they mean?

Student Aid Index (SAI) – Beginning with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the Student Aid Index (SAI) will replace the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The SAI will be the number that is calculated by the information the student and other contributors provide on the FAFSA. It will determine your student’s eligibility for certain types of federal aid (like the Pell Grant).

The SAI might be a negative number as low as -1,500 – this is to help give more insight into a student’s financial need
The number of family members in college is not included in the calculation for SAI
Child support received is counted as an asset in the calculation for SAI
Family farms and small businesses are now counted as assets in the calculation for SAI

Common FAFSA Terms

Contributor – A contributor is any individual that will be required to provide their consent and approval for their federal tax information to be included on the FAFSA. They will also be required to sign the FAFSA. This includes the student, student’s spouse (if applicable), the student’s biological or adoptive parent and the parent’s spouse (stepparent) – see this chart to review who will be considered a contributor.

All contributors must have an FSA ID – Learn how to create one here
The FAFSA will not be fully submitted or processed until all contributors have given their consent for their federal tax data to be included and signed the FAFSA using their FSA ID.
Students will be prompted to list the email addresses of other required contributors –

Make sure anyone who will be a contributor has an email address and an FSA ID

Video (in English): Who is a contributor on the 2024-25 FAFSA Form?

Chart (in English): Is my parent a contributor?

Consent and Approval – Contributors (see above) are required to give their consent and approval for their federal tax information to be included on the 2024-2025 FAFSA. Once they have given consent, it cannot be revoked for that aid year.

An FSA ID is required to give consent – Learn how to create one here
If a contributor refuses to give consent to their federal tax information to be included on the FAFSA, additional steps will need to be taken with the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for the student to receive only an Unsubsidized Loan.

Video (in English): What does it mean to provide consent and approval on the 2024-25 FAFSA form?

The SAI might be a negative number as low as -1,500 – this is to help give more insight into a student’s financial need
The number of family members in college is not included in the calculation for SAI
Child support received is counted as an asset in the calculation for SAI
Family farms and small businesses are now counted as assets in the calculation for SAI

Common FAFSA Questions

How is tax information put into the 2025-2026 FAFSA?

With the new 2025-2026 FAFSA, students and their families will be able to use the Future Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX). The FA-DDX authorizes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to securely provide your federal tax information directly to the FAFSA after receiving consent from the contributor.

What if I do not give consent and approval for my tax information to be included?

Students and parents will no longer be given the option to manually enter their tax information, therefore if you do not give approval and consent, the students FAFSA will be rejected. If a FAFSA is rejected, the student will be ineligible for federal and state grant funding. All contributors must give consent, even those who are nontax filers

For Dream Act information and application, visit: http://dream.csac.ca.gov

For Middle Class Scholarship information, visit: http://www.csac.ca.gov/mcs.asp

For Cal Grant instructions, visit: http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=48

For Cal Grant GPA Verification form, visit: http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=1177

Cal Grant deadline through FAFSA: March 2, 2025

FAFSA 2025-26: A Simple Guide for Students

Department of Education: Video tutorials and updates for FAFSA

For technical help in filling out the FAFSA form, go to StudentAid.gov/fafsahelp or

call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).