How To Renew Your FAFSA?

FAFSA is definitely important and is the first step towards receiving the necessary financial assistance to pay for your college. In this article, understand the eligibility criteria, when to renew, and more.

TCM Staff

31st March 2020

Since there are chances of your financial and family situations varying from year to year, you will have to complete and submit your FAFSA form every academic year if you are willing to receive aid. The FAFSA renewal is for students who have already completed the FAFSA the earlier year.

If you are a student who is wanting to return back to the school, you have the option of renewing your FAFSA or completing a new FAFSA if your financial conditions have changed and how is it done is mentioned clearly in this article.


What is FAFSA Renewal?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form applies to one academic year to determine your eligibility for aid which simply means you will have to submit a FAFSA form each year and make sure you meet the FAFSA deadlines for state and college aid you could receive.

If you applied for aid last year, you completed the FAFSA. That means for each year you want to apply for aid, you will need to complete a Renewal FAFSA. Although the Renewal FAFSA is filled previously with some of your information which was provided by you the previous year.

Updating information is easier than completing the entire FAFSA renewal form, Isn’t it guys? And it typically takes less than an hour to do so.


Is it necessary to complete the Renewal of FAFSA?

Here are a few points why is it important to renew your FAFSA.

  • The FAFSA is the main reference of data from which the federal government, states, and colleges take help of it and hence used to award financial aid. 

  • Any variation in income and family finances or even the number of people going to school from your family can also affect your eligibility for awards, accomplishments or need-based aid from your institution. 

  • Financial aid formulas frequently change which can make it easier for you to fit for awards to help pay for your educational expenses. 


How To Renew FAFSA

Here are the 5 simple steps to renew your FAFSA application.

  • Sign the Renewal FAFSA with your FSA ID.

  • Your parents will also have to sign with their FSA ID if you are a student who is dependent on them.

  • See and understand the certification statement and click on Submit my FAFSA Now.

  • Once you submit the Renewal FAFSA, print a copy of the Confirmation Page.

  • You will receive an email within five days acquainting you that your Renewal FAFSA has been processed.


Eligibility for renewing your FAFSA

You are considered to be eligible to renew FAFSA this year if you have completed one the previous year.

In order to renew your FAFSA, log in with your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. Your FSA ID is an unusual user name and password that allows you in identifying yourself electronically and access the FSA website.

Both the student and at least one of the parents of a dependent student will need FSA IDs. If you don’t have your FSA ID or incase if you have forgotten your user name or password, you can get help with that online.

When you logged into the FAFSA site, click on the “FAFSA Renewal” option and follow these steps.

  • Review the pre-filled data, and make all the necessary changes.

  • Give answers to all other questions.

  • Save and evaluate your Renewal FAFSA on a regular basis.


Submit your Renewal FAFSA

The FAFSA application season begins on October 1 for the academic year starting the coming year, and submitting your application early can mean more student aid from any number of sources.

Your institute uses your FAFSA calculations to put together a combination that can include aid from the federal government, your college, state and local governments, and private scholarships.

You will have to update the income information on the Renewal FAFSA once your tax details are filed. You can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer data about income from your federal income tax returns to the FAFSA.

Most of this aid is granted on the bases of the First Come First Served (FCFS), so getting in early will give you a better chance of receiving funds while they are still available. But officially speaking, you can submit a FAFSA till June 30 of the academic year you have just finished.

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