FAFSA Publications and Resources
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form used by the U.S. Dept of Education to determine your eligibility for federal financial aid. To learn more about the FAFSA, visit our information-based website, StartWithFAFSA.org.
Publications
Finish the FAFSA in Five Steps, also available in Spanish, breaks the FAFSA process into five simple steps and includes information about the materials needed to complete the form, tools available through online submission and more. It also provides information about additional financial aid resources and includes FAFSA Facts, which offers students and parents must-know facts about the FAFSA including useful terms, when to apply and how to get the most assistance throughout the process.
Review UCanGo2’s FAFSA Fundamentals PowerPoint to learn essential information about the 2025-26 FAFSA.
Review UCanGo2’s Who Needs a StudentAid.gov Account? flowchart to see if one or both parents of a dependent student must create a StudentAid.gov account before starting the 2025-26 FAFSA.
The Dependency Questionnaire lists the questions used to determine your dependency status on the FAFSA. If you answer "Yes" to any one of these questions, you'll be considered an independent student and will not need to include your parents' information on the FAFSA.
The StudentAid.gov Account Worksheet, also available in Spanish, will guide you through the StudentAid.gov account creation process. StudentAid.gov accounts are required for students to electronically sign the FAFSA, and one parent of a dependent student will also need to create an account. Keep this document in a safe place.
The Items Needed to Complete a FAFSA flyer gives parents and students a clear idea of how to better prepare to fill out the FAFSA.
The Creating a StudentAid.gov PowerPoint will guide you and your parent(s) through the ins and outs of the account creation process.
The Creating a StudentAid.gov Account Without a Social Security Number PowerPoint will guide parents and spouses of students through the ins and outs of the account creation process.
The Student Aid Index (SAI) PowerPoint provides information on how to understand the SAI, an eligibility index number that a college's or career school's financial aid office uses to determine how much federal student aid the student would receive if the student attended the school.
The Understanding Your Financial Aid Offer PowerPoint will guide you through the ins and outs of understanding your aid offer after completing the FAFSA.
