Filing the FAFSA isn’t as complicated or time-consuming as it seems – you only need about 6 documents and 22 minutes! In the time it takes you to catch up on your social media feed, you can take the critical first step in getting the money you need to attend college!
Here’s a checklist of everything you need:
- An FSA ID. Your FSA ID allows you to log in to your account, sign the FAFSA and make changes or add schools. You and your parent must create separate FSA IDs. Create this first!
- You and your parent’s Social Security or Alien Registration number. Here’s what to do if your parent doesn’t have a Social Security number.
- Driver’s license (if you have one)
- Your and your parent’s federal income tax returns and W-2s from 2020 (you can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import this data!)
- Bank statement
- If applicable, other records of money earned, and records of investments and untaxed income. (If you are an independent student, you won’t need the items mentioned for parents.)
Don’t worry if you can’t find these materials right away. You can start the FAFSA and come back as many times as you need to update information or add schools (OCU's school code is 003030). The important thing is to get started!
Need help? Check out the FAFSA YouTube channel for step-by-step instructions or contact our office and we will do our best to help you.
