The 2024-25 FAFSA will be a little different than in years past. Don’t worry though – several of the changes are positive and will actually result in fewer questions!
The Office of Student Financial Aid will be at the Tate Student Center from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM on the following days. Please come see us if you need help completing your FAFSA or GSFApp.
- Tuesday, Feb. 6
- Wednesday, Feb. 7
- Tuesday, Feb. 13
- Thursday, Feb. 15
- Tuesday, Feb. 20
- Wednesday, Feb. 21
- Tuesday, Feb. 27
- Thursday Feb. 29
FAFSA timeline
The 2024-25 FAFSA is now available. Once you complete the FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education will provide your information to the schools you listed starting in mid to late March. Until UGA receives your FAFSA eligibility information, we won’t be able to answer questions about your aid eligibility or status. UGA hopes to send estimated financial aid offers to admitted freshmen beginning in late April or early May. We appreciate your patience as we navigate the new FAFSA.
Who should file?
Students who plan to enroll in college in the fall 2024 or spring 2025 semester should file the 2024-25 FAFSA right away. Georgia resident undergraduate students who believe they are eligible for the Zell Miller Scholarship or the HOPE Scholarship should also complete the GSFApp State Scholarship Application.
What can I do to get prepared?
- Determine your eligibility status. Find out if you are considered a dependent or independent student. This will help you understand whose information will go on the FAFSA.
- If you’re a first-time filer, you’ll need to set up an account at studentaid.gov to create an FSA ID username and password. You’ll need to have a working email address (one that is not tied to your school account) in order to set this up.
- If you’re a returning filer, you’ll need to remember your FSA ID username and password so you have it readily available when it’s time to file.
Whose information goes on the FAFSA?
Dependent students
For students who are considered dependent, the student’s information, as well as parent information will be collected. Parents and students both need to have an FSA ID username and password.
For students whose parents are divorced, the parent who provides the most financial support will need to include their financial information. This is different than in previous years. Visit this page for more about who is considered your parent when filing the FAFSA.
Independent students
For students who meet all the criteria to be considered an independent student, only their information and their spouse’s information, if applicable, will be used on the FAFSA.
Unusual circumstances
Federal Student Aid has made it possible for students to file the FAFSA to the best of their ability if they can’t provide parent information. Students should follow the prompts within the FAFSA to utilize this process and to understand next steps. Students who are homeless or are in foster care will also need to follow the FAFSA prompts in order to input the correct information into the FAFSA. The UGA Office of Student Financial Aid will contact you to request additional information if needed once we start receiving FAFSAs in mid to late March.
What information does the FAFSA collect?
The FAFSA will ask you questions about yourself, and your family, as well as about your financial situation. Demographic questions will include your name, Social Security Number, birthdate, federal tax information including income, business and farm assets, and investments including stocks and bonds.
With the new FAFSA, most financial questions will be collected via the IRS federal income tax information exchange. You and your parents, if you’re a dependent student, will need to agree to have your tax and financial information shared from the IRS to the FAFSA. Your family size will also be determined by your tax 2022 records. If your family size has changed since filing your 2022 taxes, you’ll be prompted to answer additional questions to make a manual update within the FAFSA.
Watch out for scams! The FAFSA form is FREE, so if a website asks you to pay to fill it out, you’re not on the official FAFSA site. Visit studentaid.gov to access the correct website.
Can my parent create the studentaid.gov account and FSA ID needed to complete the FAFSA if they do not have a Social Security Number?
Beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle all individuals – regardless of their citizenship status – are required to have a StudentAid.gov account to access and sign the FAFSA form. View this document (a version in Spanish is available here) to review the process for individuals without a social security number (SSN) to create their StudentAid.gov account.
The Department of Education is reporting a known issue with the 2024-25 FAFSA where if a parent with no SSN starts the 2024-25 FAFSA form for a student, the parent will receive an error message on the “Student Information” page. This incorrect error message states that the user is “unauthorized to act on behalf of the student since they already have a 2024-25 FAFSA form” even if the student has not started an application. A parent with no SSN also is not able to contribute to the form, even if the student starts the application and invites the parent to contribute. There is currently no workaround for a parent without an SSN. A student may start the application, but the parent will not be able to contribute the parent information. The student and parent will be able to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA form online once the issue is resolved.