FAFSA timeline
The 2025-26 FAFSA is now available. Once you complete the FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education will provide your information to the schools you listed. Until UGA receives your FAFSA eligibility information, we won’t be able to answer questions about your aid eligibility or status. UGA anticipates sending Estimated Financial Aid Offers to admitted freshmen beginning in January. We hope to send official Financial Aid Offers to all students in early June.
Who should file?
Students who plan to enroll in college in the fall 2025 or spring 2026 semester should file the 2025-26 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 2023 records. If your family size has changed since filing your 2023 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?
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) and this document to review the process for individuals without a social security number (SSN) to create their StudentAid.gov account.