Each year, students and parents of undergraduate dependent students wishing to apply for federal grants, loans, and work-study must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA):
- Beginning October 1st, 2022, students can complete the 2023-24 FAFSA to apply for the 2023-24 Award Year, which includes Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024
- The Department of Education is doing a complete revision of the FAFSA for 2024-25 to provide:
- A more streamlined application process
- Expanded eligibility for federal aid
- Reduced barriers for certain student populations
- A better user experience for the FAFSA form
- The 2024-25 FAFSA will be available in December. No official launch date has been released yet. Please visit the Department of Education’s 2024-2025 FAFSA Form page for further information on the timing of its release.
- The priority consideration date for limited need-based funds is February 1, 2024. OSFA aims to release Estimated Financial Aid Offers for incoming first year students in early March.
- OSFA strongly encourages ALL Georgia resident students to complete the GSFAPPS Application for Zell Miller and HOPE Scholarships at gafutures.org. This will allow state scholarships to be awarded even if there are issues with the FAFSA
The FAFSA can also be used to apply for the HOPE Scholarship and the Zell Miller Scholarship, but remember the FAFSA must be completed each Award Year.
- UGA’s Federal School Code is 001598.
Step 1: Get Your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID
Step 2: Complete Your FAFSA
- Before starting the FAFSA, we strongly encourage students and parents to review the U.S. Department of Education’s helpful information on filling out the FAFSA.
- Once you are ready to begin the FAFSA:
- Go to www.studentaid.gov and click on “Start Here”
- Once you Login with your Federal Student Aid ID,
- Select “START 2023-2024 FAFSA” to apply for Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Summer 2024 (UGA’s Federal school code is 001598).
- OSFA strongly encourages you to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import your tax information into the FAFSA.
Step 3: After you have submitted your FAFSA, watch for your Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Department of Education. Look over your SAR carefully, make sure you didn’t make a mistake on your FAFSA form, and make corrections to your FAFSA data if necessary.
Step 4: Provide the UGA Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) additional documentation if it is requested.
- Often times the Department of Education requires schools to obtain additional information from you to complete your FAFSA. If additional information or documentation is needed, UGA OSFA will send an e-mail to your UGAMail account directing you to Log in to Athena to access your unsatisfied financial aid requirements and view the information needed.
- Some examples of items that could be requested are:
- Documents needed for the Verification of FAFSA information
- Proof of U.S. Citizen or Eligible Non-citizen status.
- Documents needed to confirm or clarify conflicting FAFSA information.
- Proof of independent student status.
Step 5: Once all of your financial aid requirements are satisfied, and if you meet the Basic Student Eligibility Requirements OSFA will be able to award you the federal financial aid for which you are otherwise eligible.
See Your Award Status to access your Application Status on Athena, or your Awards on Athena.