1. Download this senior year timeline for help knowing when to complete steps in your Financial Aid journey. Note: WASFA filers will still follow the same timeline but just substitute FAFSA and FSA ID for WASFA.

2. Determine if you will be completing a FAFSA or WASFA (see selecting the right application below). Please read the privacy statements for both applications to ensure you are comfortable with how your information could be used. You will only complete one application- FAFSA or WASFA.

3. Create your FSA ID or WASFA account (see completing your FAFSA or completing your WASFA for links and guidance). Once your account is completed and verified you may start the application.

4. Determine if you are considered independent or dependent for Financial Aid purposes (see dependent or independent of FAFSA or WASFA below)

5. If you’re independent, complete your application and follow up with your college/training program’s Financial Aid team if further documentation is needed.

6. If dependent, determine which of your parents will need to create an account and ask them to complete a parent portion of the application (see parent contributor information below).

   Important note for FAFSA filers: the information you provide in the parent invitation must match exactly what parents have included in their FSA ID. We recommend having the parent open their account and show you how things are spelled as this invite is highly case sensitive. If you are a student in a mixed-status family completing a FAFSA, we recommend the parent complete their portion of the application first and then invite the student to complete their portion. See additional resources for mixed-status families in the selecting the right application tab below.

7. Complete your application and celebrate! We recommend taking a screenshot for your records.

8. If you experience difficulty in this process book an appointment with a member of our team or attend a local in-person event. You can also check here for common FAFSA errors and workarounds. If you are unable to complete your form due to an error, please submit a complaint and get a case number so that someone at Federal Student Aid can resolve your issue in a timely manner. We recommend keeping track of your communication via a template like this (see page 2).

9. If your financial circumstances have changed since the prior-prior year’s tax documents included in your FAFSA or WASFA, we recommend accessing resources in the change of circumstance section below. Then submit documentation to your college or training program’s Financial Aid department.

Video: https://youtu.be/JgJpbMhRyCI

Questionnaire: https://wsac.wa.gov/WASFAelig

Navigating Financial Aid in Washington State: Supporting Undocumented & Mixed Status Families

• Resource links from WSAC (opens in new tab)

• Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Privacy Statement (opens in new tab)

• WASFA Privacy Statement (opens in new tab)

For answers to additional questions, we encourage you to visit the resources below. 

• FAFSA Hub for Mixed-Status Families

• Data Protections for FAFSA Information

• How to Get an FSA ID Without a Social Security Number (PDF)

• NCAN's 2025-2026 FAFSA Resource Hub

• EdTrust FAFSA Hub

• NASFAA FAFSA Simplification Web Center

Are you wondering if you will be considered independent or dependent on the FAFSA or WASFA?

While the application itself will help you determine this through a series of questions, we recommend checking out one of the links below to determine if you will need information from your parent. The same dependency determination factors apply to bot the FAFSA and WASFA.

Dependency Criteria Spanish - https://studentaid.gov/es/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/dependency

Dependency Criteria English - https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/dependency

If you believe you have a unique or unusual circumstance that will prevent you from obtaining parent information, reach out to your college’s Financial Aid department for guidance on how to gather and submit documents.

If your student has determined that they are considered a dependent student on their FAFSA or WASFA, they will need you to provide information as a parent, aka a contributor, on their form.

Are you wondering which parent will need to contribute information? Federal Student Aid has developed a PDF to help you determine who will need to complete their portion of the form found here. This document can be used to help determine which parent will be a contributor on the WASFA as well.

Click here if you would like more information about why your contribution of information matters to your student.

uAspire’s Parent Guide to completing the FAFSA: FY25-A-Parent-s-Guide-to-the-Parent-Section-of-the-FAFSA.pdf

We highly recommend watching this video to understand what your contribution of information and support will mean to your student as they embark on their educational journey after high school!

Use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form to apply for financial aid for college or grad school.

Step 1: Create an FSA ID: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

• Account creation worksheet English. Only complete page 1.

• Account creation worksheet Spanish. Only complete page 1.

How to create your FSA ID or WASFA account video: English, Spanish

Step #2: Complete the FAFSA: (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
English

Language support

Additional Resources

Financial Aid Completion Documents Checklists

• Account creation worksheet

• Document checklist (what you’ll need to complete the FAFSA and WASFA)

• Tax form documents references.

• Federal Tax Information on the FAFSA

• Video of tax questions and forms

Account Creation presentation (12th year)

• English (PowerPoint)

• Spanish (video)

FSA ID Account Creation without SSN

• English

Financial Aid 101 (12th year )

• English: PDF, Video

• Spanish: PDF, Video

Who is my parent on the FAFSA?

• English PDF flier

• Who counts as a parent on the FAFSA form

• Who is a contributor on the FAFSA Form video

Step-by-Step Padlet: https://padlet.com/christinaw12/t6jfitu7m8in10xc

Do you need to make a correction?

https://vimeo.com/635553991/71f953ad58

More resources and events to support you:

uAspire - Financial Aid Resources

WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid)

State Financial Aid for Undocumented Individuals and Select Non-Citizens

“Washington State offers financial aid programs to students who aren’t eligible for federal financial aid because of immigration status. These students still need to meet other program requirements.” 

https://wsac.wa.gov/wasfa

For a complete, step-by-step lesson on how to complete your WASFA click here: https://wsac.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-2025-WASFA-updated-instructions.pdf

Step-by-Step Padlet: https://padlet.com/christinaw12/t6jfitu7m8in10xc

Additional Resources:

Financial Aid Completion Documents Checklists

• Account creation worksheet English. Only complete page 2.

• Account creation worksheet Spanish. Only complete page 2.

• Document checklist (what you’ll need to complete the FAFSA and WASFA)

• Tax form documents references

Account Creation presentation (12th year)

• English (PowerPoint)

• Spanish (video)

Financial Aid 101 (12th year )

• English: PDF, Video

• Spanish: PDF, Video

What is the CSS profile?

“The CSS Profile is an online application used by colleges and scholarship programs to award non-federal institutional aid. Check your colleges’ information to determine whether they require the CSS Profile. A list of participating school is available online. Some schools may also require divorced or separated parents to complete separate applications.” College Board

CSS profile website: CSS Profile Home – CSS Profile | College Board

CSS Profile item checklist: FY25-CSS-Profile-Checklist.pdf

FuturesNW supported Financial Aid workshops:
If you have questions, want an expert to look over your forms and check for mistakes, we have great news! We host events throughout the year to help families fill out the FAFSA or WASFA. Our Calendar has details for all those events.

Additionally, you can find personalized support by booking an appointment with the Washington Student Achievement Council’s 12th year campaign or uAspire. Both are free!

Get one-on-one support (scholarships, college applications, and Financial Aid applications) from a FuturesNW team member by booking a meeting here: BOOK A SUPPORT SESSION — FuturesNW

If you have already submitted your Financial Aid application but you need to modify it due to a change in circumstance, check out Swift Student, or see our Financial Aid Modification documents under each of our local college’s Financial Aid listings.

uAspire has also created this PDF walkthrough on how to appeal your Financial Aid offer

Award letter comparison calculator: https://www.uaspire.org/calculator

How to use the award letter calculator

Worksheets:

Key Components

Living on Campus

Living off Campus

Understanding your Award video:

https://youtu.be/RoTV0eVM6bM

Financial Aid Calculator:

This tool (https://portal.wsac.wa.gov/a/aid-calculator/) calculates potential awards from the Washington College Grant and Pell Grant programs. There may be more aid available to you from other state and federal programs, from private scholarships, or directly from the college you attend. The only way to know for sure how much financial aid you can receive is to complete a FAFSA or WASFA financial aid application. For more information, contact the college’s financial aid office.


To look at a sample Financial Aid award letter, click here

Additional resources:

13 Things to Know When Evaluating Your Financial Aid Offers.

In addition to the resources below, we recommend checking out WSAC’s How to Apply for Financial Aid page.

https://wsac.wa.gov/apply?utm_medium=email&utm_source=WSAC

Step-by-step Padlet:

https://padlet.com/christinaw12/t6jfitu7m8in10xc

If you have any questions about Financial Aid, the WSAC Support Modules most likely have your answers. Every module features a resource, video, and Kahoot quiz for your use. https://wsac.wa.gov/12th-year-campaign

On WSAC’s website, they host an amazing amount of information on financial aid of every type. We recommend starting there and working through their PowerPoint presentations to start off on the right footing: https://wsac.wa.gov/sfa-overview. We also have videos below that may be helpful before you get started.

PRO TIP: Write down your FSA ID and password in a safe place you can remember! It can be hard to retrieve it if you lose it! If you have a Junior/Senior workbook, on page 32 you can write down that info.

For your own copy download the workbook here.

Read here, to learn more about why completing the parent contributor portion of the FAFSA or WASFA is important.

For video resources check the Washington Student Achievement Council’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/WSACouncil/videos

College Success Foundation: Financial Aid walk through videos

(124) FAFSA/WASFA Video Series - YouTube

Blog and video: Why contributing to your student's FAFSA or WASFA matters — FuturesNW

Foster care Resources below from WSAC:

Washington Education and Training Voucher (ETV): A national program for youth who qualify and are likely to age out of the foster care system. Offers financial assistance for college expenses. The shared ETV Common Application applies to both Passport to College and the ETV Program. 

SETuP: Explanation of the Supplemental Education Transition Planning program and SETuP provider contact information by region.

Independence.wa.gov: Many resources for youth and alumni of foster care, including financial aid information.

Fostering College Knowledge: Includes information about planning and paying for college for former foster youth.

The Foster Care Transition Toolkit: Intended to help youth currently in foster care and young adults formerly in foster care access the information and resources needed to begin their transition to young adulthood. Topics covered include transition planning, accessing educational opportunities, finding job and career support, managing your money, secure housing and more.

Treehouse: Helps foster care youth graduate from high school and pursue their future. Ask your DCYF Children’s Administration, tribal, or federal foster care caseworker if you qualify.

Careeronestop: Information for former foster youth about finding housing, paying for college and training, and protecting your identity.

Tribal foster care

Tribal Foster Care System:  Information regarding Indian Child Welfare foster care.

Washington State Tribal Directory:  Contact your federally recognized tribe for specific information regarding your foster care status.

Federal foster care/unaccompanied refugee minors

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC): Information about the program for foster youth placed across state lines in DCSF care.

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC): Caseworker contact list.

Unaccompanied Refugees Minors Program: Information about the program for foster youth who are refugee children who arrive in the U.S. with no parent or guardian.

Title 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1522 of the immigration and nationality act: The federal code for the assistance for refugee children.