File Your FAFSA
File your FAFSA by the WSU priority date of January 31 (new and current students) to maximize your aid options!
Use these three websites to learn what you’ll need to know before you fill out the FAFSA:
- A guide to filling out the FAFSA
- 10 steps to a successful student loan application
- How to create a Studentaid.gov account (FSA ID)
The Federal Student Aid YouTube channel is also a great place to start getting familiar with the financial aid process and the FAFSA. When you’re ready, access the FAFSA at Studentaid.gov.
Once you have filed a FAFSA, the following years’ applications are much simpler. You will simply need to update your personal information and input your family information for the current year.
You must fill out a new FAFSA every year to continue receiving financial aid!
Be sure that WSU is selected as a school of your choice. Once we receive your FAFSA information from the U.S. Department of Education, we’ll begin processing your aid.
Use the Studentaid.gov website to view information on federal student loans and grants you’ve previously received.
FAFSA Highlights
WSU Priority Date
File your FAFSA by January 31.
What is the FAFSA Priority Date?
WSU’s FAFSA priority date is not a deadline. You may still fill out the FAFSA after the priority date has passed. However, some types of financial aid are limited and applications received by the priority date will have first consideration.
If you missed the priority date due to extenuating circumstances, you may contact our office to submit an appeal. The appeal is not a guarantee of “on-time” filing status.
WSU School Code
003800
You must include this code on your FAFSA or WSU will not receive your FAFSA information and we will not be able to offer you aid.
Forgot to add us? You may update your FAFSA with additional schools at any time.
Attending Summer Session?
Summer session is the final term of the academic year at WSU. If you already have a current year FAFSA on file, you do not need to fill out a new one for summer.
Example: the 2026-27 FAFSA is valid for Fall 2026, Spring 2027 and Summer 2027.
FAFSA/WASFA Changes
Notice anything different?
The modern FAFSA is significantly different than previous years’ applications. If you or a relative have filled out a FAFSA prior to 2024, you may notice some differences in terminology, layout and the manner in which aid is calculated.
Visit our blog to learn more about the recent changes to the FAFSA.
FAFSA FAQ
The FAFSA is available to the following students:
- United States Citizen
- Permanent Resident with Registration Card I-551
- Non-citizen with an I-94 entry/exit record showing one of the following:
- Refugee
- Asylum granted
- On parole for one year
- Cuban-Haitian
If you do not meet the requirements to fill out a FAFSA, you may be eligible to fill out a WASFA, instead.
Yes.
If you made a mistake on your FAFSA or forgot to include a school code, you may submit a correction on the Studentaid.gov.
If you filled out your FAFSA correctly but need to appeal for special circumstances or a revision, you may do so through our office.
FAFSA Corrections
Special Circumstances
Revision Request
The FAFSA uses tax information from two years ago to provide a “snapshot” of your household income and finances. Using data from two years ago guarantees that the tax information has been fully processed by the IRS.
If your current financial situation is significantly different from what your prior-prior year tax data shows, you may submit a special circumstances appeal after you have completed the FAFSA and received an official financial aid offer.
Yes.
Institutions are prohibited from using FTI for any purpose other than the application, award, and administration of financial aid to the applicant. This prohibition includes research purposes. WSU may use the FAFSA data, excluding FTI, for research that does not release any individually identifiable information on any applicant, to promote college attendance, persistence, and completion.
The following is considered confidential federal tax information:
- Tax year
- Tax filing status
- Adjust Gross Income (AGI)
- Number of dependents
- Income earned from work
- Taxes paid
- Educational tax credits
- Untaxed individual retirement arrangement/account (IRA) distributions
- IRA deductions and payments
- Untaxed pension amounts
- Tax-exempt interest
- Schedule C net profit/loss
- Indicators for Schedules A, B, D, E, F, and H
- IRS response code
You can submit a Consent to Release Federal Tax Information form to authorize consent for Student Financial Services to disclose federal tax information from your FAFSA to any third parties you identify.
It depends.
The third-party authorization in myWSU only allows you to grant a third party access to your educational records to other entities besides themselves, such as a parent, spouse, etc. Education records are defined as academic and personal records that are directly related to you, including:
- Scholastic records
- Disciplinary records
- Financial records
The ‘financial’ does not carry over to federal tax information (FTI), as FTI confidentiality is protected separately in accordance with the confidentiality protections of the IRC and subject to Section 6103(l)(13) of the IRC requirements as well as the use restrictions of FTI under Section 483 of HEA as amended by the FAFSA Simplification Act. A Consent to Release Federal Tax Information is required before FTI will be discussed or released to any parties other than those who were contributors on the FAFSA.
You and any of your contributor(s) must provide this information in order for the Department to
determine if you are eligible for federal student aid and which type (e.g., Pell Grant, subsidized
or unsubsidized loans) and amount of aid you might be eligible to receive. In addition, many
states and colleges use your FAFSA information to determine your eligibility for state and school
aid.