About the FAFSA

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the gateway to applying for all types of financial aid.

You can fill out the FAFSA online. You must complete a new FAFSA for each academic year.

The FAFSA application for 2024-2025 is now open.

How does the FAFSA work?

The U.S. Department of Education uses your FAFSA to determine your Student Aid Index (SAI).

The SAI is calculated by the Department of Education so that your college can determine how much financial aid assistance you’re eligible for. The lower your SAI, the more need-based aid you may be eligible to receive.

Note: Your SAI is not the amount of money your family will have to pay for college nor is it the amount of federal student aid you will receive.

Your SAI determines the type and amount of loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, that are available to you. The difference between these two types of loans is when interest begins to accrue. For subsidized loans, interest does not begin to accrue until six months after graduation, but for unsubsidized loans, interest accrues from the date the loan is disbursed.

2024-25 FAFSA Form

On the 2024–25 FAFSA form, every contributor—anyone (you, your spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or your parent's spouse) who's required to provide information on the FAFSA form—needs a StudentAid.gov account before accessing and completing their section of the online form. Contributors can access their StudentAid.gov account by using their FSA ID (account username and password).

Note: Contributors without an SSN can create a StudentAid.gov account to fill out their portion of your 2024–25 FAFSA form online.

To start the online 2024–25 FAFSA form, go to StudentAid.gov. You’ll be taken to the “Log In” page to enter your account username and password. After logging in, you’ll be given the option to select your applicable role to fill out the FAFSA form: “Student” or “Parent.” You (the student) should select “Student.” If a parent wants to start their dependent child’s FAFSA form, they should select the “Parent” option.

What is the deadline to submit the FAFSA?

The priority deadline to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is April 15 for the Fall term and November 15 for the Spring term. We encourage you to apply as soon as your taxes are completed due to some funds being limited and awarded based on eligibility criteria and the FAFSA submission date.

What happens after I submit my FAFSA?

After your FAFSA is submitted with MTC's school code (003993), you will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) from the Office of Federal Student Aid. The FSS is a summary of your FAFSA submission and will arrive three days to three weeks after your submission. MTC will receive the same information in the form of an Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR). The Office of Student Financial Services will review the information to determine what types of financial aid you are eligible to receive, then notify you to log into MyMTC. From MyMTC, you can access MyFinancialAid to accept or decline your award(s) from the "Checklist". Within MyFinancialAid, you will also be able to manage your Financial Aid package from submission to completion. The types of aid you have been awarded for the academic year will be listed on the My Awards page and award letter. You must read the entire Award Letter to ensure that you understand all of the requirements to maintain the awards.

Verification

Why was I selected for verification?

There are various reasons why a FAFSA may be selected for the verification process:

  • The FAFSA included estimates of federal tax information and the actual information now needs to be confirmed.
  • There appears to be inconsistent or unusual data reported on your FAFSA.
  • Your FAFSA includes information that is frequently misreported.
  • Your FAFSA was selected as a part of a random process used to sample how accurately families fill out the application. 

What happens if I am selected?

If you are selected for verification, you will be notified by email at your MyMTC email address. We will indicate the documentation you need to provide. You can bring your documents into the Student Financial Services office or send them by mail.

Forms

All forms that are being requested of you as a part of the verification process may be submitted electronically in Self-Service.

Need more help?

Learn more about how to get an FSA ID and which documents you’ll need to fill out the FAFSA at the Federal Student Aid Website.

The  Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) assists students and parents with completing the FAFSA. Contact them to schedule an appointment at 803-822-3749 or eoc@midlandstech.edu.