Filing the FAFSA

All students and contributors need their own Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID, also known as your studenaid.gov account. You'll use this ID to authenticate you for several federal student aid processes. Individuals cannot share an FSA ID, even if they’re in the same family. We encourage students and contributors to complete this step as soon as possible (this process can take 3 to 5 business days).

You'll need the following information to create an FSA ID:

• Name (exactly as it appears on your Social Security card if you have one)
• Date of birth
• Email address
• Social Security number (if you have one)

If a contributor doesn't have a Social Security number, there is an option to leave this field blank and indicate that you don't have a Social Security number.

Prepare to file the FAFSA by gathering the required documents. Having these documents on hand will help you complete the form accurately and help you avoid any potential delays.

When completing your FAFSA, you and your contributors will be required to provide consent and approval for the IRS to share your federal tax return data with Federal Student Aid. It’s also good to gather other important documents and information in case you need to enter any information manually. This may include:

• Tax returns
• Child support records
• Current balances of cash, savings and checking accounts
• Net worth of investments, businesses and farms
• Name, email address, date of birth and social security number (if they have one) for each contributor

“Contributor” is a new term introduced on the 2024-25 FAFSA. A contributor is anyone who will be required to provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred directly from the IRS into the FAFSA form. The student filing the FAFSA is a contributor. Other contributors may include a spouse (if applicable), biological or adoptive parents and step-parents. If a family member is identified as a contributor, it does not mean that they have an obligation to pay for your education.

Students will need to provide the following information on the FAFSA for each contributor:

• Name
• Social Security Number (if they have one)
• Date of birth
• Email address

TIP: It's important to enter your contributor's information exactly as they do when they create their Studentaid.gov account. Have your contributor take a screenshot of the information they enter on the “Personal Information” page so you can enter it in the exact same way when inviting them to be a contributor on your FAFSA.

All contributors will receive an email inviting them to complete their part. Each contributor must have their own Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID, even if they're in the same family.

Find Your Contributors

If you're not sure who counts as a parent or contributor on your FAFSA, Federal Student Aid (FSA) created a tool to help provide clear direction on which parent(s) should participate in a student’s FAFSA form.

The U.S. Department of Education compiled tips to help students and families complete the updated FAFSA.

In order to file your FAFSA electronically, you'll need to your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. This ID will be used to authenticate your identity for numerous federal financial aid processes.

If you have not already created your FSA ID, do this now.

We encourage you to complete the web-based version of the FAFSA, known as FAFSA on the Web (FOTW).

The University of Dayton's Title IV school code is 003127.

When completing the FAFSA, your tax information will be automatically imported through the IRS Direct Data Exchange (DDX). This means you won’t have to look up information like adjusted gross income and can easily submit the FAFSA by giving consent to use data you’ve already provided to the IRS

All contributors will be asked to provide information on the FAFSA. Contributors may include:

• The student
• The student’s spouse (if applicable)
• A biological or adoptive parent; or
• Stepparent (if married to the parent reported on the FAFSA)

While completing the FAFSA, all contributors will be asked to provide consent. Consent on the FAFSA is a requirement in order to receive federal aid and will allow the opportunity for Federal Tax Information (FTI) to be transferred from the IRS to your FAFSA form. Consent is necessary for all contributors even if they did not file taxes, filed in another country or do not have an SSN.

Applicants may check the status of their 2025–26 FAFSA form on StudentAid.gov. To check the status, applicants should do the following:

• Log in using their account username and password (FSAID).
• Navigate to their account Dashboard.
• Select "2025-26 FAFSA Form" from the "My Activity" page.

The application status will be one of the following:

• Draft: Your section of the FAFSA form is incomplete.
• In Progress: You provided your consent, approval, and signature to your section of the FAFSA form, but the FAFSA form has not been submitted yet.
• In Review: You have submitted your form and your application is still processing.
• Processed: Your application was processed successfully. No further action is needed.
• Action Required: Your application requires further action from you or your contributor(s). In some cases, you may need to contact your college or career/trade school to resolve the issue.
• Closed: Your FAFSA form was never submitted and can no longer be submitted because the federal FAFSA deadline passed.

*Note: The FAFSA must have a 'Processed' status in order for University of Dayton to receive the FAFSA.

The FAFSA Submission Summary contains the information you reported on your FAFSA. If you file the FAFSA electronically, you will receive your FAFSA Submission Summary electronically. Be sure to review this and correct any errors you find.

Based on the results of your FAFSA, we may need to collect additional information and/or documents from you to finalize your aid for the year. You will be notified via email, which will provide you with instructions on how to login to Porches to access your financial aid information. Many types of aid cannot be credited to your student account until satisfied so please respond to any request for information within 30 days to prevent unwanted finance charges or cancellation.