FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Complete the FAFSA for each academic year as soon as you are able.  

Meeting the Priority Filing Date best ensures eligibility for some types of financial aid that may not be available to those who file a FAFSA after this date.

Western’s School code for the FAFSA: When completing the FAFSA, be sure to select Western Washington University, school code 003802, as an authorized school to receive your FAFSA information.

Filing a FAFSA: Begin the process by Creating an FSA (Federal Student Aid) ID. For a dependent student, both the student and parent(s) must obtain an FSA ID to electronically complete the FAFSA and consent to releasing tax information.

File the FAFSA online after it opens (typically after October 1) and before the Priority Filing Date if possible. 

Fill Out the FAFSA

1. The FAFSA is free! When filling out the FAFSA, be careful to navigate to the U.S. Department of Education's website rather than a for-profit organization that may charge a fee to fill out the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA).
2. Read the directions carefully. Detailed instructions are provided for most questions within the FAFSA and frequently asked questions are answered at studentaid.gov. If you are unsure about how to answer a specific question, contact Studentaid.gov at 800.433.3243, or our office for clarification.
3. Round off all figures to the nearest dollar. Ensure you are not entering values including decimals.
4. If unable to use the online tools to transfer tax information, provide income information directly from the federal tax return including Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and income tax figures and wages using W2s.
5. Beginning with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, all contributors with a valid Social Security Number (SSN) or Tax Identification Number (ITIN), regardless of tax filing status, who are required to consent to their information being shared on the FAFSA, must use the IRS Direct Data Exchange (IRS DDX).
6. For students with divorced/separated or remarried parents, the student should report the information for the parent(s) they received the most financial support from the 12 months prior to filing the FAFSA.  If a student’s parent is remarried, financial information for the stepparent is required.
7. Tax filing and filing the FAFSA are two different processes. Although students may live independently and/or file their own taxes, this does not mean they are considered independent for FASFA purposes. Answers to the dependency questions on the FAFSA determine whether a student is independent or dependent. A list of the questions is available at studentaid.gov. If a student is able to answer “YES” to one or more of the dependency related questions they may be considered an independent student for FAFSA filing purposes. In some situations, additional documentation is required to confirm this status. If a student is not able to answer “YES” to any of these questions, they would generally be considered a dependent student and must include parent data. If a student has extenuating circumstances that they believe should be considered which would allow them to file the FAFSA without parent data, review the information on the Dependency Override page of the Financial Aid Department website and contact our department.
8. When reporting family size, if you are a dependent student for FAFSA purposes, include yourself, your parent(s), and your parents’ other children if they receive more than half of their support from your parent(s). If you are an independent student, your household size includes yourself, your spouse, and any children who receive more than half of their support from you (and your spouse, if married).