Filling out your FAFSA awarding for the starting time time last year may accept been tough, but we promise, it gets easier. When it'due south time to renew your financial aid application, some things are the same, some things are dissimilar, and some things you get to skip.

While the process is adequately straightforward, there are some documents and information you'll want to have on hand when y'all go through the procedure, too as a timeframe you'll want to follow as much as possible. The FAFSA is an incredibly important tool for students, and understanding the renewal process beforehand volition help things run smoothly.

If y'all demand a refresher on the FAFSA, or are applying for the commencement time , come across our previous article, What the Eff is the FAFSA?

one. Gathering your materials

When yous sit downwards to fill out your FAFSA renewal, showtime by having your FSA ID and password, which you would have caused when you gear up up your FAFSA last year. This volition let yous to bypass much of the information you already filled out and skip over the questions associated with creating an account.

"The difference with a second time application is that [students] already have their log in. Then we always encourage students to take that with them. As long as they take their username and password, then tin can get into their quondam FAFSA profile and just say they want to renew their FAFSA," said Kelsey Ryder, Assistant Director at the Academy of Iowa Office of Educatee Financial Aid.

Of course, if you don't have your FSA ID username and countersign, there are other ways to access your account without having to start over:

"The other thing that students would need when they sit down to practice the FAFSA is, if they're a dependent student, they need their parents with them or their parents would accept to become dorsum in and finish it later," said Ryder.

A dependent student would need their parents with them or their parents to make full out sections afterward as much of the data needed has to do with the parents' updated tax records. Parents will need to accept their own FSA ID and countersign that they would take previously created too in order to fill out the information.

"The terminal piece would be revenue enhancement data for the parent and student. For this coming school twelvemonth it'southward the 2019/2020 FAFSA, so they'd demand their 2022 tax information," said Ryder.

Substantially, you lot will demand the information to update your tax records through the previous year.

"Those are the key pieces–the login data and the tax information. If they have that, information technology should be pretty straightforward," said Ryder.

2. Deadlines

The FAFSA for the 2019/2020 opened Oct one, 2022 and technically remains open until June 30, 2020. However, many schools require an earlier deadline, or have a priority deadline in lodge for students to be renewed for scholarships and grants associated with their financial aid awarding.

"The earlier the better. Regardless of school it'south expert to file early," said Ryder.

Ryder explained that it'south all-time to become your FAFSA in equally shortly as possible in case whatsoever issues come up with your application, every bit you may so need to supply additional data, which takes time. So, in club to brand sure you lot meet deadlines for whatever scholarships and the fiscal assist itself, submitting early on gives you lot space in the upshot that there are more steps to consummate your awarding.

iii. Filling out the application

Once y'all have your login information, tax information, and parents' information, you will be able to apply for your FAFSA renewal. Visit the Federal Student Aid role website to log into your business relationship and begin the procedure. When you log in, you will notice that y'all are able to skip questions because they are pre-populated with information you've already provided.

This screengrab from Edvisors shows how y'all will be prompted to renew your FAFSA once you lot log in, rather than starting over.

Information that is pre-populated will exist mostly demographic information, such as your proper name, birthday, where you went to loftier schoolhouse, etc., likewise as your parents' demographic information if yous are a dependent student. So, you will merely read over this information to brand sure it is all even so right before moving onto the new information you lot will have to fill out.

Moving onto tax records, once more, yous will simply be updating for the previous year. You volition have this information from when you and/or your parents filed your taxes in the spring of last year. In the case of the 2019/2020 school year, the FAFSA opened upwardly on October ane, 2018. And then, you will report the taxes you filed in Apr of 2018.

Finally, you will demand to update any changes to your student status, such every bit your course level, if you lot are moving from undergraduate to graduate condition, if your dependency changes, etc. The application will prompt y'all to fill out these changes.

4. After yous submit

After this information is complete, your FAFSA is ready for review! However, in that location are a few situations where more than or dissimilar data may exist required.

A student may be selected for verification, meaning that the school and/or Federal Student Assist office requires more than information to verify that reported revenue enhancement records are accurate. Often, students are selected randomly for verification, then this does not always mean that something was filled out incorrectly. Merely, this could too mean that records provided were inconsistent or incomplete, and so double check that everything you fill out on the FAFSA is accurate and then that y'all are less likely to exist asked to consummate this additional step.

Another matter to keep in mind is that students whose parents practise not have a social security number volition have to complete some of the application differently, and their parents will use a paper signature to verify instead of entering data through their ain account. Still, if you take done this during your first application process, the steps for a parent are identical the 2nd fourth dimension around.

Filling out the FAFSA can seem daunting–specially if it was difficult for you the first time you practical. Just knowing what you lot volition need to renew your application, as well every bit the fact that you won't have to repeat a lot of the information that y'all already filled out, will assistance the process run smoothly. If you are confused about anything in your application, visit your university's Office of Educatee Financial Aid. They are experts on the FAFSA and volition be able to answer any specific questions you may take.