STEP 1: Visit fsaid.ed.

gov to create
your student FSA ID.
- You will use this ID to login to
your FAFSA application.
- Create a username and
password. MAKE SURE YOU
SAVE THESE SOMEWHERE FOR
FUTURE REFERENCE.

Ensure you input your name

EXACTLY as it appears on your
social security card.
- For example, if you have
two last names on your
card, make sure you
include both here.

Provide a personal (non-school) email

address. You will no longer have
access to your school email address
after you graduate.

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 Continue to fill in the
blanks, and verify your
email and phone
number. Once you’ve
reached this page,
you’ve completed Step
1 and created your FSA
ID! Congrats!

Next, click on fafsa.gov

to begin the actual
FAFSA application.

STEP 2: Start your FAFSA

application (fafsa.gov).

Click “Start Here.”

Click “I am the student.”

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 Login with your FSA ID (or
email/phone) and password.

Read the disclaimer and, if you agree, click

“Accept.”

If you are planning to start college/tech school at

some point during the 2020-2021 school year, be sure
to click “START 2020-2021 FAFSA” (NOT “Start 2019-
2020 FAFSA).

Create a 4-8 digit Save Key (this

is like a mini password.) Again,
make sure you save this
somewhere for future
reference.
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 These are frequently asked questions. You
can read them if you want, or you can just
click “Next.”

STEP 3: Student Demographics

Verify that this information is correct. Add a

middle initial if you have one. (Again, make
sure this matches your social security card.)

Enter your phone number.

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 Enter your address.

Answer the residency and

citizenship questions. Click the
question marks for further guidance.

You can find details about who is

eligible to apply for FAFSA here:
https://studentaid.gov/understand-
aid/eligibility

If you will be graduating high school before

you start college/tech school in the 2020-
2021 school year, choose “High School
Diploma” for the first question. Otherwise,
choose the most appropriate answer from
the drop-down.

Choose the degree/certificate that you will be

working on in 2020-2021. This is your best
guess and can change later.
- Bachelor’s = 4 years (ex: SUU, BYU,
Dixie)
- Associate’s = 2 years (ex: Snow, Salt
Lake Community College)
- Certificate = varies in length, usually
obtained at tech school or community
college (ex: MTECH)

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 “No” will automatically be selected for
the question “Will you have your first
bachelor’s degree before you begin
the 2020-2021 school year?”

Choose “Never attended college/1st

yr.” for the next question (even if you
have done Concurrent Enrollment).

We would strongly encourage you to

answer “yes” to the question “Are you
interested in being considered for work-
study?”

Work-study is like any other part-time job,

expect that the money you make from
work-study will not potentially negatively
impact your next year’s FAFSA. Work-study
jobs will also work around your class
schedule.

Choose the sex that appears on your birth

certificate.

If you select “Male,” you will be asked if you are registered with Selective
Service System – this is the system that the government pulls from in
case of a military draft. You would know if you have already registered
(you would have actively done so, either by mail or by going to the post
office.) All males ages 18-26 must register (by law), and – as a male – you
cannot receive federal aid if you are not registered.

It you have not registered, it will ask if you want to be registered through
your FAFSA application. This is easier than registering on your own, but it
is up to you.

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Enter your driver’s license number
and state (if you do not have one you
can leave this blank – this is not a
problem.)

Answer the foster care

question. **Even if you are
not in the foster care system
now, but you were at some
point in the past, you will
answer “Yes” to this question.

Indicate the highest level of

school completed by your
parents (this is your birth
parents).

STEP 4: School Selection

Enter the name, city, and state of

your high school. Then press search
and select the correct school.

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Here you will choose the
colleges/universities/tech schools to which
you want your FAFSA information sent. We
would recommend you include any school
you are interested in, whether or not you
have applied or been accepted. You can
choose up to 10.

Select “Utah” from the state drop-down,

and then click search. Then scroll through
the provided list and check those schools
that you would like to choose. (You can
search out-of-state schools by selecting
another state.)

Provide your best guess for housing plans for

each school. This can change later.

STEP 5: Dependency Status

Answer the children and dependent

questions. (This is for you, not your
parent.)

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 Check the boxes of any
circumstances that apply to you.
If none apply, click “None of the
above.”

Answer the homelessness question.

Click on the question mark for further
guidance.

Based on your previous three

answers, the application will
decide if you are a dependent or
independent student. If you are
dependent, then this screen will
show and you will be required to
provide parent information. You
will select the first option unless
you are truly unable to provide
parent information, in which case
you will select the second.

If you are an independent student,

a different screen will appear and
you will not have to provide parent
information. The application will
automatically jump to the “Student
Financials” section (see Step 8,
page 15).

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 STEP 6: Parent Demographics

Indicate the marital status of

your parents.

Indicate the month and year of

your parents’
Marriage/Remarriage or
Divorce/Separation (if
applicable).

Enter information for your first parent. If

your parent does not have a social
security number, enter all zeros. This is
ok. Do not enter a ITIN (Individual
Taxpayer Identification Number).

**For information about who is

considered a parent and how their
information should be entered, visit:
https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-
aid/fafsa/filling-out/parent-info#who-is-
parent

Enter your other parent’s information.

Again, if your parent does not have a
social security number, enter all zeros.

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 Indicate whether your parents
have lived in Utah for at least
five years.

This information is used to

determine your household
size. You will enter a
number in both of the
spaces. Carefully read the
instructions and click on the
question marks for further
guidance.

Of the people included in your

household above, list the number
who will be college students
between July 1, 2020 and June 30,
2021.
- Do not include parents
- DO include yourself (the
number will be at least 1)

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 STEP 7: Parent Financials

From the dropdown, indicate

whether your parents have
completed a 2018 tax return.

**Remember, you will be referring

to your parents’ 2018 tax return
and W-2s throughout this process.

Indicate the type of income tax

return your parents filed for 2018.

You can find this information on

the tax return itself. For example,
an IRS Form 1040 will say “1040”
on the top left-hand corner of the
tax return.

Again, look at the top of your

parents’ tax return. There should
be a line that says “Filing Status,”
followed by number of different
options. The option that is
checked is their tax filing status –
indicate that here.

We strongly recommend you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, if

you are eligible. This will allow you to transfer tax information
directly from the IRS site to the FAFSA application.
1. Click “Link to IRS.”
2. The application will ask for a parent to login using an
FSA ID. If your parent does not already have an FSA ID,
they will need to create one (see Step 1).
3. Proceed through the retrieval tool. In the retrieval tool
form, be sure to enter all information exactly as it
appears on your parents’ tax return. For example, if the
address on the tax return is “100 W.” instead of “100
West,” input “100 W.”
4. If your parent cannot make an FSA ID because they do
not have social security number, skip the retrieval tool
and enter the tax information manually. (You 12 can also
do this if the retrieval tool does not work.)
 If not already entered, input
your parents’ adjusted gross
income.

Enter the amount each

parent earned from working
in 2018 – wages, salaries,
tips, etc. You can also find
this information on parent
W-2s.

If your parents’ income meets a

certain threshold, this question
will appear. Refer to your
parents’ IRS 1040 and look for a
Schedule 1. **Click the
“exceptions” link to determine if
you should answer “No” even if
your parents have a Schedule 1.

These follow-up questions may

appear.

A dislocated worker is someone

who has been laid off or knows
that they will be laid off. Click the
link/question mark for more
information.

In the second follow-up question,

check every benefit received by
anyone in your parents’
household.

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 If not already entered, input the
amount of your parents’ income tax
for 2018.

Read through each of these items

and enter the appropriate
amounts, if any. Some of these
situations may be less common,
but it is still important that you
carefully read each item to know
whether you should provide an
answer. Click the question marks
for further guidance.

Again, carefully read each item and

enter any amounts that apply. For
further guidance, click the question
marks.

The first question refers to child

support paid by your parents over
the course of the year in 2018.

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The first question here refers to child
support received by your parents.

It is not uncommon that individuals

have an amount to enter for the third
question (tax-deferred pension and
retirement savings plans). Refer to
your parents’ W-2s.

Again, click the question marks for

further guidance.

These questions can be confusing.

For clarification about what qualifies
as an asset and how to answer the
asset-specific questions, click the
“assets” link and the question marks.
If you answer “No” to the first
question, the following three asset-
specific questions will not appear.

**Assets do NOT include the

property where your family lives,
NOR a family farm or family business
with fewer than 100 full-time
employees, NOR parent retirement
plans (401[k]s, pension funds, etc).
**See question marks for details.

STEP 8: Student Financials

You’re almost done! Using the

dropdown, indicate if/how you (the
student) completed a tax return in
2018.

If you did complete a tax return, the

“Student Financials” section will mirror
the “Parent Financials” section. If
eligible, you can also use the IRS Data
Retrieval Tool.

If you did not complete a tax return,

this section will have fewer questions.
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 STEP 9: Sign and Submit

If your FAFSA is being completed

by you and/or your family, your
answer to this question will be
“No.”

Here you can review your FAFSA and

make corrections if necessary.

(Scroll down to see the entire

application.)

Both you (the student) and your

parent need to sign the FAFSA. If
your parent did not make an FSA ID
because they do not have a social
security number, they will print,
sign, and mail in a signature page
instead (see page 18 for
instructions).

You (the student) will always sign

electronically using your FSA ID.
Click “Provide Student Signature.”

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 Read and, if you agree, click “Agree.”

Enter your (the student’s) FSA

ID / email / phone number and
your (the student’s) FSA ID
password.

Click “Sign this FAFSA.”

Click “Provide Parent Signature.”

Indicate whether Parent 1 or

Parent 2 will be signing the FAFSA
(only one needs to sign).

Parent 1 and Parent 2 were

assigned in the “Parent
Demographics Section.”

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 Parent will read and, if they agree,
will click “Agree.”

Your parent will enter their FSA ID and FSA

ID password to sign the FAFSA.

**If your parent did not make an FSA ID

because they do not have a social security
number, THAT IS OK. They will instead
click “Other Options to Sign an Submit”
(bottom left corner).
If you need to do this, skip down to the
instructions on page 19 to learn how to
print the signature page. Otherwise
continue below.

MAKE SURE YOU CLICK “SUBMIT MY

FAFSA NOW.” If you do not do this,
your FAFSA will not be submitted.

CONGRATULATIONS!! Your FAFSA has been submitted!

You may get an “Error” message overtop of this page. Do not worry.
This often happens. Just log back into your FAFSA to verify submission
– it should say that your FAFSA is submitted and processing.

You will receive an email 3-5 days after submitting your FAFSA. This
email will include your EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) and any
Pell Grant and loan estimates. Your final amount of aid will be
determined and communicated to you by the college. **Look for
follow-up emails from your college(s), as you may be required to
submit FAFSA verification documents.** Your College Access Advisor
can help you understand this.

If you and your parent both signed with FSA IDs, and if you submitted
your FAFSA, you are now done! If your parent needs to sign on the
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printed signature page, continue with the instructions below.
[Skip these instructions if your parent
signed with an FSA ID.]

After clicking “Other Options to Sign

and Submit,” this page will come up.
Click “Print A Signature Page.”

[Skip these instructions if your

parent signed with an FSA ID.]

Scroll down, read the provided

information, and click “Print
Signature Page.”

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 [Skip these instructions if your parent signed with an
FSA ID.]

The signature page may take some time to load. Once

loaded, it will look something like this.

If you (the student) has signed with your FSA ID, it will
say “Not Required to Sign” next to the student
signature line.

You will print this form, your parent will sign it, and
then you will send it to the address indicated on the
page (under “Step Three”).

Mail this as soon as you are able. If you do not have a

way to print this form, contact your College Access
Advisor and they will help you get it printed. **Your
FAFSA will not be fully complete until you send this in
and it is received. I’d suggest you continue to check
your FAFSA account so you can verify once it has been
received.

[Skip these instructions if your parent signed

with an FSA ID.]

MAKE SURE YOU CLICK “SUBMIT MY FAFSA

NOW.” If you do not do this, your FAFSA
will not be submitted.

[Skip these instructions if your parent signed with an FSA ID.]

CONGRATULATIONS!! Your FAFSA has been submitted!

You may get an “Error” message overtop of this page. Do not

worry. This often happens. Just log back into your FAFSA to
verify submission – it should say that your FAFSA is submitted
and processing.

You will receive an email 3-5 days after submitting your FAFSA.
This email will include your EFC (Estimated Family
Contribution) and any Pell Grant and loan estimates. Your final
amount of aid will be determined and communicated to you
by the college. **Look for follow-up emails from your
college(s), as you may be required to submit FAFSA verification
documents.** Your College Access Advisor can help you
understand this.

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