What is the FAFSA?
The is a free federal application students need to complete each year to determine federal student aid, such as federal grants, work study funds and loans. Completing and submitting the FAFSA form is free and it gives you access to the largest source of aid to help you pay for college.
Some students may assume that they won't qualify for financial aid because their grades are not good enough, they make too much money (or their parents do), or many other reasons. But, you won't know for sure unless you try, and applying is free!
Please remember, our Office of Student Financial Services can help you through this process whether you need assistance filing your FAFSA or have general financial aid questions.
2025-2026 FAFSA is Now Available
Since Oct. 1, the 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form has been available to select individuals. Now, the online form is available to all students and their contributors as part of our expanded beta testing period.
The 2025–26 FAFSA is be available to all students and their contributor(s) for the award year that runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. The is also available now for the current award year that runs from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥app will update this page as additional details become available. Below you will find steps on how to file the FAFSA, what happens after you file, and additional resources. Before filing, we encourage students to:
- Review common FAFSA terminology.
- Create a (if you don't already have one).
- Learn more about the .
- Determine your and whether your parent(s) or spouse will be required to contribute information on your FAFSA form.
- If you're a dependent student, use the to identify which parent(s) will be a required contributor on your form.
Changes to the FAFSA
The , passed by Congress in 2020, focuses on simplifying the FAFSA application process and bringing changes in calculating aid eligibility.
You can stay informed with updated from Federal Student Aid regarding FAFSA changes and receive up-to-date notifications and information. ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appis also here to help you understand these changes and as more details are announced, we will continually post updates on this page.
Filing the FAFSA
If you are filing the FAFSA for the first time, both the student and contributor need to create individual accounts to obtain an and password. FSA IDs should be completed at least 4 days prior to filing the FAFSA.
To file the FAFSA, students and contributors will each need:
- FSA ID and password
- Personally-Identifiable information (such as social security number, email address, mobile, etc.)
- Current Banking/investment information
- 2022 IRS Tax Information (for the 2024-2025 FAFSA)
- 2023 IRS Tax Information (for the 2025-2026 FAFSA)
- ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appSchool Code: 003394
Consider any deadlines. Pennsylvania residents must complete the FAFSA by May 1 of each year in order to be considered for eligibility.
- 2024-2025 FAFSA: Students who plan to enroll in classes at ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appin the fall 2024 and/or spring 2025 semester(s) should first complete the .
- 2025-2026 FAFSA: The 2025-2026 FAFSA is available! All students who plan to enroll at ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appin the fall 2025 and/or spring 2026 semester(s) can now complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA.
The student will log into with their student FSA ID to being filing.
Don't forget to add ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appto the college list with Wilkes' school code: 003394
Pennsylvania residents must complete the FAFSA by May 1 of each year in order to be considered for .
Eligible non-citizen students and their families can find additional information on our financial aid webpage.
In order for the FAFSA to access and include student Federal Tax Information (FTI), students will need to provide consent and approval within their FAFSA.
If a student does not provide consent and approval, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid - even if tax information is manually entered to the FAFSA form.
A student's dependency status and contributor(s) will be determined within the student portion of the FAFSA. At the end of the FAFSA, students will invite their contributor(s) to complete their portion of the student's FAFSA but the contributor's email on their FSA ID. A student cannot access the contributor's areas.
Students will sign and submit their section of the FAFSA; this will notify the contributor(s) by email to complete their portion.
Students will have 45 days to complete their student portion from the date in which they started it. If it is not completed within that time period, the entire FAFSA will be deleted and the student will need to start their FAFSA again.
Please note: If a parent does not have an social security number, the student will enter the parent(s) address instead.
Contributor(s) will receive an email invitation to complete their portion of the student's FAFSA and will have 45 days to complete their section from the date the invitation was sent. If it is not completed within that time period, the entire FAFSA will be deleted and the student will need to start their FAFSA again. A contributor cannot access their student's areas.
From the invitation, the contributor will log in with their (contributor) FSA ID and password to accept the student's invitation and continue filing with the contributor information. Consent for federal tax information will be requested by the contributor.
Contributor(s) will sign and submit at the end to full submit the entire student's FAFSA.
Contributors are required to provide their information, but participation does not indicate any financial responsibility.
Please note: If a student's required contributor does not provide consent and approval, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid – even if tax information is manually entered into the FAFSA form.
A contributor has two opportunities to provide consent and approval prior to submitting the FAFSA
The process may seem overwhelming, but the FAFSA offers helpful tips while you complete the application, such as:
Plus, the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appfinancial aid team is always here to help!
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Student Financial Services. Our staff are available to help students and their contributor(s) with completing their personal FSA ID and filing their portion of the FAFSA. We can schedule personalized in-person and virtual visits with students and their families whenever convenient for you.
New incoming Admitted Students: Please visit our Admissions visit page to watch for any upcoming FAFSA filing-related events for new students or schedule a personalized visit with financial aid.
After You File
Once the status of your FAFSA application states "processed", the student will receive an FSS. Students should review their FSS in order to determine any errors made on the FAFSA. The FSS will also contain the student's Student Aid Index (SAI).
If corrections are needed, a student can log back into their FAFSA to make necessary changes.
You must log back into your FAFSA to make corrections if:
- your FAFSA application status states "Action Required"
- you determined any errors after reviewing your FAFSA Submission Summary
- you have any updates to make at a later date
Common Correction Examples
- The student and/or their contributor(s) made a mistake with any information entered
- Add or remove a school
- The student's and/or their contributor's signature(s) are missing
- Contributor’s consent and approval is missing
- An incorrect social security number was used
As long as a FAFSA was successfully submitted and ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appwas listed in the school list, we will receive the student's FAFSA information. If we need any additional information to determine aid eligibility from the FAFSA, we will reach out to the student directly by phone and/or email.
- New Incoming Spring 2025 Students: We are currently sending spring aid offers to incoming spring admitted first year and transfer students.
- New Incoming Fall 2025 Students: We plan to begin sending aid offers to incoming fall admitted first year and transfer students in spring, 2025
- Returning Students: Returning students will be able to view their following year's aid eligibility in their ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appStudent Portal in June.
There may be instances where a family's prior year tax information no longer accurately reflects their current financial status due to an unforeseen extenuating circumstance.
Situations may include (but are not limited to):
- loss of employment or income for a period of at least 10 weeks
- loss of untaxed income for a period of at least 10 weeks extenuating uncovered medical or dental expenses
- parent separation or divorce after the FAFSA has been processed
- a recent parent or spouse death or disability
- a family situation which may affect a student's dependency status
If you feel you have any circumstance(s) that might affect your financial aid, please contact our Office of Student Financial Services.
ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥app uses standards recommended by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥app accepts qualifying private scholarships that a student may receive through outside organizations.
Private scholarships are outside scholarships that are not awarded by ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥app. We encourage all students to search for and apply to private scholarships. There is no guaranteed a student will receive a scholarship, but the more scholarships you apply to, the greater the opportunities.
Helpful Tip: Avoid scholarship search sites that charge a fee to participate.
The process may seem overwhelming, but the FAFSA offers helpful tips while you complete the application, , , and a . Plus, the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥appfinancial aid team is always here to help!
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Student Financial Services. We can schedule personalized in-person and virtual visits with students and their families whenever convenient for you.
New incoming Admitted Students: Please visit our Admissions visit page to watch for any upcoming FAFSA filing-related events for new students or schedule a personalized visit with financial aid.
Additional FAFSA Help & Resources
Students and families can visit the below studentaid.gov pages for resources about completing the FAFSA.
Below are some helpful instructional videos provided by Federal Student Aid (FSA):
For more information and additional videos, you can .