When should you renew your FAFSA?
Did you know that your financial aid eligibility might expire before the end of your program?
Your financial aid only lasts for an award year until you have to renew it. Typically, an award year is the same length of time as your academic year, or your first two semesters or units of your program. The FAFSA award year ends each year on June 30th and renews on July 1st. If your program lasts through June 30th to beyond July 1st you may need to renew your FAFSA to continue your financial aid eligibility.
If you know you’re going to be in school multiple years it is best to just renew the FAFSA each year when your Federal Tax Returns are filed. You need you [and potentially your parent(s)] tax return information on each FAFSA.
Once your taxes are filed and accepted by the IRS you can fill out the FAFSA. If you fill out the FAFSA prior to filing your taxes you’ll have to update it later with the filed figures.
Renewing your FAFSA early each year gets you first in line for federal grant eligibility as well as Pennsylvania State grant eligibility, if you are a PA resident.
The best part is that renewing your FAFSA is easier than filling it out the first time! When you renew your FAFSA your identification information is auto-populated onto the new application, all you have to do is update any changes and your new income information.
As always if you have any questions about your FAFSA renewal or eligibility, contact kmyers@dec.edu!
