Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Information
Updated November 21, 2024
General Information
Every year students and families must complete the Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) for the appropriate aid year in order to be considered for federal (and
some state) financial aid, including student loans.
Priority Deadline for 2025-2026 - February 1, 2025. After that, need-based aid will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Due to limited funding, there is no guarantee that filing your FAFSA by priority deadline
will result in need-based aid.
Before Filing The FAFSA make sure to complete the following:
FSA ID - Student
If you already completed the 24/25 FAFSA you already have an FSA ID. Make sure you
know the ID and password.
FSA ID - Contributor
Make sure anyone who will be listed on FAFSA (parent, parent’s spouse, your spouse
if married) has an FSA ID and password. If they don't, have them apply now as it can take up to 3 days before it is ready to be used during FAFSA completion.
View FAFSA pro tips as assistance while completing the FAFSA. Contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 800-433-3243 or online for assistance with filing the FAFSA (technical issues with FAFSA or FAFSA website,
making changes to your FAFSA, Signing your FAFSA, FSA ID and password).
A contributor will be a new term for the 24/25 FAFSA. This refers to anyone who is required to
provide information on a student’s FAFSA (such as a parent/stepparent or spouse).
A student’s or parent’s answers on the FAFSA will determine which contributors (if
any) will be required to provide information. Contributors will receive an e-mail informing them that they’ve been identified as
such, and will need to log in using their own FSA ID to provide the required information
on the student’s FAFSA. Being a contributor does not mean they are financially responsible for the student’s
education costs, but it does mean the contributor must provide information on the FAFSA or the application will
be incomplete and the student will not be eligible for federal student aid.
For dependent students, financial information was previously needed from the parent(s) the student had lived
with the most in the last 12 months. With the 24/25 FAFSA, financial information will
be required from the parent(s) who provided the most financial support to the student
in the last 12 months.
The student must be a U.S. Citizen or documented, eligible non-citizen. Your parent
does not need to be a citizen. You must be admitted to Winthrop University as a regular
degree-seeking undergraduate student, a WinthropLIFE Student, or a graduate student
seeking a degree or a certificate in Dietetic Internship or Counseling.
These questions will have NO effect on financial aid eligibility and are asked for
statistical purposes only. The answers to these questions will not be shared with
any college.
What Happens Next
Submitting FAFSA to Winthrop University
The Office of Financial Aid will receive an electronic copy of your FAFSA approximately
2 weeks after you submit it.
Additional Information
Once we receive the FAFSA, you may be requested to provide additional documentation.
The Department of Education selects approximately 15 percent of all applicants for
a verification process. This means the Office of Financial Aid must collect certain
documents to confirm the accuracy of the information you provided on your FAFSA. You
will receive an e-mail from us if you need to provide any further information. Requests
for information for 25/26 FAFSA will be sent by early March for those who file their
FAFSA by early March, and then on an ongoing basis as FAFSAs are received.
Financial Aid Offers
Once the FAFSA is complete and you are fully admitted to Winthrop, you will receive
an e-mail notification directing you to Wingspan to view your financial aid offer
(late April for incoming freshmen and transfer students and late June for returning
students and graduate students). Spring 2025 admits will start seeing aid offers in
Wingspan by early November. Summer 2025 admits will start seeing aid offers in Wingspan
by late April (the Summer Aid Application is required before an aid offer can be made). Fall 2025 admits will start seeing
aid offers in Wingspan by late March 2025.
Disclaimer
Due to the significant amount of changes that are occurring in real time to the FAFSA,
portions of our website may not be 100% accurate. We’ll continue to update this page
as we receive updated information from ED. We appreciate your patience as we work
to implement all the changes brought by the FAFSA Simplification Act.
