Application Steps

Create an Account.

The FSA ID is a username and password combination that will give you access to the Federal Student Aid online systems and will serve as your legal signature when completing your application. All contributors will need to create an FSA ID.

A contributor is anyone (you, your spouse, your biological or adoptive parent, or your parent's spouse) who is required to provide information on the FAFSA. This step should be done the first time you apply for aid. You only need to create an FSA ID once, you can use it every year you file the FAFSA. 

1.  Enter your log in information.

2.  Enter your personal information.

• Provide answers to five challenge questions.
• Include your mailing address, email address, telephone number, and language preference.
• Provide your Social Security number, name, and date of birth. When you create your FSA ID, be careful to enter your name and Social Security number exactly as they appear on your Social Security card.

3.  Submit your FSA ID information.

• Agree to the terms and conditions.
• Verify your email address.
  (Note:  By  verifying  your email address, you can use your email address as your username when logging into certain U.S. Department of Education websites.)

4. We recommend getting your FSA ID ahead of time before starting your FAFSA application and cut down on errors and delays.  

 Additionally your FSA ID will allow you to:

• sign your master promissory note (MPN)
• completing your loan counseling
• applying for loan repayment plans

If you forget your FSA ID user name or password:

• Help accessing your StudentAid.gov Username or Password
• Check FSA ID - Social Security Match Errors

Important: Only the owner of the FSA ID should create and use the account. Never share your FSA ID.

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Gather your application documents. The FAFSA will ask for information about you (your name, date of birth, address, etc.) and about your financial situation. Some of the documents you and your parent(s) might need:

• • Your parents’  Social Secruity Numbers (SSN), if they each have a SSN and you're a dependent student
  • Tax returns
  • Records of child support received
  • Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
  • Net worth of investments, businesses, and farms

See "Gathering Needed Documents" on the StudentAid.gov website

FAFSA application steps:

• Use your FSA ID, email, or phone number, and your password to log in to your account, to access the FAFSA form,
• Answer  the questions.
• Provide consent to have your 2023 tax information released from the IRS for your FAFSA (if you have filed your taxes for 2023).
• Invite all contributors (See Step 3)
• Sign the FAFSA form electronically.

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• If you are a dependent student: indicate your parent(s). Make sure they have a working email.
• One parent (if single parent) or if your parents are married and filed joint 2023 tax returns.
• Two parents (if parents are married, filed separately in 2023). Each parent will need an FSA ID. This includes the stepparent if the parent completing the FAFSA is remarried.
• For other parent situations not listed above, refer to your FAFSA for instructions.
• See "Who is my parent on the FAFSA© form?"
• If you are married: Indicate your spouse. Make sure they have a working email.
• See the "Who is a contributor on the FAFSA® Form?"

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Students will initiate FAFSA and invite other contributors to complete their portion of the form. To invite a contributor, you must enter:

• their name
• date of birth
• social security number
• email address

Collect this information now to simplify the process later. 

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All contributors (parent(s), stepparent, or student’s spouse) must use their FSA ID to access the FAFSA form, answer questions, provide consent, and sign the form electronically. All contributors are required to provide consent to have their 2023 tax information released from the IRS for their FAFSA. All participants must provide consent and approval even if they didn't file a U.S. federal tax return or any tax return at all.

Students or parents who are non-tax filers must still provide consent and enter income data manually.  The FAFSA will not be submitted for processing until ALL contributors provide consent and sign.

If consent and approval are not provided by the student and all contributors on the FAFSA form, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid, including grants and loans. 

Consent and approval must be provided every year the FAFSA form is completed.

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After all contributors have provided consent and signed the form, it will be sent to the FAFSA Processing System (FPS).

Please note that you MUST include FIT’s school code on the FAFSA for the school to receive it.  FIT’s FAFSA school code is 002866.

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What kind of changes can I make on my FAFSA? Keep in mind that most of the questions on the FAFSA form ask for your situation as of the day you sign the application. After you have signed and submitted your FAFSA form, your can access your FAFSA Submission Summary.

How to Correct Your FAFSA© Form.

• Review your FAFSA Summary
• Your application is missing a "Contributor's Consent and Approval".
• If you filed a FAFSA form using an incorrect Social Security Number (SSN).
• Federal School Codes: If you want to add or delete a school code.'
• You can change your answer to the “Direct Unsubsidized Loan Only." If a dependent student does not provide parent information on the FAFSA application they will not be eligible for Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, or a Direct Loan. If you answered this question by mistake, you can change your answer and invite your parent(s) to include their information on your form.
• Add a missing signature
• You can update your mailing address, email address and contact information.

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Dependency Override

If a dependent student indicates they have unusual circumstances that prevent them from providing parent data, they will have their FAFSA processed with a provisional independent status. The student must provide documentation to financial aid administrators to determine if the student should be considered independent.

Income Adjustment and/or Budget Increase

There are several occasions when an adjustment may be needed, such as when there are changes to a parent’s income or cost of attendance increases from a study-abroad experience. 

Please see our Special Circumstances information page.

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If you are a New York State resident, please be sure to complete the New York State Tuition Assistance Program -  TAP Application.  

• Search for “FIT”  
• Associates (degree code is 2070)
• Bachelor's (degree code is 0975)

If you have applied for TAP in the past, please be aware that the TAP application will be available to file once New York State Higher Education Corporation (HESC) receives your FAFSA. The estimated time for the Department of Education (DOE) to send your application to New York State will be the end of March. Please wait until NYS HESC receives your FAFSA to file your TAP application.

TAP Eligibility information from the HIgher Educations Services Corporation (HESC)

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The Excelsior  Scholarship  Program covers full tuition for eligible New York State Residents  Please sign up on the HESC website to be notified when the Excelsior application becomes available.

Excelsior Eligibility from the HIgher Educations Services Corporation (HESC)

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A contributor is anyone required to provide consent and approval for obtaining federal tax information (FTI) needed to complete a student’s FAFSA. This includes the student, the student’s parent(s) and stepparent(s) if the student is considered a dependent, and the student’s spouse, if applicable. Students must designate contributors when completing their section of the FAFSA.

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The parent who provides the most financial support should complete it. If one parent pays child support, that parent should complete the FAFSA if the child support amounts to more than half of the student’s support. If a dependent student’s parents are unmarried and living together, both parents will need to complete the FAFSA as contributors. 

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Providing consent allows the Department of Education to use your name and Social Security number to match with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) so  that the IRS may share your federal tax information (FTI) with the Department of Education to determine a student’s eligibility for federal student aid.

Consent is mandatory for transferring federal tax information from the IRS and determining the student’s aid eligibility. If a student (or student’s spouse) does not provide consent, the student will be ineligible for any federal aid. 

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No, recent changes prohibit independent students from including parental information on the FAFSA for federal student aid

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