Completing the FAFSA
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Many scholarships at The Community Foundation require the FAFSA to assist evaluators in determining scholarship awards. If you would like to be considered for these scholarships, you must answer “Yes” to the question, “Would you like to be considered for scholarships that require detailed financial information?” on the Universal Application. You will then be required to upload your FAFSA Submission Summary and enter your Student Aid Index within your scholarship applications.
The FAFSA Simplification Act was enacted by Congress as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This law reduces the number of questions on the application, makes crucial changes to the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand Pell Grant eligibility and removes outdated restrictions to make federal student aid more accessible to all students.
Due to the major changes the FAFSA underwent in 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid has delayed the release of the 2025-2026 FAFSA until December 1, 2024. The Foundation highly recommends students and parents/guardians create their FSA IDs now. The December 1, 2024, release date should allow all students to submit their FAFSA information in the Universal Application by the February 5, 2025, application deadline.