The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid. It is an application for federal student aid that can help students pay for college or career school. The FAFSA is different from CSS Profile, which is also required by some colleges (primarily private ones). The CSS is a fee-based product of the College Board (a private non-profit organization) and is used by the colleges to distribute their own institutional funds, rather than federal or state funding.

Completing and submitting the FAFSA form is free, and it gives students access to the largest source of financial aid to help pay for college or career school. The FAFSA asks for information about the student and their family’s finances, including tax returns, so students might need their parents’ help to complete it.

As of the 2017–2018 academic year, the FAFSA is made available to the public on October 1 every year for the future academic year. The US Department of Education made the FAFSA available earlier to more closely align the timing of the financial aid application process with the typical college application process.

Completing the FAFSA is just one of the six steps students can do to earn entries for monthly scholarship drawings on BigFuture. Anyone planning on going to college in the next academic year should fill out the FAFSA. Each year, millions of dollars in federal aid is left on the table by students who didn’t file a FAFSA. If students don’t file, they won’t qualify for most financial aid.