Click on any of the steps below to see a detailed explanation of what to do.
You will need the following items in order to complete your FAFSA:
- Your social security number or Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
- Federal Income Tax Returns, W-2s and other records of money earned for the correct year (2024-25 applications will require 2022 income information)
- For 2023-24: You may be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool to import all of your income information into your FAFSA. If you are able to use the Data Retrieval tool it is highly encouraged to do so. This will reduce errors and increase processing time of your FAFSA once we receive it at Rio Hondo College).
- For 2024-25: A student and/or parent’s IRS tax information will be automatically transferred via FA-DDX (Future Act Data Exchange) onto the FAFSA application.
- Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)
- Records of untaxed income (if applicable)
If you are a dependent student, then you will need most of this information for your parent(s) as well.
The FSA ID gives you access to Federal Student Aid’s online systems and can serve as your legal signature. You will use your FSA ID to sign your FAFSA every year, so be sure to record your login information. You should never share your FSA ID information with anybody else.
- Navigate to the FSA ID creation page
- Create a username and password, and enter your e-mail address
- Enter your name, date of birth, Social Security number, contact information, and challenge questions and answers.
- If you have a Federal Student Aid PIN, you will be able to enter it and link it to your FSA ID. You can still create an FSA ID if you have forgotten or do not have a PIN.
- Review your information, read and accept the terms and conditions.
- Confirm your e-mail address using the secure code, which will be sent to the e-mail address you entered when you created your FSA ID. Once you verify your e-mail address, you can use it instead of your username to log in to the FAFSA.
If you are a dependent student, and your parent has a valid social security number (cannot say “For Work Purposes Only” on the social security card) you will want your parent to create an FSA ID as well.
NOTE: Effective for the 2024-25 Financial Aid Award year, all students and parents must create a FSA USER ID even if the parent does not have a social security number. Please click this link for steps on How to Create a FSA USER ID without a SSN. En Español: Cómo obtener un FSA ID para personas sin un Número de Seguro Social (SSN).
- Start the FAFSA at studentaid.gov
- Log in using your FSA ID that you created in the previous step
- Create a save key
- Unlike the FSA ID, the save key is meant to be shared. A save key is a temporary password that allows you and your parent(s) to “pass” the FAFSA back and forth. It also allows you to save the FAFSA and return to it later. This is especially helpful if you and your parent are not in the same place.
- Complete all of the student demographic information (name, date of birth, etc.) Make sure that you enter your legal name (exactly the way it appears on your social security card).
- Select the schools you are interested in attending- you can list up to 10, so if you aren’t sure where you want to go yet put them all down! Rio Hondo College’s school code is 001269.
- The dependency status section will ask you a series of questions to determine if you need to provide your parent’s information on your FAFSA.
- The parent demographic section is where your parent’s will provide their information. It doesn’t matter if you live with your parents, if you were determined to be a dependent student you will still need to include their information.
- Include you and your parent(s) (if applicable) financial information. If you are able to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool it is HIGHLY recommended that you do so. This will reduce the chance of errors in your FAFSA and will help to increase processing time of your financial aid at Rio Hondo College.
- Sign your FAFSA
- Be sure you read over and agree to the terms and then click on the “sign” button.
- For 2023-24: If you are a dependent student and your parent has an FSA ID they can also sign electronically. If not you will need to be sure to print the signature page and have your parent sign it. Then you can either mail it to the address on the page (Federal Student Aid Programs, P.O. Box 7656, London, KY 40742-7656), or if you are a Rio Hondo Student bring the signature page to the Financial Aid office and we can submit it for you.
- For 2024-25: Signature pages will no longer be accepted. All students and parents must now create an FSA User ID in order to “sign” the FAFSA.
After you (and your parent, if applicable) have signed the FAFSA be sure to click on the “Submit My FAFSA Now” button to submit the FAFSA and complete the process!