Apply for Fall 2013 and Spring 2014

Application Deadlines

For maximum consideration of financial aid, the Office of Student Aid recommends that you submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by:

March 1, 2013 for all students NEW to Penn State
April 15, 2013 for all students returning to Penn State
May 1 (deadline) for Pennsylvania residents who are interested in applying for the Pennsylvania State Grant*

*If you are a resident of a state other than Pennsylvania, please verify if you are eligible for a state grant and what your deadline is with your own state grant agency.

Please review the federal and Penn State financial aid eligibility requirements.

Recommended IRS Data Retrieval

We HIGHLY recommend that you and/or your parents use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to view and securely transfer your federal tax information directly from the IRS to your FAFSA to save time and increase the accuracy of the FAFSA.

The IRS Data Retrieval Tool is available after February 3, 2013 — your federal tax information will be available for transfer:

Three weeks for electronically filed federal tax returns
Eight weeks for paper returns filed via U.S. mail

You should not use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool if you and/or your parents did any one of the following:

Filed an amended 2012 federal tax return (1040X)
Did not file a 2012 federal tax return
Are married but filed separately
Are separated from your spouse but filed jointly
Filed a Puerto Rican or foreign tax return

Because the 2013-14 FAFSA is available any time after January 1, 2013, if you are submitting your FAFSA prior to filing your federal tax return, you may use estimated tax information or manually enter your tax information. However, once you have filed your taxes, we recommend you update your FAFSA either by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool or actual final tax figures.

Requirements and Verification

To complete the FAFSA, you and/or your parents will need to:

Enter your name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card (include suffixes and your middle name/initial)
Enter your Social Security number
Provide your parent(s) name and social security number exactly as it appears on their Social Security card (including suffixes and middle name/initial).
Provide your valid driver’s license number (if you have one)
Enter your date of birth
Provide your alien registration number, for eligible non-citizens
Mark your individual status information (marital status, veteran, etc.)
Supply 2012 federal tax information, including adjusted gross income, earnings from work, income tax paid, etc.
Insert Penn State’s federal school code: 003329

We may be required to contact you to request documentation or have you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to verify your FAFSA information. Please respond quickly to any and all requests by the Office of Student Aid to ensure timely disbursement of your student aid.