FAFSA Information
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the gateway to need-based aid for most students.
The FAFSA is your way of indicating that you're interested in receiving assistance paying for college. It's the only way you can become eligible for grants, work-study and federal student loans. If you're interested in those things, we highly encourage you to submit the FAFSA.
Applying for financial aid is not easy, but it is certainly worth it. Every year, millions of students nationwide who would otherwise qualify for federal and state grants fail to file this important application, making it impossible for the Financial Aid Office at their school to assist them.
Financial Aid for Undocumented Students
The Minnesota Dream Act allows undocumented students who are residents of Minnesota to be eligible for state financial aid and grant programs.
Complete the FAFSA
You'll need the previous year's tax information and our school code (002345). It should take 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
About the FAFSA
2024-2025 Changes to FAFSA
The FAFSA application will see significant changes for the 2024-2025 aid year as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, which was passed by Congress in 2020.
The changes represent a major overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid, including changes to the FAFSA form, the need analysis that determines federal aid eligibility, changes in terminology, and many policies and procedures for schools like St. Thomas that participate in federal student aid programs.
Submissions Basics
How do I submit it?
Go to fafsa.gov and follow the instructions. You'll need the previous year's tax information and our school code (002345). It should take 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
When should I submit it?
The FAFSA will open by December 31 and we recommend you try to submit it shortly after that. That will ensure that you get your financial aid award as early as possible and that you'll have plenty of time to thoroughly compare all the schools you're considering before making a decision.
You DO NOT have to be admitted to St. Thomas before you complete the FAFSA. You can do it before you even apply.
When will I hear back about my aid?
We plan to start sending notification of award (NOA) letters in early March to students who have submitted their FAFSAs and have been admitted as a part of our Early Action timeline.
Special Circumstances
Things happen. We get that. That's why we have a process for students to appeal their aid award to account for special financial circumstances. These can include:
- Death or disability of a parent or spouse since filing the FAFSA
- Divorce or separation of parent or student since filing the FAFSA
- Medical, dental, or dependent care expenses not reimbursed by insurance or by an employer's pre-tax cafeteria plan
- Unemployment
- Loss child support and/or taxable Social Security benefits
- Business or farm closed due to bankruptcy, foreclosure, or natural disaster
- Private high school, junior high, or elementary tuition expenses for other family members
- Parents' or spouse's personal college loan payments
- Parent(s) enrolled in college in 2023 or 2024 and paying out-of-pocket college tuition
Special circumstances applications, if accepted, may result in an increase in need-based loans, student employment, or additional grant assistance. It will typically take 2-4 weeks to process your application after all required documentation has been received.
2024-2025 Changes
2024-2025 Changes to FAFSA
The FAFSA application will see significant changes for the 2024-2025 aid year as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, which was passed by Congress in 2020.
The changes represent a major overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid, including changes to the FAFSA form, the need analysis that determines federal aid eligibility, changes in terminology, and many policies and procedures for schools like St. Thomas that participate in federal student aid programs.
Submissions Basics
Submissions Basics
How do I submit it?
Go to fafsa.gov and follow the instructions. You'll need the previous year's tax information and our school code (002345). It should take 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
When should I submit it?
The FAFSA will open by December 31 and we recommend you try to submit it shortly after that. That will ensure that you get your financial aid award as early as possible and that you'll have plenty of time to thoroughly compare all the schools you're considering before making a decision.
You DO NOT have to be admitted to St. Thomas before you complete the FAFSA. You can do it before you even apply.
When will I hear back about my aid?
We plan to start sending notification of award (NOA) letters in early March to students who have submitted their FAFSAs and have been admitted as a part of our Early Action timeline.
Special Circumstances
Special Circumstances
Things happen. We get that. That's why we have a process for students to appeal their aid award to account for special financial circumstances. These can include:
- Death or disability of a parent or spouse since filing the FAFSA
- Divorce or separation of parent or student since filing the FAFSA
- Medical, dental, or dependent care expenses not reimbursed by insurance or by an employer's pre-tax cafeteria plan
- Unemployment
- Loss child support and/or taxable Social Security benefits
- Business or farm closed due to bankruptcy, foreclosure, or natural disaster
- Private high school, junior high, or elementary tuition expenses for other family members
- Parents' or spouse's personal college loan payments
- Parent(s) enrolled in college in 2023 or 2024 and paying out-of-pocket college tuition
Special circumstances applications, if accepted, may result in an increase in need-based loans, student employment, or additional grant assistance. It will typically take 2-4 weeks to process your application after all required documentation has been received.
Avoid Common FAFSA Errors
The FAFSA isn't always intuitive and certain errors can really slow down the process. Please review some of the most common errors and contact our office if you have additional questions about your application.
When reporting investment net worth on the FAFSA, do not include the value of your primary residence (your home) or the value of any protected retirement accounts (i.e. IRA, 401k, 403b, etc.). However, pre-tax contributions to such plans should be listed as untaxed income.
If a student or parent uses the IRS Data Retrieval Tool embedded in the FAFSA, tax data will be auto-filled in the application. However, this feature only auto-fills parent or student wages if the tax filer status is "single." Failing to self-report student or parent wages (if necessary) will inflate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and negatively affect financial aid eligibility.
Parents and students must report assets on the FAFSA as of the date the application is filed. These figures should never be updated as they are intended to provide a snapshot of the household assets. Updating assets unnecessarily will lead to the application being selected for verification.
Updating assets is permitted, but updates should only be made if an error was made at time the FAFSA was initially filed.
The FAFSA uses tax data filed nearly two years prior to the dates of attendance during which the financial aid will be applied. There are often several changes to a family's financial situation that occur between the tax year used to file the FAFSA and the first day of classes. If these changes are significant and affect your ability to pay educational expenses, please report your special circumstance to the Financial Aid Office.
Students and parents must list their name on the FAFSA exactly as it appears on their Social Security card. Failing to do so will prevent the student and/or parent from passing the required data matches with the Social Security Administration.
All students must have an FSA ID to sign the FAFSA. If the student is considered dependent by the FAFSA, one parent will need an FSA ID to sign the FAFSA as well before it can be processed. You can set up your FSA ID as part of the online application but we encourage that you do so before you file.
Schools should receive your FAFSA data within two business days if you sign the FAFSA electronically using your FSA ID. It will take at least three weeks for your FAFSA to be processed if you print and sign a signature page or submit a paper FAFSA.
Please note: You cannot use a single email address to set up more than one FSA ID. Your email may be used to send you a secure code to verify your identity, so make sure that you provide an email that you have access to.
FAFSA Verification
All students who file a FAFSA are sent a Student Aid Report (SAR) which will indicate if their FAFSA was selected for verification.
What Is FAFSA Verification?
FAFSA Verification is a quality-assurance measure used by the U.S. Department of Education to verify the accuracy of information reported by students and families on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). All schools that disburse federal Title IV funds (federal student aid) are required to participate in the verification process.
If your FAFSA is selected for verification, the Financial Aid Office will provide you with detailed instructions regarding any information that is needed to verify the results of your application for aid.
Need-based financial aid cannot be processed until verification is complete. To receive maximum consideration for federal and state aid programs such as grants and loans, students must complete verification (if selected) before classes begin.
Why You Might Be Selected
Most often, a FAFSA is selected for verification because it contains inconsistent information or the Dept. of Education has identified errors that must be corrected. However, files can also be selected for review due to:
- Incomplete information (fields left blank)
- Estimated information
- Severe changes in data elements from year to year
- Selected at random
Schools may also choose to verify a file if presented with conflicting information. Making unnecessary adjustments to FAFSA data after initial submission may increase the likelihood of being selected for verification.
Regardless of why a FAFSA is selected, no need-based financial aid can be paid to the student until the verification process is complete.
How to Complete Verification
- Download and complete the appropriate Verification Worksheet in the Financial Aid section of Murphy Online
- Confirm tax information listed on the FAFSA in one of the following ways:
- IRS Data Retrieval (preferred method): To transfer tax information, the student must log in to the student's processed FAFSA, click on the "Financial Information" tab in the top navigation menu, and answer the questions to determine if you are eligible to use IRS Data Retrieval. If eligible, enter your FSA ID (or apply for one) and click the blue "LINK TO IRS" button. You will be asked to input your tax filing status and address to verify your identity. Please input your address exactly as it appears on your filed tax return. Once your identity is confirmed, select "Transfer Now" and follow the on-screen instructions to submit the FAFSA update. FAFSA updates should be received by the Financial Aid Office within 2-3 business days.
- Submit a signed Federal Tax Return copy or Tax Return Transcript: The Financial Aid Office is allowed to accept a copy of a signed 2021 Federal Tax Return 1040 and accompanying schedules. All tax returns must be signed either with a hand written signature by the tax return filer or with a tax preparer EIN or PTIN.
- Request a Verification of Non-filing Letter from the IRS: Required for any applicant/spouse who did not file a tax return in tax year. Verification letters can be requested online at www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript, or by mail using Form 4506-T and checking box 7.
- Submit the Verification Worksheet and any additional documentation to the Financial Aid Office via the URL listed on the Verification Worksheet.
What Is FAFSA Verification?
What Is FAFSA Verification?
FAFSA Verification is a quality-assurance measure used by the U.S. Department of Education to verify the accuracy of information reported by students and families on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). All schools that disburse federal Title IV funds (federal student aid) are required to participate in the verification process.
If your FAFSA is selected for verification, the Financial Aid Office will provide you with detailed instructions regarding any information that is needed to verify the results of your application for aid.
Need-based financial aid cannot be processed until verification is complete. To receive maximum consideration for federal and state aid programs such as grants and loans, students must complete verification (if selected) before classes begin.
Why You Might Be Selected
Why You Might Be Selected
Most often, a FAFSA is selected for verification because it contains inconsistent information or the Dept. of Education has identified errors that must be corrected. However, files can also be selected for review due to:
- Incomplete information (fields left blank)
- Estimated information
- Severe changes in data elements from year to year
- Selected at random
Schools may also choose to verify a file if presented with conflicting information. Making unnecessary adjustments to FAFSA data after initial submission may increase the likelihood of being selected for verification.
Regardless of why a FAFSA is selected, no need-based financial aid can be paid to the student until the verification process is complete.
How to Complete Verification
How to Complete Verification
- Download and complete the appropriate Verification Worksheet in the Financial Aid section of Murphy Online
- Confirm tax information listed on the FAFSA in one of the following ways:
- IRS Data Retrieval (preferred method): To transfer tax information, the student must log in to the student's processed FAFSA, click on the "Financial Information" tab in the top navigation menu, and answer the questions to determine if you are eligible to use IRS Data Retrieval. If eligible, enter your FSA ID (or apply for one) and click the blue "LINK TO IRS" button. You will be asked to input your tax filing status and address to verify your identity. Please input your address exactly as it appears on your filed tax return. Once your identity is confirmed, select "Transfer Now" and follow the on-screen instructions to submit the FAFSA update. FAFSA updates should be received by the Financial Aid Office within 2-3 business days.
- Submit a signed Federal Tax Return copy or Tax Return Transcript: The Financial Aid Office is allowed to accept a copy of a signed 2021 Federal Tax Return 1040 and accompanying schedules. All tax returns must be signed either with a hand written signature by the tax return filer or with a tax preparer EIN or PTIN.
- Request a Verification of Non-filing Letter from the IRS: Required for any applicant/spouse who did not file a tax return in tax year. Verification letters can be requested online at www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript, or by mail using Form 4506-T and checking box 7.
- Submit the Verification Worksheet and any additional documentation to the Financial Aid Office via the URL listed on the Verification Worksheet.
Notification of Award Guide
Still have questions? Download our Notification of Award Guide (PDF), which walks through all of the details related to the financial aid process.