Applying for federal, state, and university financial aid

• Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or renewal FAFSA. In order to maximize your financial aid, you should submit your FAFSA prior to March 15 for the upcoming academic year. If you are a non-citizen who is a Texas resident, complete a Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA).
• You will need to complete a FAFSA for each academic year.
• For summer financial aid, you will also need to complete a Texas State summer aid application. The application should be submitted by March 1 prior to the upcoming summer semester.

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After you apply for financial aid

• Our office will receive your FAFSA information approximately 5 days after you have submitted the FAFSA.
• We then review your FAFSA information. This review process will take 3-4 days, and we may ask you for additional documents to verify your FAFSA data. Check your Texas State Self-Service to see if we have requested documentation.
• Be sure not to submit any additional documents, such as tax transcripts, unless our office requests them of you. Providing us with documents that we have not requested will delay the processing of your financial aid.
• Once the requested documents are received by our office, or if no additional documents were originally requested, our office will award you financial aid.

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Being notified about your financial aid awards

• You will be notified via email.
• The email will direct you to your Texas State Self-Service Login.
• You can view, as well as accept, your awards under Financial Aid, by clicking Awards and then Accept Award Offer.
• Only after you accept your awards will we begin processing your aid.
• Be sure to check each individual award message (by clicking the fund name) prior to accepting your awards and determine what steps you must take in order for your aid to be made available to you. For example, if you have been awarded a student loan and are a first-time borrower at Texas State, you will need to complete pre-loan counseling and a master promissory note.

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Helpful hints

• Be sure not to submit any additional documents, such as tax transcripts, unless our office requests them of you. Providing us with documents that we have not requested will delay the processing of your financial aid.
• Do not wait until you've been accepted to Texas State to apply for financial aid.
• File your FAFSA as soon after January 1 as possible—keeping in mind our March 15 priority deadline. If necessary, you may estimate your income on the FAFSA if you have not yet filed your tax return.
• When filling out step 6 of your FAFSA, be sure to list Texas State and its Title IV school code--003615.
• If your parents are divorced or separated, answer the parent questions using the information about the parent you lived with the most during the past 12 months. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided you the most financial support during the last 12 months, or during the most recent year that you received support from a parent. If this parent is remarried as of today, answer the parent questions using the information about that parent and the person your parent married (your stepparent).
• Be sure you leave no question unanswered--fill in questions that do not apply with a zero, depending on the specific information requested.
• Before submitting your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), make sure that it is complete, accurate, and includes all necessary signatures.

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