FAFSA Instructions

File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

• Eligibility for federal financial aid is determined by the information that you provide on the FAFSA.

• Federal Verification, a process which confirms the information on your FAFSA is correct, is a cumbersome process for many families applying for federal aid.  In order to reduce the chances of being selected for this process, we recommend that you complete the FAFSA process in this order:

• • File your federal tax return electronically by March 1st.*
  • Complete your FAFSA by March 30th. Dartmouth's school code is 002573.  Use the Data Retrieval option on the FAFSA site to transfer your IRS tax data to your FAFSA.

*If you are unable to file tax returns within this timeline you must go ahead and complete the FAFSA by March 30th with your best estimates.  March 30th is the FAFSA deadline.  Three weeks following the electronic filing of parent and student tax returns with the IRS you can log back on to your FAFSA and update your information using the IRS Data Retrieval tool.  Additional processing time will be necessary to complete your financial aid award.

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