High school seniors and current college students looking for federal and state financial aid to attend college next fall should complete the 2021-22 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible.

The FAFSA is used to determine how much financial aid a student may be able to receive to help pay for college. A completed FAFSA is also required for some state aid, including the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship and the Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant Program.

Many students underestimate their financial need or assume they won’t qualify for financial aid, but every student should complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after Oct. 1 of the senior year of high school and every subsequent year that financial aid will be needed during college. “Students who complete the FAFSA have access to numerous state and federal scholarships and grants, work-study programs and, if needed, federal student loans,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson.

Students can complete the 2021-22 FAFSA online at FAFSA.gov or by using the myStudentAid mobile app. The online FAFSA features skip-logic technology that eliminates irrelevant questions based on the applicant’s previous answers, and applicants can choose to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, which will automatically transfer their 2019 tax return information to their FAFSA. To complete and submit the FAFSA online, students and one parent will each need to create a Federal Student Aid ID at FSAID.ed.gov. .

Campus financial aid offices can confirm school-specific deadlines and provide assistance to families during the application process. There’s no charge to complete or submit the FAFSA, so students and parents should be wary of organizations that charge a fee for these services. For more information, visit startwithfafsa.org.