Apply for & receive aid

There are two possible applications that you may use to apply for financial aid:

• If you are eligible, you may choose to apply through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In order to use the FAFSA, you must be either a U.S. citizen or meet the eligibility requirements for non-U.S. citizens.
• If you are an undocumented student, or you fit any of the criteria listed on this page, you should use the Washington Application for Student Financial Aid (WASFA).

To sign up for an FSA ID from the U.S. Department of Education, visit this website.

Regardless of which application you use, you will need to have various personal and financial information on hand to be able to complete the application.

For a full list of required information needed for both applications, visit the links below:

• FAFSA Checklist
• WASFA Application Guide

Both forms will require you to provide federal school codes for all institutions you are applying to. The University of Washington uses code 003798. This code is used for Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses.

The application for the upcoming academic year opens on October 1 each year.

You can submit both applications completely online, by following the below links:

• FAFSA application
• WASFA application

The priority filing date for financial aid is February 1. If you submit after this date, you will still be considered for aid, but the amount of aid that is available to you will be limited.

Once your application is submitted your information will be sent to all of the schools you listed on your forms for review.

If you need to make any changes to your application after you submit, log back in to your accounts on the FAFSA or WASFA websites.

Your aid offer will be listed in your MyUW account.

In order to access MyUW, you will first need to create a UW NetID. If you are a new student and haven’t created an UW NetID yet, please follow the instructions provided here.

Read through all of the information that we have on file for you, and notify our office if anything is incorrect. Be sure to double check all of the following information:

• Your address
• Your social security number
• State residency (WA state resident vs. out-of state)
• Enrollment status (full time vs. part time)
• Number of quarters you plan to attend
• Education benefits, scholarships, and other resources you will receive or think you may receive

You may be offered student loans to help you meet your financial need.

Student Loans are a financial obligation that must be repaid, and you should never borrow more than you can comfortably repay after leaving school. You may want to review information about requesting changes to your aid offer to determine if your eligibility for need-based assistance should be revised before you borrow.

If you have been offered loans and you do not wish to borrow the full amount offered, you may indicate the reduced level to us. If you want to borrow more than we have offered, to replace your family contribution, please contact our office.

NOTE: Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans and Federal Direct PLUS Loans do not include a federal subsidy, so interest begins to accrue for these loans sooner than other federal loan programs. These loans should be used as a last resort in financing your education and require additional responsibilities from you or your parents for PLUS loans.

• Enroll full-time each quarter and attend all your classes (12 credits for professional students; 10 credits for graduates) unless less than full-time attendance is specifically noted on your aid offer.
• Pass sufficient credits to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• Report new sources of support and changes in personal circumstances (e.g., changing from non-resident to resident status, divorce, moving to parents’ home) as soon as you learn of them.

It is very important that you accept your aid offer in MyUW Financial Aid Status before the reply date. If you do not accept it by this date, we will cancel your aid in order to offer it to another student.

Once you respond, we will continue processing your application, and you may receive revised aid offer notice emails reflecting changes in your contribution and your aid offer. Review these revisions on MyUW and accept or reject any new aid that has been offered to you.

Remember, accepting our aid offer is not the same as accepting your admissions offer.

You must respond to any requests we make for certification statements, tax returns, or any other documentation needed to finalize your aid offer. Since we cannot disburse any funds until all required information is submitted and reviewed, please reply promptly to any requests from us.

Financial aid generally begins disbursing one week prior to the first day of the quarter.

There are some conditions and additional steps associated with financial aid disbursement. Visit the disbursement page to learn more about this process in detail.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of your education records.

As a general rule the University will not release your records to a third party without your written consent. To allow staff in Student Financial Aid to discuss the status of your financial aid offer with your parents, spouse, or another person, a release of information form must be completed. You can complete the form online.

Even with a permission to release information on file, we cannot release any Federal Tax Information from the student aid application.