Applying for Financial Aid

Beginning the financial aid process? It all starts with the FAFSA! 

Students, their families, or other FAFSA contributors will need a secure username, called an FSA ID, and a password to complete the FAFSA the first time they complete it. 

The FSA ID allows students and contributors to complete and sign the FAFSA electronically. Keep this information safe and accessible; it will be used each year the FAFSA is completed. The FAFSA is required each year a student attends Salem State and wants to receive financial aid.

Students will be considered for all federal, state, and institutional aid. The FAFSA is required to be considered for Salem State scholarships and many others.

Steps to Apply for Financial Aid

1. Create an account at studentaid.gov.
2. When completing the FAFSA, students and contributors must provide personal demographic and financial information, such as their federal income tax returns, W-2 forms, records of child support received, current balance of cash, savings and checking accounts, and net worth of investments, businesses, and farms.
3. List Salem State University in the School Information section so we may receive your FAFSA information. Salem State's Federal School Code is 002188.
4. Determine dependency status. The FAFSA asks a series of questions to determine whether a student is dependent or independent for purposes of applying for federal student aid. If a student is determined to be a dependent, they must report their parents' information along with their own information. For more information on reporting parents information, please visit studentaid.gov.
5. Provide consent and approval to have federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA. If a required contributor doesn't provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA form, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid—even if the contributor manually enters tax information into the FAFSA.
6. Complete, electronically sign, and submit the FAFSA.

Financial Aid Deadlines

The Massachusetts state deadline for the 2025-2026 aid year is May 1, 2025.

• Are you from another state? Check your state deadline.

Dependency Status

The information students enter on their FAFSA determines their dependency status. The Federal government has specific guidelines for determining whether a student is considered dependent or independent for financial aid purposes.

Please note that not living with parents, not being claimed on parents' tax forms, or parents' refusal to help pay for college does not make a student an independent student for purposes of applying for federal financial aid. If your parents are unwilling to provide their information on the FAFSA, please visit studentaid.gov for more details.

In certain situations, a student can submit their FAFSA without their parents' information if they have no contact with their parents for the unique circumstances:

• A student's parents are incarcerated
• A student left home due to an abusive family environment
• A student does not know where their parents are and is unable to contact them (and a student has not been adopted).
• A student is older than 21 but not yet 24, is unaccompanied, and is either homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.

When filling out the FAFSA, students will be asked whether they can provide information about their parents. If they cannot, they can indicate a unique circumstance that prevents them from doing so. Please be advised that students filing their FAFSA this way will be rejected and not loaded into Salem State's financial aid system.

Students who meet the above requirements may be eligible for a dependency override. They must submit several documents to document their situation. Please note that we do not grant dependency overrides based on financial independence.

A student living financially independent from their parents by choice, circumstances, employment, or geography does not constitute independence per Federal guidelines.

Need Help Filling Out the FAFSA?

On Studentaid.gov

• While in the online FAFSA form, select the white question mark icon next to a question to view a ToolTip that provides information about answering that question.
• Visit the FAFSA Help page, view trending FAFSA topics, browse FAQs, search for more information, or select Contact Us.
  • Once you select Contact Us, you can email your question or chat (in English or Spanish) with live technical support staff during business hours.

MassEdCo Educational Opportunity Center

Salem State has partnered with the MassEdCO Educational Opportunity Center to provide additional support to students and families needing assistance with the FAFSA process. The MassEdCo Educational Opportunity Center can assist with the following:

• Understanding the college application process and how to fill out an application
• Understanding the financial aid process and completing the FAFSA
• Deciding what to study and choosing an academic program that matches their career interests
• If applicable, transfer to Salem State and much more!

For additional information, please contact the North Shore Area Educational Opportunity Center in Lynn, Massachusetts. 

FAFSA Day

FAFSA Day is a non-profit, volunteer-driven program that provides free assistance to students and families who need help completing the FAFSA.

Financial aid professionals from colleges and organizations across Massachusetts are ready and available to answer questions and walk you and your family through the application process.

In addition, you can call MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority) on weekdays at (800) 449-6332 (9 am-5 pm) or email them at fafsaday@gmail.com.

What Happens After the FAFSA Is Submitted?

Check Your FAFSA Status

Students can check the status of their FAFSA by logging in to theirstudentaid.gov account and selecting their FAFSA submission from the "My Activity" section of their account dashboard.

If students submit a paper FAFSA, they can check its status after it has been processed (roughly 7–10 days from the date mailed).

The status of the application will be one of the following:

• Draft: A section of the FAFSA form is incomplete.
• In Progress: You provided your consent, approval, and signature to your section of the FAFSA form, but the FAFSA form has not been submitted yet.
• In Review: The FAFSA form was submitted but hasn't been processed yet.
• Action Required: You are missing your consent and approval or signature, or the FAFSA form was processed, but a correction is required.
• Processed: Your application was processed successfully. No further action is needed.
• Closed: Your FAFSA form was never submitted and can no longer be submitted because the federal FAFSA deadline has passed.

Review The FAFSA Submission Summary

The FAFSA Submission Summary is a summary of the data submitted to the FAFSA. Students receive their FAFSA Submission Summary after their FAFSA form is processed. Be sure to review the FAFSA Submission Summary carefully to ensure there are no mistakes on your FAFSA, and make corrections to your FAFSA data if necessary.

The FAFSA Submission Summary won't show how much financial aid a student will receive. Also, if consent and approval were provided to obtain the federal tax information from the IRS, the FAFSA Submission Summary won't show the details of a student's or parents' income and tax information.