FAFSA Information

The FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is a free application that determines your eligibility and considers you for Federal Aid like the Pell Grant, Student Loans, and Work Study, and can determine eligibility for some types of state and institutional aid. You must complete the FAFSA each year you wish to receive federal aid.

Please review the “FAFSA Tips” information below. If this is not your first time completing the FAFSA, or if you are just curious, please scroll down to the “What’s New” section so you are aware of changes and what to expect.

FAFSA Tips

Before You Start:

You, and anyone whose information needs to be included on your FAFSA (parent or spouse if applicable) will need to set up a Username and Password. If you don’t already have one, you can set one up here.
Complete the FAFSA
*If it is not free, it is not FAFSA*
The FAFSA “Year” you need to complete depends on your school. For WNCC, the Fall matches the first year listed for the FAFSA, and the Spring and Summer match the second year listed. For example, the 2024-2025 FAFSA covers Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025 for WNCC.
When you get to the “School” section, don’t forget to add WNCC! Our school code is 002560.

Additional Tips:

If you need help completing the FAFSA, we have some great local resources:
- AIM Educational Opportunity Center at 308.633.0104
- EducationQuest at 308.708.7199 *there is an office at our Scottsbluff Campus!
More great FAQs can be found here.
If you are an active member of the military or a veteran, please refer to our FAFSA Guide for Veterans and Active Duty Military.
The WNCC Financial Aid Office has established special appeal procedures to allow for adjustments to a student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) when the student has experienced special or unusual circumstances. Please review our Unusual/Special Circumstances page for more information. You will receive an email about this after we receive your FAFSA.

*Sometimes we need additional information after you submit your FAFSA. If necessary, we will notify you via WNCC email. If your FAFSA is selected for verification – a process of confirming your information or information entered on the FAFSA - you will also be contacted by Inceptia.

What is new?

The FAFSA will be shorter and more user friendly

The number of questions is being reduced from 108 to 46. The web version of the FAFSA is dynamic, meaning not all questions are necessary for all students. This should make the application less confusing and more accurate by only asking questions that pertain to you.

More language options

The Student Aid Index (SAI) replaces expected family contribution (EFC)

New in 2024-2025 is the term Student Aid Index (SAI). This replaces the misnomer Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with a more accurate description of the output index number calculated by the FAFSA. Schools will use the SAI similarly to how the EFC was used in determining need-based financial aid. If you see older publications referencing the EFC, this is replaced by the SAI.

Everyone on the FAFSA is called a "contributor" and must login with their own FSA ID

New in 2024-2025 is the term “contributor.” A contributor is anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s form. The answers on the FAFSA will determine which contributors (if any) are required to provide information. It is important to note that the contributor is only “contributing” information to the FAFSA. It does not mean they will be financially contributing to the student’s education costs.

Contributors will be “invited” to complete the application by the individual that starts the FAFSA through email. Each contributor will login to the FAFSA using their unique FSA ID. For married parents who filed their 2022 taxes jointly, only one parent will sign the FAFSA (this is how it is now). If a parent is married, but filed any other way in 2022 other than joint, each spouse is a contributor and will need to login to the FAFSA with their own FSA ID. The purpose of this is so each taxpayer consents to the use of their Federal Tax Information.

Parents without a social security number should create an FSA ID

Parents who do not have a Social Security Number will now be able to get a login to studentaid.gov to electronically sign the FAFSA.

The parent will set up a user account by entering their mailing address, their email address (email addresses cannot be shared between user accounts), and a US phone number. The information will be compared to credit information to verify identity, but no credit data will be shared between the credit bureau and FAFSA. Identifying questions will be presented to the user to validate their identity. Once this is done, the user account is active.

If the parent is unable to validate their identity through the credit questions, they will be instructed to call the help center where other information will be used to create their account. Parents will want to make this call as soon as possible to get their login created so they can complete the FAFSA.

All contributors will use the IRS direct data exchange

One primary goal of the new FAFSA application is to use tax information already on file with the IRS. To complete the FAFSA, all contributors must provide consent for the Department of Education to receive tax information or confirmation of non-filing status directly from the IRS. There will be some limited cases where an individual may have to enter their tax information manually. This will drastically reduce the number of data-entry errors and the need for students and parents to provide tax documentation to schools for verification.

Which parent is on the FAFSA?

The FAFSA uses the following questions to help students decide who they should consider as parents when filling out the FAFSA. It is no longer based on the parent the student lives with.

Are the student’s legal (biological or adoptive) parents married?

If yes, provide information about both parents.
If no, go to question 2.

Do the student’s legal (biological or adoptive) parents live together?

If yes, provide information about both parents.
If no, go to question 3.

Did one parent provide more financial support than the other over the last 12 months?

If yes, provide information about the parent who provided the most financial support over the past 12 months, and if the parent has remarried, give information about the stepparent as well.
If no, provide information about the parent who has greater income and assets, and if the parent has remarried, give information about the stepparent as well.

Assets will now include small businesses and family farms

Beginning in 2024-2025, the net worth of all businesses and farms are included as assets of the family. Previously, small businesses with less than 100 employees were excluded from assets. Farms where the family lived on the farm used to be excluded as well. The primary residence should be excluded from the value of the farm.