The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is filled out by college students in the United States every year which determines whether students are eligible for financial aid.
The 2025-2026 FAFSA form is open for application and closes March 3.
“A lot of students have a misconception that they think that FAFSA gives them money,” said Financial Aid Supervisor Angela Brady. “It’s just a form that determines eligibility for federal funds, for the FAFSA, and then for CADAA, it determines eligibility for state grants.”
The CADDA, or the California Dream Act, lets undocumented students in the state of California apply for financial aid.
FAFSA requires students to provide information regarding their taxes, bank statements and bank records as well as their social security number or driver’s license number.
To be eligible for FAFSA, students must be U.S. citizens, have a high school diploma or GED, have a social security number and be enrolled or accepted for enrollment to a college or university, according to the FAFSA website.
“FAFSA is definitely difficult for students like me, especially because my parents are immigrants,” said Elida Vazquez, a 23-year-old biology major. “They don’t really have the proper documents or any experience with the United States’ financial systems that the application requires. It is really frustrating to navigate.”
Cosumnes River College has informative resources and tools to help with students regarding financial aid and FAFSA on their website.
Some students find freshman orientation confusing and don’t know how to go about obtaining FAFSA.
Israel Sirak, a 17-year-old biology major, said, “Maybe in the orientation, when signing up for CRC, they can get a little more into depth of what FAFSA is and how to actually go about getting it.”
Anthony Anderson, a 24-year-old pre-health occupation major, shared his thoughts about the difficulties of filling out the FAFSA application.
“I think a lot of students like myself get very overwhelmed with trying to figure out what type of financial aid works for them,” Anderson said.
Students are qualified to receive other types of aid such as grants and loans by just filling out the FAFSA, Brady said.
“All students are eligible to receive certain amounts of funds based on units they were enrolled in. So there might be other benefits to filling out that form,” Brady said.
The financial aid office is open to students Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. as well as the option to set up a virtual appointment via zoom. The school also offers FAFSA/CADAA application help on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.