Applying for Financial Aid

• To apply for federal student aid, you need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually.
• Idaho State University’s school code is 001620.

When do I fill out the FAFSA for Federal Student Aid

2024-2025 academic year - You can apply between December 31, 2023 and June 30, 2025; however, there are a few federal student aid programs that have limited funds, so be sure to apply as soon as you can. The suggested early processing date for these funds is March 1, 2024. You have to fill out the FAFSA every year you're in school to be eligible for federal student aid.

2025-2026 academic year - You can apply between December1, 2024 and June 30, 2026; however, there are a few federal student aid programs that have limited funds, so be sure to apply as soon as you can. The suggested early processing date for these funds is March 1, 2025. You have to fill out the FAFSA every year you're in school to be eligible for federal student aid.

2024-2025 academic year - You can apply between December 31, 2023 and June 30, 2025

• Use your 2022 tax year information for the 2024-2025 FAFSA

2025-2026 academic year - You can apply between December 1, 2024 and June 30, 2026

• Use your 2023 tax year information for the 2025-2026 FAFSA

The early availability of the application means students (and parents, as appropriate) will need to report income information from an earlier tax year.

We strongly encourage you to use the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Retrieval Tool when completing your FAFSA.

Additional information is available for:

• Summer Financial Aid 
• Dependency Status 
• Graduate Students 

Create new "FSA ID"

You need to create a FSA ID to complete your FAFSA.

FSA ID is a username and password combination. The FSA ID has replaced the Federal Student Aid PIN and must be used to log in to certain U.S. Department of Education websites.

If your FSA ID is locked or you have forgotten your username or password, FSA ID retrieval methods  are available.

You can watch the video below or view our pdf for more information about creating your FSA ID.

What happens after I fill out the FAFSA?

Submitting your FAFSA isn't the last step.

Your financial aid application will not be considered complete until ALL of the required forms have been received. You can check your financial aid application status online. Label all forms and documents with your name and Bengal ID number.

Once you have applied, your FAFSA has to be processed, then you will get an Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which we use to figure out how much aid you can get.

Learn more about how Financial Aid works

You can also check out the FAFSA4caster, an estimator for student aid. The FAFSA4caster is not the actual FAFSA.

You can get FAFSA HELP from the Federal Student Aid Information Center Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10p.m. by calling (800) 433-3243

Please note: Idaho State University Financial Aid Office is a paperless office.

All documents sent to our office will be scanned into our document imaging serve. During peak periods, it can take a week for the information to show as received. Please allow time for information to arrive by mail and a week for scanning when checking your application status.

The information you view in MyISU is the same information viewable to the Financial Aid Office.