Financial Aid
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will now be available on October 1st of each year. All students should complete the FAFSA annually, ideally by the December 1 priority deadline. Many sources of scholarship aid awarded by the college will only consider students who have completed the FAFSA.
The priority deadline for submitting the FAFSA to most Montana schools is December 1st.
If you’re a senior or the parent/guardian of a senior and want to get a jump start on the financial aid process, you can create your FSA ID now. This ID is used for filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and you’ll use the same ID every year that you complete the FAFSA. Here are a few resources that provide a great overview for creating your ID and to the process of completing the FAFSA:
Need more help with the FAFSA? Â Text FAFSAHELP to 41411.
FAFSA is a part of the college planning process. Even if you don’t think you will qualify for grants, you should still apply. Colleges strongly encourage that you complete the FAFSA application so that they can put forth the best financial aid award letter. Often, scholarship applications will ask for the “EFC” (expected family contribution) which you won’t know until you complete the FAFSA application. You do not have to accept student loans. Those can always be declined.
Filling out the FAFSA requires a lot of information. You can download a copy of the FAFSA Checklist (seen below!) to keep track of all the information you will need.
