Apply for Financial Aid

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Federal and State Applications Checklist

1. Complete the FAFSA or WASFA online

FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) by email if you provide an email address. Please review this report for any processing problems.

WASFA is the Washington Application for State Financial Aid. This state financial aid application is specifically for students who are not eligible to complete the FAFSA due to immigration status, defaulted federal loans or other issues with federal aid.

Both applications are available on October 1 of each year and must be completed each year. Current students apply must apply by November 30th every year to be considered for state and institutional aid.  The new student deadline is January 31st.

2. Complete other requirements

If you are selected for verification (a routine review of your FAFSA), you will be notified by email. You will need to complete one or more verification forms and submit copies of your federal taxes (if you filed.) Once verification is complete, we will submit any necessary FAFSA corrections before awarding you. If you are eligible for the aid you requested, we will send you a financial aid offer notice by email.

3. Review and accept your awards

Once you have gone through the awarding process, you will receive a financial aid notice in myWSU. You will need to log in and review the types of aid you are eligible for and then let us know which awards you will accept and accept your aid.

Once you have been awarded aid, you must maintain your eligibility by making satisfactory academic progress. Be sure to contact a financial aid officer before dropping a class or cancelling your enrollment.

Cost breakdown

When budgeting your funds for college, you must consider both mandatory costs and other estimated costs.

  • Mandatory costs are those that must be paid to WSU to attend (i.e. tuition and fees).
  • Other estimated costs are things such as living expenses, transportation, books, etc.

Financial aid awards cannot exceed the total cost of attendance (and in many cases will be less than that). If you have additional educational expenses or budget concerns that may change the amount of aid you’ve been offered, you may be eligible for a revision request or special circumstances appeal.

Know the cost of attendance…