A guide to the 2025-2026 FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) should open on December 1, 2024. Below is a guide that will provide tips for completing it.

Please contact Washburn's Financial Aid Office if you have questions. We can be reached by phone at 785.670.1151 or or email at financialaid@washburn.edu.

Students smile and look at a computer screen.

When will the 2025-2026 FAFSA be available?

The U.S. Department of Education is currently testing the upcoming FAFSA to work out more of the issues experienced last year before opening to the general public. Due to this testing, the 2025-2026 FAFSA should be open by December 1, 2024.

Once open, you can complete your FAFSA at studentaid.gov.

When should I submit the 2025-2026 FAFSA?

The priority date is March 1, 2025. You will need to complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA to apply for aid for Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026. To ensure that you receive as much financial aid as possible for your eligibility, you will want to submit it by the priority date.

What if I need help completing my FAFSA?

Washburn University will offer drop-in FAFSA completion assistance in the Plass Computer Lab between 4 - 6 p.m. on the following dates:

  • December 4
  • December 10
  • December 12
  • December 18
  • February 12
  • February 18
  • February 27

You can also contact the Financial Aid Office to schedule a one-on-one appointment during regular business hours.

The U.S. Department of Education is aware that there continue to be ongoing issues with the FAFSA form that may carry over to 2025-2026. A list of known issues and their workarounds are available online.

What happens after I complete my FAFSA?

If you included the Federal School Code for either Washburn University (001949) or Washburn Tech (010689), the financial aid office should receive your application data within 3-5 business days after your FAFSA is fully submitted. Once received, you will be contacted if we need additional information from you to fully process your application to create a financial aid offer. You will be contacted again once your financial aid offer is available.

While waiting for your financial aid offer, you should also review and apply for other types of financial aid available.

Tips for completing your FAFSA

Each contributor to the FAFSA will need their own studentaid.gov account log in, also known as an FSA ID. You can create an account or log in on the Federal Student Aid website.

If you do not remember you user name or password and cannot retrieve it online, you will have to call Federal Student Aid for assistance at 800.433.3243 or do an online chat with them through their contact page.

  • Each student is a contributor to their own FAFSA.
  • For a married student, their spouse may be a contributor.
  • For a dependent student, at least one legal parent will be a contributor.
    • Students should use the FAFSA Parent Wizard to determine which parent(s) should be invited to provide their information on the FAFSA.
  • For questions such as "what is your current marital status" you will use current information.
  • For questions about your income and taxes, you will use 2023 information.
Contact the Washburn Financial Aid Office to discuss your situation and we'll provide guidance on filling out your FAFSA and information you may need to submit afterwards as well.

You can answer "Yes" to the question about Unsub Only, however you will only qualify for an Unsubsidized Loan and not be considered for Pell Grant or other need-based aid.

Contact the Washburn Financial Aid Office to find out more information about how this would impact you.

  • They should still be able to create an FSA ID and contribute to your FAFSA. There are still some issues with the FAFSA website and this process. Please contact our office if you have problems.
  • Your parent will not use their ITIN to create their FSA ID, however they will list it in the Financials section.
  • Your parent will have to manually enter their tax and income information for 2023 on the 2025-2026 FAFSA.

What other financial assistance is available at Washburn?

Financial incentives

Financial incentives can help make a Washburn education an incredibly affordable choice for students, whether they are from: 

Shawnee County
Northeast Kansas
Southwest Kansas
U.S. states outside of Kansas

Scholarships

You may be eligible for a variety of university, departmental and academic scholarships. First-time freshmen and transfer students alike are awarded GPA-based merit scholarships automatically, with awards totaling up to $20,000 for first-time freshmen and $12,000 for transfer students.

University scholarships

ScholarshipUniverse

Our new scholarship-matching tool, ScholarshipUniverse, is an excellent resource for easily matching up with the best external scholarship opportunities.

ScholarshipUniverse

GET IN TOUCH WITH Financial Aid

Financial Aid Office
1700 SW College Ave.
Topeka, KS 66621

Phone & Email
Ph: 785-670-1151
Fax: 785-670-1079
financialaid@washburn.edu

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