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Editor’s Note: The new, simplified FAFSA form for the 2024-2025 academic year is available, although applicants are reporting a number of glitches. Try not to worry, take your time, and aim to submit your application as soon as possible.

Students who are enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school, are a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, and meet other requirements can receive financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®).

According to Education Data Initiative, the average cost for undergraduate students attending a four-year private nonprofit institution is $38,768 in tuition and fees per year. For students attending in-state public four year institutions, the average is $9,678 in tuition alone. Living on campus bumps these numbers up to $55,840 and $26,027 per year, respectively.

If you can’t afford to pay for this cost out-of pocket, understanding the FAFSA requirements can help you possibly fund this worthwhile expense.

What Is FAFSA?

The FAFSA is the official application form to request financial aid for higher education from the U.S. government. It determines whether undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to receive federal grants, work-study, and federal student loans. Federal aid can only be used toward qualifying college expenses.

It’s also often used by states and schools to see if you’re eligible for its student aid programs. Some private entities might also use it to determine your eligibility for their own financial aid programs.

Recommended: What Costs Does a Student Loan Cover?

How FAFSA Works

Students must complete the FAFSA before each college year. Applications must be received by the June 30 deadline. However, you can begin submitting your FAFSA for the following school year starting on October 1 (for the 2024-25 FAFSA, the FAFSA will be available in December 2023), and states and colleges often have earlier deadlines for state- and school-sponsored aid.

Some federal aid is granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Many of the aid programs are based on need, though some — like Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans and Direct PLUS Loans — are not.

To start, you’ll have to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID online. If you’re a dependent student, one of your parents also needs to create their own FSA ID. While filling out the FAFSA, you may need to reference or submit supporting documentation, such as your Social Security number, bank account statements and tax return details, and possibly a parent’s financial paperwork, too.

After submitting the FAFSA, you’ll receive a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is an overview of the information you included on your FAFSA. Once your FAFSA is processed, you’ll receive a financial aid offer from your school. It will outline the types of federal student aid you’re eligible for, the amounts, and instructions on how to accept the award offer.

After you’ve selected the financial aid options you want to accept, the funds will be sent directly to your school. Then, your school will apply the funds to your unpaid account balance.

The FAFSA may also be used to apply for financial aid for summer classes.

Recommended: 2024-2025 FAFSA Changes, Explained

FAFSA Requirements

FAFSA qualifications include academic and financial criteria. Although some federal aid programs, like the federal Pell Grant, require you to demonstrate financial need, you might still qualify for other federal aid options if you meet the remaining FAFSA eligibility requirements.

Education Requirements

The level of education you’ve completed must meet the minimum requirements to qualify for a college or career school program. This includes a high school diploma or General Education Development certificate from a state-approved school or setting.

Citizenship or Residency and Social Security Number

Another of the FAFSA eligibility requirements is that students must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. National with an active Social Security number.

Eligible non-citizen students might still be eligible for federal aid if they have:

•   A permanent resident Green Card (Form 1-551, I-151, or I-551C)

•   An arrival-departure record (I-94)

•   A T-VISA

•   Battered Immigrant Status

Be Enrolled or Accepted

Students must also be enrolled as a regular student at a degree- or certificate-granting school. To meet FAFSA qualifications for a Direct student loan, you must be enrolled at least half-time.

Maintain Satisfactory Academic Performance

Returning students who are applying for federal financial aid must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

Each school determines its own SAP criteria, which includes minimum GPA, minimum passing grades for courses, number of required course credits or hours, and the timeline it deems necessary to advance toward a degree or certificate.

Age and Dependency Status

Your dependency status determines whose information you’ll need to include on your FAFSA. Dependent students are required to provide their parents’ financial information on their FAFSA while independent students might not need to.

Generally, you’re considered an independent student if at least one of the following applies to you:

•   For the school year you’re applying for aid, you’ll be 24 years old by January 1.

•   You’re married or separated (but not divorced).

•   You’re a graduate-level student.

•   You have children and provide more than half of their support.

•   You have other dependents in your household whom you provide more than half of their support.

•   You’re in the U.S. armed forces and on active duty (non-training).

•   You’re a U.S. armed forces veteran.

•   Since turning age 13, your parents were deceased, you were in foster care or a ward or dependent of the court.

•   You’re an emancipated minor or are in a legal guardianship.

•   You’re an unaccompanied homeless or self-supporting youth at risk of homelessness.

Income Limits

A common misconception is that students or their parents must earn below a certain income to meet FAFSA eligibility requirements. However, there is not a FAFSA income limit for student applicants and their families.

Required Documents to Submit FAFSA

Although you won’t need to submit copies of additional documents with your FAFSA, you’ll need to refer to certain documents to complete your application. It may also be helpful to keep these documents on file in case your school requests to see them.

Social Security Number

You’ll need your Social Security number to include on your FAFSA form. If you’re a dependent, the form also asks for your parents’ Social Security number. If they don’t have one, enter all zeros without dashes.

W-2s and Untaxed Income Records

A main FAFSA requirement to successfully complete the application is reporting your income, and your parents’ income, if applicable. Make sure to reference all W-2s and untaxed income documentation, like interest income, child support, or other noneducation benefits.

If you are a dependent student, you’ll need to provide information from both yours and your parent’s W-2.

Tax Returns

You’ll need to reference your most current tax return information as well as your parents’ tax returns if you’re a dependent student. If you’ve already filed your tax return for the year, you might be eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer your tax information into the FAFSA.

Asset Records

You’ll also need to include your and your parents’ deposit account balances, like checking and savings, on your FAFSA. Similarly, investments, like stocks, bonds, and real estate that isn’t your primary home, must be included on your FAFSA form.

Alternatives to Federal Aid

Outside of the FAFSA application, there are other avenues to secure funds to pay for your higher education.

Savings

Consider tapping into existing savings, if your financial aid award comes up short. Doing so might help you avoid taking on more student loan debt.

There are certain accounts such as 529 savings plans that are designed to help parents and families save for their child’s education.

Grants

Research non-federal grants from your state, school, nonprofit, or other private organization. These funds don’t need to be repaid.

Scholarships

Scholarships are another aid source that doesn’t need to be repaid after leaving school. Find state-, school-, or private-sponsored scholarships to find more cash. There are online databases such as Scholarships.com that aggregate information on available scholarships. Take a look to review eligibility criteria and application requirements.

Part-Time Work

If you can manage balancing schoolwork with a part-time job, earning an income while enrolled in school can help you pay your way through your education.

Private Student Loans

Private student loans are available through private lenders, like banks, credit unions, and online institutions. These loans come with varying terms and interest rates, and can help cover the gap between your cost of attendance and existing financial aid.

When comparing private student loans and federal student loans, know that private lenders aren’t required to offer the same benefits or protections as federal student loans. As a result, private student loans are generally considered an option only after other sources of financing have been exhausted.

The Takeaway

Regardless of your or your family’s income, it’s generally worth submitting an application if you meet the FAFSA requirements. Since it’s a free application, there’s nothing to lose and much to gain if you’re eligible for aid, including scholarships and grants that don’t need to be repaid.

If you still need financial aid after submitting your FAFSA and searching for scholarships, consider a SoFi private student loan. It’s a zero fee loan option that offers competitive rates for qualifying borrowers.

Get pre-qualified in just a few minutes.

FAQ

How much or little income do you need to qualify for aid through FAFSA?

There are no income requirements for FAFSA applicants. Instead, a variety of factors determine whether a student is eligible for federal aid, including the school’s cost of attendance, the student’s year in school, their dependency status, family size, and more.

What is the maximum amount of money FAFSA gives?

The maximum amount of aid you can receive through the FAFSA depends on which federal aid programs you qualify for. Different programs have varying limits.

For example, the maximum Pell Grant award changes annually; for the 2022-23 award year the limit is $6,895. Direct Loans also have their own annual and aggregate borrowing limits.

How does parent income affect FAFSA aid?

Parent income that’s reported on a student’s FAFSA is used to calculate the applicant’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is a number on an index that helps schools determine your financial need if you attend its school. It also identifies your eligibility for certain financial aid programs like the Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loans.

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SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

SoFi Private Student Loans
Please borrow responsibly. SoFi Private Student Loans are not a substitute for federal loans, grants, and work-study programs. You should exhaust all your federal student aid options before you consider any private loans, including ours. Read our FAQs. SoFi Private Student Loans are subject to program terms and restrictions, and applicants must meet SoFi’s eligibility and underwriting requirements. See SoFi.com/eligibility-criteria for more information. To view payment examples, click here. SoFi reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at any time. This information is subject to change.

External Websites: The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third-party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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Making student loan payments with a credit card can be tempting. After all, if your credit card offers you rewards like points or miles, by putting your student loan payments on your card, you could be cashing in on points and scoring a free flight to Vegas, right?

On the flip side, you might be looking for a way to make your monthly student loan payment during a month when your checking account isn’t quite as full as you’d like.

So is it even possible to pay down your student loans with a credit card? The short answer is that it’s not possible to do so on federal student loans, though there may be ways to do so on some private student loans.

Can I Make a Student Loan Payment With My Credit Card?

Federal student loan servicers, as a rule, do not allow credit card payments directly. In order to pay student loans with a credit card, payments have to go through a third-party platform for a fee – which would usually negate any points you might have earned from using your card to pay off your loans. And if you’re keeping a balance rather than paying off your credit card bill immediately, you’ll have to contend with high credit card interest rates.

You may be able to pay off a private student loan with a credit card. To find out if student loan payment with your credit card is an option, consider calling your student loan servicer to find out. Some allow credit card payments in certain situations, such as if it’s the last day before your payment becomes overdue.


💡 Quick Tip: Enjoy no hidden fees and special member benefits when you refinance student loans with SoFi.

Is Using a Credit Card to Pay on a Student Loan a Good Idea?

Even if your student loan servicer accepts credit card payments, the practice could have downsides.

As previously mentioned, there may be additional fees to use a credit card to pay student loans. Paying additional fees could offset the benefit of earning any additional points or miles on your credit card.

Another factor is that credit card interest rates are generally higher than your student loans. If you’re unable to make monthly payments in full on your credit card, you might end up paying significantly more interest by using your credit card instead of a modest interest often associated with student loans. Simply put, making a student loan payment on a credit card, especially a high yield one, can cost you much more.

So while racking up those credit card points can seem enticing, they might not be such a great deal if you’re paying more on your student loans in the long run.

How Paying Student Loans With a Credit Card Can Affect Your Credit

You might want to also consider your credit score. Your credit usage makes up 30% of your FICO® score. Typically, you don’t want to use more than a third of the credit available to you. If you put a large student loan payment on your credit card, you might use a bigger chunk of your available credit, which could potentially bring down your credit score.

If you’re unable to keep up with your student loan or credit card payments, you could end up with both student loan and credit card debt.

Both the mix of credit and length of credit history are two factors that inform your credit score. Paying off your student loans may result in a temporary dip in your credit score because you have closed the loan.

Is There a Better Way to Manage Student Loan Debt?

If you feel like you’re going to fall behind on student loan payments, using a credit card isn’t your only option.

Income-Driven Repayment Plans

If you’re experiencing long-term financial difficulty, federal student loan borrowers may consider switching to an income-driven repayment plan (IDR). These plans are based on your discretionary income, are intended to make payments more affordable, and have terms that allow for loan forgiveness after a set amount of years. Here are the four IDR with their respective payment terms:

•   Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan: Borrowers typically pay 10 % of their discretionary income but not more than the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan. Remaining balances are forgiven after 20 years of payment with this plan.

•   Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan: Borrowers typically pay 10 % of their discretionary income over the course of 20 years for loans for undergraduate study or 25 years for graduate or professional school loans. However, the repayment period can be as little as 10 years for undergraduate borrowers with balances under $12,000. And the minimum payment will fall to 5% of discretionary income starting in July 2024.

•   Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan: Student loan holders typically pay 10 % or 15% of their discretionary income but not more than the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan. After 20 or 25 years, depending on when the loan was first received, any remaining balance will be forgiven.

•   Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan: As a new borrower, student loan holders typically pay the lesser of these two: 20% of their discretionary income or a fixed payment over the course of 12 years. Any remaining balance will be forgiven after 25 years with this plan.

Consolidating Student Loans

A Direct Consolidation Loan could lower your monthly payment by giving you up to 30 years to repay your federal student loans.

If you’re not able to make your monthly payments, you could ask your loan servicer about forbearance or deferment, both of which pause payments until your financial situation improves. Student loan borrowers with both federal and private loans can consolidate their loans via private student loan refinancing. It’s important to note that consolidating the federal loans will release the borrower from federal loan forgiveness programs.

Refinancing Student Loans

You could also consider refinancing your student loans with a private lender. Refinancing combines existing student loans into a new loan, one ideally with a lower interest rate and a more favorable loan term, which may mean lower, more affordable monthly payments. (Note: You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.) To determine your interest rate, private lenders will generally conduct a credit check, evaluate your credit score, and income among other factors.

Recommended: 7 Tips to Lower Your Student Loan Payment

The Takeaway

Can you pay student loans with a credit card? In short, it’s possible, but may require the use of a third-party app or paying additional fees to the lender. These fees can outweigh the benefits of earned credit card points or miles. If you’re using a credit card because you’re struggling to make monthly payments on your student loan, you’re probably better off refinancing or using an income-driven repayment plan.

Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.

With SoFi, refinancing is fast, easy, and all online. We offer competitive fixed and variable rates.

FAQ

Can I pay student loans with a debit card?

Generally, paying student loans with a debit card is not permitted. It may be possible, but there may be fees associated. For the most part, student loan servicers prefer payments made electronically from your bank account. Most lenders will allow borrowers to enroll in automatic payments, where the loan payment is automatically debited from the checking account each month.

Can you pay off student loans all at once?

It is possible to make a lump sum payment to pay off all of your loans at once. Your lender should be able to provide a payoff quote if you are interested in this option.

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SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

SoFi Private Student Loans
Please borrow responsibly. SoFi Private Student Loans are not a substitute for federal loans, grants, and work-study programs. You should exhaust all your federal student aid options before you consider any private loans, including ours. Read our FAQs. SoFi Private Student Loans are subject to program terms and restrictions, and applicants must meet SoFi’s eligibility and underwriting requirements. See SoFi.com/eligibility-criteria for more information. To view payment examples, click here. SoFi reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at any time. This information is subject to change.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

SoFi Student Loan Refinance
If you are a federal student loan borrower, you should consider all of your repayment opportunities including the opportunity to refinance your student loan debt at a lower APR or to extend your term to achieve a lower monthly payment. Please note that once you refinance federal student loans you will no longer be eligible for current or future flexible payment options available to federal loan borrowers, including but not limited to income-based repayment plans or extended repayment plans.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Disclaimer: Many factors affect your credit scores and the interest rates you may receive. SoFi is not a Credit Repair Organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. SoFi does not provide “credit repair” services or advice or assistance regarding “rebuilding” or “improving” your credit record, credit history, or credit rating. For details, see the FTC’s website .

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