Financial Aid Application Process

Applying for financial aid can seem complicated. Our financial aid experts will help you along the way!

You must reapply annually for grants, loans or work-study jobs and continue to meet eligibility requirements like Satisfactory Academic Progress. Scholarships have a separate application process.

Undocumented and transgender students are eligible to complete the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid.

By submitting an application, students may receive MAP grants to help pay for their college education.

1. Complete New Student Application

2. Send transcripts

3. Create a StudentAid.gov Account (FSA ID)

Every contributor—anyone (you, your spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or your parent's spouse) who's required to provide information on the FAFSA form—needs a StudentAid.gov account before accessing and completing their section of the online form. We strongly recommend you and your contributor(s) create StudentAid.gov accounts before starting your FAFSA form. When you create your account, be careful to enter your name and Social Security number (SSN) exactly as they appear on your Social Security card. Contributors can access their StudentAid.gov account by using their FSA ID (account username and password).

Note: Contributors without an SSN can create a StudentAid.gov account to fill out their portion of your FAFSA form online.

To start the online FAFSA form, select “Start New Form.” You’ll be taken to the “Log In” page to enter your account username and password. After logging in, you’ll be given the option to select your applicable role to fill out the FAFSA form: “Student” or “Parent.” You (the student) should select “Student.” If a parent wants to start their dependent child’s FAFSA form, they should select the “Parent” option.

Gathering Needed Documents

You might need the following information or documents as you fill out the FAFSA form:

Your parents’ SSNs if they have SSNs and you're a dependent student

Tax returns

Records of child support received

Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts

Net worth of investments, businesses, and farms

4. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at studentaid.gov for the appropriate year. Include the Waubonsee school code, 006931, to have the results sent to Waubonsee's Financial Aid Office. Once your FAFSA results are received, you need to allow time for the submission and review of any other documents that may be required before you can be awarded. Accepting the award will allow you to register without making a payment. You must reapply annually, but after the first application year, you will be able to submit a renewal application for subsequent years.

The FAFSA can still be completed and submitted for the 2025-2026 academic year that starts with the fall 2025 semester.

The new 2026-2027 FAFSA opened late September 2025. The priority filing date for the 2026-2027 FAFSA is March 1, 2026.

Beginning with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, filers can automatically transfer their tax information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The Financial Aid Direct Data Exchange will transfer contributors' federal tax information from the IRS directly into your FAFSA form. All contributors must provide consent and approval to:

disclose their personally identifiable information provided on the FAFSA form to the IRS for matching purposes;

obtain their federal tax information from the IRS via direct data exchange;

allow the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to use their federal tax information to determine the student's eligibility and amount of federal student aid;

allow ED to share their federal tax information with colleges, career/trade schools, and state higher education agencies for use in awarding and administering financial aid; and

allow ED to reuse their federal tax information on another FAFSA applicant's form (e.g., if a parent has multiple dependent students or a parent's own FAFSA form).

NOTE: Even if contributors don't have an SSN, didn't file taxes, or filed taxes outside of the U.S., they will still need to provide consent and approval.

IMPORTANT: If a required contributor doesn't provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA form, you (the student) will not be eligible for federal student aid—even if the contributor manually enters tax information into the FAFSA form.

5. Review FAFSA Submission Summary

6. Missing Requirements

Emails from Waubonsee's Financial Aid Office will inform you about missing requirements needed to complete your application. Missing requirements can be found in Self-Service via mywcc, the Waubonsee portal, and can include federal income tax transcripts or proof of non-filing from the IRS and a verification worksheet. Missing requirements must be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the end of the term for which the student wants to receive financial aid. Failure to submit these requirements will result in no federal or state financial aid being awarded.

7. Accept Terms and Conditions

When you receive your Award Notification email, follow the instructions to accept your Terms and Conditions in mywcc and decide if you will accept or decline any loans that are offered. If you accept loan funds and have not previously done so, you will be required to complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note, both on studentaid.gov. These steps require you to create an account.

How can you prepare to submit the FAFSA?

Email Account

If you or your parents do not have an email account established, you should create one. There are no requirements or recommendations on which email domain to use. Once created, save your email address and password in a safe place so you are able to regularly check for important communications from Federal Student Aid. All contributors will need to add an email address for their StudentAid.gov account creation. Note that applicants and students should have an email account other than their school issued email account.

StudentAid.gov Account

FSA ID

Scholarships

Financial Aid Estimator

Financial Aid Videos

Need more help?

For more questions about the FAFSA process, visit StudentAid.gov.

Contact us for assistance

For help completing the FAFSA application or any portion of the financial aid process, please schedule a College Funding Appointment!

Resources

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