How to Apply for Aid

The following steps can be used when applying for federal, state or private funding. Contact the Office of Financial Aid if more information is needed.

Determine Your Dependency Status

The FAFSA asks a series of questions that determine whether you are a dependent or independent student for purposes of federal student aid. If you are a dependent student, you must report parent information, as well as your own information, on your FAFSA.

To find out who counts as your parent, what to do if you don’t live with your parents, and what to do if you don’t have access to your parents’ financial information, click here for more information.

If you’re curious, you can find out now whether you’re a dependent student.

What You'll Need

The FAFSA asks for demographic information such as your name, date of birth, address, and about your financial situation. Depending on your circumstances, you might need the following information or documents as you fill out the FAFSA:

  • Student FSA ID- username and password used to log into Federal Student Aid sites
  • Parent FSA ID (dependent students)- username and password used to log into Federal Student Aid sites, at least one parent must have an ID
  • Your Social Security number- it’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA!
  • Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student
  • Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
  • Federal tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you, your spouse if you are married, and for your parents if you are a dependent student:
    • IRS 1040
    • Foreign tax return and/or
    • Tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau
  • Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans non education benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student
  • Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate but not including the home in which you live; and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student

Keep these records! You may need them again.

Federal Verification

If your FAFSA gets selected for Federal verification, our office will require additional information to be submitted directly to us such as:

  • a signed Verification Worksheet
  • Federal W2s for student, student's spouse if married, and dependent student's parents
  • Federal Tax Information

For more information on the verification process, visit our Verification Page

Applying for TAP (New York State Residents Only)

SUNY Morrisville’s TAP Codes:

3030 - Associate

6030 - Bachelor

Complete a FAFSA before TAP. You will have the option at the end of the FAFSA to go directly into the state application. If you do not complete your TAP application when you get this link, you must wait 3-4 business days for Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) to receive and process your completed FAFSA. The TAP application is available at www.tap.hesc.ny.gov/totw.

Alternative and Private Loans

An alternative loan (private loan) is a loan a student or parent may take from a bank or lender of their choice to help the student meet their educational expenses. Generally, students will require a credit worthy co-signer for this loan. Visit choice.fastproducts.org/FastChoice/home/285900/1 to view a list of lenders student have tried in the past with success.

Canadian Financial Aid

The following Financial Aid programs are available to Canadian students who are studying in the United States:

Your Next Steps

SUNY Morrisville will have access to your completed FAFSA within 4-5 business days. Newly accepted students are “packaged” with their financial aid awards on an ongoing basis beginning mid-November. Continuing students are “packaged” on an ongoing basis beginning mid-June. All students will receive an email notifying them that their financial aid award information is available in Web for Students.