Apply for Financial Aid (FAFSA)

Students who wish to receive consideration for financial aid funds (grants/loans/student employment, and many scholarship programs) must complete the financial aid application process every academic year. At Chicago State University (CSU) the academic year begins with the fall semester and ends with the summer semester. Whether you are an incoming or returning student (in an undergraduate, graduate or professional program), the application process is the same. The first step you must take is to complete a FAFSA (Free Application For Federal Student Aid).

You are encouraged to complete and submit a FAFSA on-line (link provided below). CSU’s Federal school code is 001694. You will need to enter this code on your FAFSA so that CSU will receive a copy of your application once it has been processed by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE).

Complete your FAFSA on-line

Be sure to fill in our USDE school code, 001694, when answering question #104 on the 2009-2010 FAFSA so that we are sent a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR).

The USDE provides worksheets to help you prepare to complete the FAFSA on-line. The worksheets are available in the lobby of the Office of Student Financial Aid and from other public institutions. You may download the worksheet, in PDF format,

by clicking here for the English version for the 2009-2010 FAFSA and/or

by clicking here for the Spanish version for the 2009-2010 FAFSA

Apply for a PIN

The fastest way to complete the FAFSA application process is to electronically sign your application on-line. You can do this if you have a PIN (Personal Identification Number) assigned by the U.S. Department of Education. All students (and parents of dependent students) should apply for a PIN. If you do not have a PIN you may, of course, print out a signature page from the FAFSA web site and mail it to the address indicated on that signature page.

Request a copy of a Federal Income Tax Form

You will, in most cases, need a copy of your Federal Income Tax Form (and your parents' forms too, if you are a dependent student) in order to complete your FAFSA. If you can’t locate this important document(s) youcan easily obtain the needed copy(s), free of charge, from the IRS.

The United State Department of Education (USDE) has changed its distribution policy effective with the 2008-2009 award year. It no longer provides paper FAFSAs to colleges, high schools and other public institutions. If you still desire to file a paper FAFSA you may obtain one by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. If you are hearing impaired, please contact the TTY line at 1-800-730-8913.

For further information concerning your FAFSA filing options you may consult the USDE FAFSA FILING OPTIONS web page

Once your FAFSA has been processed you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR). If you filed via the internet (and were able to sign your FAFSA with your USDE PIN) and you provided your e-mail address on the FAFSA you will be able to access your SAR via the Internet within two business days. If you filed a paper FAFSA, or via the internet without providing an e-mail address, you can expect to receive a printed copy of your SAR in approximately three weeks. Our office will receive an electronic copy of your SAR (provided you included our Federal school code) once processing is completed.

You should review your SAR thoroughly. If additional information is required, or you see that you made an error in any of the information you provided in your original filing, it is your obligation to provide the additional/correct information in order to complete the FAFSA process. Our office will receive electronic copies of any additions/corrections you make.

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