A male student sits smiling at the camera in a machinists workshop

What to Know About the 2022-23 FAFSA

Pima's Financial Aid Office is here to help you complete your FAFSA and apply for financial aid opportunities.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA, is now open for the 2022-23 school year.

Completing the FAFSA is an important first step to qualifying for financial aid, including grants, loans, work study and some scholarships.

Not sure how to get started on your FAFSA? Here are answers to common questions about the FAFSA to help you finish the application and receive financial aid that can help you pay for college.

What is the FAFSA?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form you need to complete to receive any financial aid from the federal government that can help pay for college. Every year, over 13 million students who have filed their FAFSA earn over $120 billion in grants, work-study and loans from the U.S. Department of Education.

You’ll need to submit a new FAFSA before each academic year that you want to receive aid. This means if you plan to apply for aid throughout your time at Pima, you’ll need to fill out the FAFSA each year you are at the College. It’s a good idea to use an active, permanent email address on the form, not your high school email, so you can access your FAFSA account throughout college.

There is both an online and print version of the FAFSA, and both options are free to complete. You don’t need to pay anyone to complete the form for you. Pima has financial aid advisors who are here to help you.

Why is it important to complete the FAFSA?

While you need to complete the FAFSA to earn federal financial aid, many scholarships and grants also require a completed FAFSA, even though they may not consider your family income when they award aid like the federal government does.

Check out our Types of Aid page for more information about what types of financial aid you can earn after completing the FAFSA, including work study, grants, loans and scholarships.

What information does the FAFSA ask for?

The FAFSA asks for information about you and your family’s finances, including tax returns, so it is a good idea to prepare this information before you start your form. All U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens can complete the FAFSA.

In general, you will need the following information to complete your FAFSA:

You and your parent or guardian’s (if applicable) FSA ID
You and your parent or guardian’s (if applicable) Social Security Number
Your driver's license number
Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
Your and your parent or guardian’s (if applicable) 2020 federal tax information such as the IRS 1040, W-2, foreign tax returns, etc.
Records of untaxed income such as child support, interest income or veteran non-education benefits, etc.
Information on cash, savings, checking, investments and business and farm assets

If you have questions about what information you’ll need to complete your FAFSA, contact Pima’s Financial Aid Office.

Undocumented students and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are not eligible to receive federal or Arizona state-based aid. However, there are financial support opportunities open to you, including scholarships.

Pima’s Immigrant and Refugee Resource Center and the Financial Aid Office can answer your questions and help connect you with scholarship opportunities and resources like Scholarships AZ, a local Tucson organization committed to helping undocumented and immigrant youth access higher education.

How can Pima help me fill out my FAFSA?

If you have questions about filling out the form, Pima offers FAFSA support events to help you and your family complete the form and answer your questions.

At Pima’s FAFSA support events, financial aid advisors will be available to help you and your family members complete the FAFSA.

Our upcoming FAFSA events are:

Saturday, October 23, 2021
Downtown Campus Library [map]
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Register for this in-person event.

Friday, November 5, 2021
Desert Vista Campus Library [map]
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Register for this in-person event.

If you need financial aid support throughout the year, you can contact our Financial Aid Office to learn more about events and aid or scholarship opportunities.

A lot of financial aid is distributed on a first come, first served basis! The priority deadline to receive financial aid at Pima is November 22.

We recommend you complete your FAFSA as soon as possible to take advantage of all the financial aid opportunities that are available to you.

Explore Financial Aid at Pima

Pima has a variety of financial aid and scholarship resources to help you afford your education. In fact, 70% of Pima students receive some form of financial aid to cover their cost of attendance.

To help you access all the financial aid resources Pima has to offer, we’ve compiled a list of tips and resources to connect you with financial aid opportunities that will help you successfully complete your Pima education.