The FAFSA, Free Application For Federal Student Aid, is a free financial application for students across the country. It covers schooling funds and sets them up for scholarships like the Thrives, Promise and the Advantage. The form is sent out annually and is currently listed as the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The priority date for this form and the 2026-2027 version is March 1.
“If you miss the deadline, you can still fill it out. And that’s why we actually called it a priority date, not a deadline.” said Ginger McBride, financial aid advisor and assistant director of financial aid.
The FAFSA helps students recover loans and grants based on funds they’ve gotten from their personal taxes and their parents’ income. Washburn University has held multiple FAFSA workshops throughout Oct. 9-28, 4-5:30 p.m. in the Plass computer lab.
These events are helpful for students because it serves as a chance to help them fill out the FAFSA and lets the financial aid department help answer questions students may have. It’s important to fill out your FAFSA so you can collect potential money and awards you could receive and scholarship opportunities you may only be aware of by filling out the form.
Anxiety and distress can be a very common thing when filling out the FAFSA, especially in terms of asking for and volunteering your own financial information. Just like many of the organizations and experts at the university, there is always someone you can go to for answering tricky questions.
“Whether students have questions about filling out the FAFSA or their financial aid offer in general, we are here to help answer those questions. It may seem a little intimidating to reach out with a financial question, especially because we don’t talk about money very openly, at least in the United States. And so I know that for some students, it really takes digging deeper, pushing past the insecurity or concern,” McBride said.
McBride explained how she offers assistance for students coming in with questions about the FAFSA.
“If I get an email from my student and it’s unclear what they’re asking, my first sentence is always, ‘Thank you also much for reaching out,’ because I’m confident that with some additional information with the student, we can figure out not only what their question is, but then what the answer is for them,” McBride said. “Letting us know if there’s something you’re not sure about essentially enables us to help demystify that process as much as possible for students; to help everyone get the information they need so they can plan accordingly.”
McBride reassures students to not feel intimidated while filling out the FAFSA.
“You are smarter than the form,” McBride said. “The form needs information from you, but it’s not designed to trick you. You always have the option to save your progress and reach out to a friendly neighborhood financial aid advisor.”
Filling out the FAFSA can mean a lot for new students starting fresh at Washburn. Besides bringing out different awards and financial aid, it can also bring different emotions.
“It [The FAFSA] was asking personal questions especially when it comes to my race or a deeper dive into my background stuff. I didn’t think you needed all that. …It was just asking for way too much that I didn’t think it needed,” said Vic Novas Santos, freshman art major.
The FAFSA does ask for more information than you may expect, as detailing parts of your identity can further identify how many aid benefits you may receive. While she initially found the application to be invasive because of how much information they required, Santos also saw it to be helpful when receiving funds.
“It definitely was helpful. Being the first person in my family to go to college, I didn’t know how much it was,” Santos said. “With the student aid and everything, it definitely lowered the cost. I’m lucky to go to college. It was not so expensive, because compared to KU or any other place, it is so incredibly expensive. If you want to lower your cost [and] you don’t know how much you’ll get, just take it.”
Many students and parents don’t complete the FAFSA because they are unaware of the benefits, either because they don’t know how to fill it out or don’t want to because of how excessive the form can be. But if you ask most of the faculty at Washburn, they can assure students just how much it’s worth it.
“Most students would not be able to attend college without money for FAFSA. There are a lot of state based scholarships that use data from the FAFSA for those scholarships. There’s a lot of missed opportunities if you don’t do a FAFSA,” said Frankie Ostrom, instructional librarian.
Students can fill out their FAFSA application at FAFSA® Application | Federal Student Aid and contact the financial aid office to schedule an appointment at
Edited by Anson Appelhanz and Bidhya Sapkota
