What it is for
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid determines your eligibility for federal grants, work-study, and loans, and it is what Porter and the state use to award their own need-based aid. Filing it is the single required step to be considered for almost any aid — including some things people assume are automatic.
File it every year, early
Aid does not roll over; you refile each year for the next academic year. File as soon as the form opens (in the fall for the following year) — some aid is first-come, and Porter's priority date (around February 1) is when the strongest consideration for limited grants and work-study happens.
Whose information goes on it
A dependent student reports their own and their parent(s)' financial information; an independent student (age 24+, married, a veteran, a parent, and a few other categories) reports only their own. The form defines "parent" for divorced or separated families specifically — read that section carefully, because guessing wrong is a common error.
Income and the data transfer
The form pulls tax data directly from the IRS where possible — use that transfer rather than typing numbers; manual entry errors trigger verification. It also asks about untaxed income, certain assets (not your home or retirement accounts, generally), and household size and number in college.
Porter's school code and listing schools
Enter UW–Porter Falls' Federal School Code (009399) so your information reaches the financial aid office. List every school you are considering; they do not see each other. Adding a school later is easy but delays that school's offer.
After you file: verification and the offer
Some applications are selected for verification — the school confirms the data with documents. Respond promptly; an unverified file is not awarded. Once processed, your aid offer appears in MyPorter. Read it with net price in mind, accept what you need, and file again next year.
Special circumstances
The FAFSA is a snapshot of a prior tax year. If your family's situation has changed since — a job loss, a death, high medical costs, a divorce — do not just accept the result. File the FAFSA anyway, then ask Financial Aid about a professional-judgment review, which can adjust the inputs to reflect your actual circumstances.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.