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FAFSA

Financial Aid FAFSA

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Students applying for financial aid will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA determines the amount of assistance and which program is appropriate for each applicant. You must complete the FAFSA online.

The FAFSA becomes available on Oct. 1 each year and you must complete it in order to continue receiving aid for the fall, spring and summer terms.

Follow these steps:

Before you begin your application, you and your parent (if you’re a dependent) will both need to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID and password to access all federal student aid information. Once you receive your FSA ID, you have immediate access to your FAFSA, and you will use the same ID every year you apply for aid. Only one FSA ID and FAFSA application are needed per student, even if you are applying to multiple schools.

  • Once you have created your FSA ID, you will need to complete the application. This application determines your eligibility for all forms of financial aid, so it is very important that you take time to read all instructions carefully and be as accurate as possible. Filing is free, and your application can be submitted any time after Oct. 1 each year to be eligible for aid the following academic year.
  • USC Upstate’s Title IV School Code is 006951.
  • Check the status of your financial aid application by logging on to Self-Service Carolina.
  • For more information, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 864-503-5340.
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  • You will need to provide the following information from you and your parent(s)/guardian(s) in order to successfully complete and submit your FAFSA:

    • Social Security Number
    • Alien registration number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
    • Prior, prior year federal income tax return, W-2s and other records of money earned. 
    • Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)
    • Records of untaxed income (if applicable)
    • FSA (Federal Student Aid) ID to sign electronically. (If you do not already have one, visit studentaid.gov

    ** Please note if you are not a dependent student, you will not need your parent or guardian information.

  • There are two ways to provide your tax return information:

    • IRS Data Retrieval Tool (preferred method), simply click “Link to IRS” on the FAFSA site.1. Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool that is part of FAFSA on the web in lieu of submitting an IRS Tax Return Transcript. If you have not already used it, go to FAFSA.ed.gov, log in to your FAFSA record, select “Make FAFSA Corrections”, and navigate to the Financial Infor-mation section of the form. From there, follow the instructions to determine if you are eligi-ble to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer your tax information. Once complete, please go to the SUBMIT tab to resubmit the data. We will receive the updated in about five days. (Filers are not eligible to transfer data if they filed married – filing separately) 2. Complete IRS Form 4506T-EZ, which can be downloaded from www.irs.gov. Note: It may take approximately 10 business days to receive the IRS Tax Return Transcript. 3. Call the IRS at 1-800-908-9946. 
    • Provide a Tax Transcript: The IRS system for ordering a transcript is called “Get Transcript.” This system allows a person to get a transcript online as a PDF immediately if the tax return for the chosen year has been processed. Visit http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript for more information and to print a copy of your tax return transcript.

    Still confused? No worries. Contact our Financial Aid Office at 864-503-5340 or e-mail finaid@uscupstate.edu.