What You Need to Know

The 2023-2024 FAFSA is available on October 1, 2022. The FAFSA uses prior prior year income information. Therefore you will use the tax information from 2021 to complete the 2023-2024 FAFSA.

Early access to the FAFSA application helps streamline the process for students and for schools. Using income and tax return information from two years prior enables students and parents to accurately import tax information directly from the IRS using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool that is embedded in the FAFSA, and eliminates the need to estimate information. This will drastically simplify the FAFSA application process for the majority of students. In addition to this, you will have an earlier indication of how much your family is expected to contribute, which will help with budgeting for the upcoming school year.

The following table provides a summary of key dates used to determine which FAFSA to complete.

Maximize Your Grant Eligibility
 

Monetary Award Program (MAP) - The Monetary Award Program (MAP) provides grants (which do not need to be repaid) to Illinois residents who attend approved Illinois colleges and demonstrate financial need, based on the information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®). This grant is determined on a first come first serve basis and your eligibility is determined in part on the timeliness of your FAFSA submission. File your FAFSA as soon possible to reserve your place in line for the consideration of this grant. Please note that the final authorization of this grant is based on the approval of the state budget.

FAFSA Tips
 

Be sure to select the correct year; beginning October 1st both the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 FAFSA will be available at FAFSA.gov.

• 2022-2023 - used for Fall 2022, Spring 2023, and Summer 2023
• 2023-2024 - used for Fall 2023, Spring 2024, and Summer 2024