Apply for Financial Aid & TOPS

To file your FAFSA electronically, you'll need to apply for a FSA ID.  

Your FSA ID can be used to:

• Access the FAFSA/Renewal FAFSA and the IRS Data Retrieval Tool online
• Electronically sign your FAFSA or obtain a copy of your FAFSA information
• Make online corrections to your FAFSA
• Review your online loan and grant history on the National Student Loan Data System

At least one of your parents will also need a FSA ID if they listed you considered a dependent for financial aid purposes.

Apply for a FSA ID

Parents Information

Unless you can truthfully answer 'yes' to one of the dependency questions on the FAFSA, you'll need to provide your parents’ information.

If your parents are separated or divorced, use the parent with whom you lived the most with in the past 12 months. If you lived with neither parent or lived with each parent an equal number of days, use the parent that provided the most financial support to you during the past 12 months. If that parent has remarried, you must include your stepparent's financial information on the application. Your parent and stepparent should report themselves as married on the FAFSA.

We encourage you to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to fill out your FAFSA online.   

That tool lets the U.S. Department of Education access your tax year data directly from the IRS and insert it into your FAFSA (rather than having you provide the data manually).  

Using the IRS DRT will ensure that you get the most accurate aid award. Plus, if your application is selected for federal verification, it may satisfy the need for additional tax information.

You need your FSA ID and your federal income tax return to set up your IRS DRT. 

How to use the IRS DRT

If you’re not using the IRS DRT, you will need:

• Your W‐2 Forms for the previous year and other records of money earned (if applicable)
• Your (and your spouse's, if you are married) most recent Federal Income Tax Return – IRS Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040Telefile, foreign tax return, or tax return for U.S. territory
• Records of child support paid (if applicable)
• Records of taxable earnings from federal work‐study or other need‐based work programs
• Records of any grants, scholarships, and fellowship aid that were included in you or your parents’ adjusted gross income (AGI)
• Your parent's Federal Income Tax Return for the previous year (if you are a dependent student as defined by federal criteria)
• Your current bank statements
• Your current business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records
• Documentation that you are a U.S. permanent resident or other eligible non-citizen

Once you have your documents and information together, you are ready to fill out the FAFSA.  

You will need to list the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on your FAFSA in order for us to receive your award information. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Title IV school code is 002031.

Fill out the FAFSA

Extra step for TOPS students

If you are a Louisiana resident who is eligible for TOPS, you need to send your ACT score to the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA).

Log in to the ACT website and request to send an official ACT score report to LOSFA using ACT code 1595.

Optional: Practice Filling Out the FAFSA

Practice the FAFSA questions using the optional FOTW Worksheet. Only use it if you plan to submit the FAFSA online. The Worksheet does NOT substitute for the FAFSA; do not submit it for processing.

Once you have completed the FAFSA and been admitted to the University, you have to ensure that your financial aid application is complete. 

Review your Student Aid Report: You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) in your email within three weeks of submitting your FAFSA. You must review the Student Aid Report (SAR) for accuracy. Correct any errors in your FAFSA online.  

The FAFSA that you submitted is processed by the Central Processing System (CPS) and generates a SAR. If you do not receive an email regarding your SAR within three weeks of submitting your FAFSA, contact the CPS at 800-433-3243 to check on the status of your application.

Verify your FAFSA: Your FAFSA may be selected for a verification process. If you are requesting federal financial aid, which includes grants, loans, or work-study, you could be required to provide additional information or documentation to UL Lafayette’s Office of Student Financial Aid.  

To find out if you’ve been selected for verification, log in to ULink with your ULID and password. Check your requirements on the Tuition and Aid tab. Respond quickly to any requests for additional information.

Once your financial aid application file is complete, you’ll receive a financial aid package that outlines what you qualify for. When you receive your package, you will need to complete four final steps.

1. Review your awards: You will receive an email with your award notification. Review your awards carefully. If your award includes loans, make sure to check the requirements for those loans.  
2. Accept your awards: To accept your financial aid awards, log in to ULink with your ULID and password and go to the Tuition and Aid tab. From there, you can manage your financial aid awards.
   Log in to ULink
3. Complete entrance counseling: Once you have accepted your awards, you will be required to schedule and complete entrance counseling with the UL Lafayette Office of Student Financial Aid.
4. Submit a master promissory note: The master promissory note is essentially a loan agreement. You won’t be able to receive any loan funding until you do this.
   Submit Master Promissory Note