Applicant News and Events

2026-2027 FAFSA

The 2026-2027 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the form that students applying for financial aid must complete this year. It underwent a major revision two years ago, but seems to be working well for most users. This year FAFSA will open the system on October 1.

The 2026-2027 FAFSA will use your family's 2024 tax return information, along with your answers to the questions asked, to generate your SAI (Student Aid Index). The SAI is a measure of your financial resources relative to others. It will be used by colleges to assess your your eligibility for federal government and college aid as well as by us to determine your unmet financial need.

Whether you are a student or parent, you’ll need to create your own FSA-ID account to apply to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you don’t already have one, click here to sign up for your account. If you already have an ID, log in to make sure you’ve remembered your correct password or reset it.

The new FAFSA will require that one or more of your parents (and sometimes step-parent if they do not file a joint tax return with the parent) will need to have their own FSA-ID and means of contact (either email or mobile phone). Each of the contributors (student, parent, step-parent) will need to follow a link to input their own information. Get ready for this now, by getting your IDs in place.

Class of 2026 Application Update...Process and Deadlines

• The Scholarship Foundation Application process has THREE parts. Full details are available at Who Can Apply and How to Apply..
• Applicants need to complete and submit Part One: Profile and Eligibility Screen via our Application Portal by the January 14, 2026 deadline. We will screen your information against our residency, prior application and minimum academic standards and make an early assessment of whether you are likely to have unmet financial need that would qualify you for an award from us. .
• All those who meet our minimum standards and may have need will be invited to complete a Part Two: Full Application by January 29, 2026 and a short Intake Interview via Zoom by February 11, 2026. To complete the Full Application, you will need to provide information about your HS academic performance, your college goals and plans, your information about your family and financial situation (similar to that which you provide for the FAFSA) and a HS counselor's report that you will request via our application system. College students will need to provide an unofficial transcript and those applying for the Richardson Scholar award will provide supplemental essays and two recommendations.
• In Part Three, which will take place in late March and early April, we will invite applicants to provide their school choice information, either their FINAL school or the schools they are considering. We will then schedule each applicant for a brief Student and Parent Interview to be conducted via Zoom.