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Completing the FAFSA 

  • Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year online.
  • All contributors, anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FAFSA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or the parent’s spouse must create an FSA ID to complete and sign the FAFSA.
  • Be certain to enter their correct Social Security number on the application.
  • Add the PHSC school code 010652.
  • Prior, Prior Year (PPY). Beginning with the 2017-2018 award year, student and their families will provide income and tax information from the tax year one year earlier than has been used in the past. Therefore, the 2025-2026 FAFSA will collect information from the 2023 tax year. 

 After Your FAFSA is Submitted

  • Upon completing the application, students and parents may sign with their FSA ID. If not, students must print the FAFSA signature page, affix the appropriate signatures, and mail the document to the FAFSA Processing System.
  • FAFSA Processing System will perform the calculation to determine the student's financial aid eligibility.
  • The student should receive a FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) within one to three days after the FAFSA is submitted. The FSS is the official determination by the Department of Education (DOE) about whether or not the student qualifies for different types of federal assistance. If a student receives a FSS that indicates they do not qualify for federal assistance, they should contact the Financial Aid Office to determine if alternative sources are available.
  • Review the FSS carefully and make corrections to any errors on the processed FAFSA.
  • Students should monitor their student self-service account closely after they receive their FSS and are welcome to contact their Financial Aid Office.

FSS Corrections

PHSC's financial aid office processes and submits corrections electronically for the FSS to the Department of Education. The DOE transmits the correction to their servicer, FAFSA Processing System (FPS), who is contracted to process the financial aid applications. The procedures for corrections and updates apply to all federal student aid applicants. 

The Financial Aid Office will download FAFSA Submission Summary into the PHSC student's records system and process the corrected application. Within three to five business days, the student will receive an acknowledgment notice from the FPS once the submitted correction is processed. The Financial Aid Office then receives the corrected FSS electronically. Upon electronic receipt of the corrected FSS, the Financial Aid Office will complete the student's financial aid file. 

All corrected FSS must be submitted or received electronically by June 30, 2026 for the 2025-2026 academic year. Failure to provide the documentation necessary to complete the verification process by the established deadline may result in loss or repayment of financial aid awarded.

All information and documentation submitted by the student and/or parent must be accurate and authentic. Students who purposely give false or misleading information may be fined, sentenced to jail, or both.

What is Verification?

Your FAFSA may be selected by the Department of Education for their verification process. If your application is selected for verification, be certain to monitor your student self-service account under the Financial Aid Information tab for a list of required documentation needed to complete this process.

Awarding Process

After the student's financial aid file is completed, the student will receive an award letter via the student's myPHSC email account indicating their eligibility for assistance or an ineligibility notification stating they do not qualify for grant programs.

We recommend students monitor their myPHSC email and student self-service account frequently during the awarding process in order to provide necessary requested and missing documentation and to review the status of their financial aid file.

Financial Aid Refund Process

The Financial Aid Office applies financial aid funds to pay tuition and fees. If additional funds remain after the payment of tuition, fees and book charges, the student will receive a balance refund stipend within 14 days of disbursement. Students will receive their select refund preference with BankMobile.