After you submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSASM), you’ll get a Student Aid Report that summarizes the information you provided on your FAFSA.

Review your Student Aid Report carefully to make sure it’s correct and complete.

Student Aid Report

Your Student Aid Report (SAR) is a paper or electronic document that gives you some basic information about your eligibility for federal student aid as well as listing your answers to the questions on your FAFSASM.

How and when will I get my SAR?
What information does a SAR contain?
What am I supposed to do with my SAR?
What if I find a mistake on my SAR? 


How and when will I get my SAR?

Whether you receive your SAR online or on paper depends on whether you provide an e-mail address on your FAFSA.

If you provide a valid e-mail address, you’ll receive an e-mail with instructions on how to access an online copy of your SAR.

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We encourage you to add our e-mail address, FederalStudentAidFAFSA@cpsemail.ed.gov, to your e-mail contact list so that your SAR notification e-mail won’t go to your spam folder.

If you don't provide a valid e-mail address on your FAFSA, you will receive either a SAR or a SAR Acknowledgement via postal mail.

  • The SAR lists your FAFSA information and provides space for you to make corrections. You will receive a paper SAR if you file a paper FAFSA and don’t provide an e-mail address.
  • The SAR Acknowledgement lists your FAFSA information, but you’ll need to make any corrections at FAFSA on the Web (the FAFSA website at www.fafsa.gov). You’ll receive a SAR Acknowledgement if you file an electronic FAFSA and don’t provide an e-mail address.

If you have a Federal Student Aid PIN and your FAFSA has been processed, you can login at FAFSA on the Web to view SAR information regardless of whether you filed the online or paper FAFSA or provided an e-mail address or not.

The school(s) you list on your FAFSA will have access to your SAR data electronically within a day after it is processed.

Here’s a summary of what you’ll receive, and how soon after filing your FAFSA, based on what type of FAFSA you file.

Type of FAFSA submitted

E-mail supplied?

Type of SAR received

When SAR arrives (at the latest)*

FAFSA on the Web (the online application at www.fafsa.gov)

 

Yes

E-mail link to SAR information online

If FAFSA signed with PIN(s): 3–5 days; if signature page used: 2 weeks

No

Paper SAR Acknowledgement

If FAFSA signed with PIN(s): 7–10 days; if signature page used: 2 weeks

FAFSA submitted by school

Yes

E-mail link to online SAR

3–5 days

No

Paper SAR Acknowledgement

7–10 days

Paper FAFSA

Yes

E-mail link to online SAR

2 weeks

No

Paper SAR

3 weeks

Corrections at FAFSA on the Web

Yes

E-mail link to online SAR

1–5 days

 

Depending on type of changes, updated SAR may be immediately available at FAFSA on the Web. If you don’t see your SAR immediately, wait for your e-mail or paper version.

No

Paper SAR Acknowledgement

7–10 days

*The time frames in this table indicate how long it takes for the SAR to arrive after the FAFSA is submitted.

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What information does a SAR contain?

If your application is complete, an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will display in the upper right-hand corner of your SAR. If your application is incomplete, your SAR will not include an EFC, but it will tell you what you need to do to resolve any issues. 

The SAR also contains a four-digit Data Release Number (DRN), which appears on the first page in the upper right corner of the paper SAR and SAR Acknowledgement. On the electronic SAR the DRN is located in the box that contains the Application Receipt date, below the EFC. You will need the DRN if you choose to allow your college or career school to change certain information on your FAFSA.  

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What am I supposed to do with my SAR?

When you get your SAR, review it carefully to make sure it’s correct and complete. The school(s) you listed on your FAFSA will use your information to determine your eligibility for federal—and possibly nonfederal—financial aid. A school may ask you to verify the accuracy of the data you provide on the FAFSA, so you need to be sure the information is correct.

If you don’t have any changes to make to the information listed on your SAR, just keep it for your records.

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What if I find a mistake on my SAR?

If you review your SAR and find a mistake, you will need to correct or update your FAFSA

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