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Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Filing your 2025-26 FAFSA

The 2025–26 FAFSA form is now open. Please take the steps below to file your FAFSA. It will take about an hour to complete the full form.

  1. Go to www.studentaid.gov
  2. Select “Log In To Start” to start a new 2025-26 FAFSA form or “Log In To Edit” to edit a 2025-26 FAFSA form or accept an invitation. Note: You will need your FSA ID to log in. If you don’t have an FSA ID, create an account for you and each required contributor (parent/guardian/spouse). 
  3. Complete each required part of the FAFSA form and ensure each of your required contributors have completed their needed information as well.
  4. Enter Goldey-Beacom College’s federal school code: 001429 to make sure we receive your information.
  5. Submit your completed form.

Goldey-Beacom College will begin processing your financial aid package once we receive your FAFSA from the federal government. If you have any questions, please contact the Financial Aid Office by calling 302-225-6264 or emailing [email protected].

Goldey-Beacom College Federal School Code: 001429

FAFSA Filing FAQs

What can I do to prepare?

The first step is to make sure all contributors have their own StudentAid.gov account/FSA ID. The student and all contributors will need their own accounts, so setting these up in advance will streamline your ability to fill out the FAFSA.

  1. If you didn’t submit a 2025-26 FAFSA form, make sure to create your StudentAid.gov account. Remember your username and password so you can fill out the FAFSA in future years.
  2. Find out if your parents/guardians or spouse will need to be contributors based on your dependency status.
  3. If your parents/guardians or spouse will need to contribute to your form, make sure each contributor creates their own StudentAid.gov account.
If the student is a dependent and their parents/guardians filed taxes jointly, only one parent is required as a contributor and needs an FSA ID. If the student’s parents/guardians did not file taxes jointly, both are considered contributors and must have their own FSA IDs.

Which year’s tax information should I use?

The FAFSA operates with the previous year’s tax information. You’ll fill out the 2025-26 FAFSA using tax information from 2023.

Is it true the FAFSA recently changed?

The U.S. Department of Education made many changes and simplifications to the FAFSA last year. Here are some of the main updates:

  • The form was simplified, reducing the number of questions you’ll have to answer
  • The student, their spouse, and all parents/guardians with tax data being reported must have their own FSA ID/StudentAid.gov account

  • Access was expanded for Federal Pell Grants
  • Larger Income Protection Allowances (IPA) will result in lower expectations for student or family income to be able to pay for college
  • Families are now required to report the value of their farms or businesses, which will impact how federal aid is calculated
  • There is no longer a benefit for siblings in college—the FAFSA will no longer consider the number of individuals in a household attending college when determining the amount of aid.

I need help completing the FAFSA form. What should I do?

Some helpful webinars are available to help students and families navigate the 2025-26 FAFSA:

Navigating the 2025-26 FAFSA for Dependent Students

Navigating the 2025-26 FAFSA for Independent Students

Goldey-Beacom College’s Financial Aid Office is also here to answer any questions or help walk you through completing the FAFSA form. Please call us at 302-225-6264 or email [email protected] to receive assistance.

Common FAFSA Questions

Why do I/my parents/spouse have to provide identifiable information to complete the FAFSA?

You and any of your contributor(s) must provide this information in order for the Department to determine if you are eligible for federal student aid and which type (e.g., Pell Grant, subsidized or unsubsidized loans) and amount of aid you might be eligible to receive. In addition, many states and colleges use your FAFSA information to determine your eligibility for state and school aid.

What information do I/my parents/spouse have to provide?

When creating a StudentAid.gov account, you and any contributor(s) must provide information
such as name, Social Security number (SSN) (or the fact that you/they do not have an SSN),
date of birth, address, phone number (optional), and email address. If you or your contributor(s)
do not have an SSN, you/they may be required to answer identity questions from TransUnion
(such as which of the following is a recent previous address) in order for the Department to fully
establish your/their StudentAid.gov account.

When completing the FAFSA form, you will be required to confirm all personal contact
information (populated into the FAFSA from your StudentAid.gov account) and enter information
such as gender, race/ethnicity, and citizenship status; parent education level; student high
school information; financial information including income taxes and whether you or a family
member has received other federal benefits such as Medicaid; and what college(s) you would
like to receive your FAFSA information.

Who else can access this information?

The Department will share your information with the college(s) you select on your FAFSA form,
as well as the state grant agency that is in the state you live in or in which the college(s) you
selected is located. This is done to help you get access to any federal, state, or college aid you
are entitled to receive.

The Department will also match your information with other federal agencies to help determine
your eligibility for benefits (e.g., with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to verify your SSN
and citizenship or with Department of Homeland Security to verify if you are an eligible non-citizen) and with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain your tax information to populate
the FAFSA system. If you have a contributor(s) with an SSN, the Department will share their
information with the SSA to verify their SSN and with the IRS to obtain their tax information to
populate the FAFSA system.

How long is this information held?

The Department must keep this information for the length of your relationship with the
Department. For example, if you receive a loan, the Department will keep your information for the full life of the loan (including all the years you are in repayment) and a period of time
thereafter to ensure full closure of your loan and to meet various legal and regulatory
requirements. If you receive a Pell Grant, the Department will keep your information to track
how much you received in Pell Grants so you do not exceed lifetime limits set by law over the
recipient’s lifetime

Should I fill out the FAFSA?

Whether or not you should fill out a FAFSA form is a decision that you should make with your
family. It is important to note that, to the extent that you or a contributor has already provided the
Department with information when creating a StudentAid.gov account or previously filling out the
FAFSA form, the Department likely still has that information. In such an instance, the
Department would only be adding updated information to the Department’s systems (e.g.,
income information, change in address) were you to submit a new FAFSA form. Moreover, any
future changes to how the Department’s data are used or shared could apply to data already in
its possession, as well as data it collects after the changes.

Federal Student Aid Estimator

With this tool, students can find out how much federal student aid they may be eligible for starting with the 2025–26 award year.

Click here to use the Federal Student Aid Estimator. 

To apply for financial aid, complete the 2025–26 FAFSA® form.

 

Application Due Dates for Priority Funding

To receive consideration for supplemental grant funding, the Financial Aid Office recommends finalizing your FAFSA by the following dates.

Award Year Term Date
2025-26 Fall 2025 April 1, 2025
2025-26 Spring 2026 October 1, 2025
2026-27 Fall 2026 April 1, 2026
2026-27 Spring 2027 October 1, 2026

State Aid Programs

Delaware Scholarship Incentive Program

Eligible Delaware residents must be enrolled full-time in a degree program at a Delaware college to receive aid from the Delaware Scholarship Incentive Program. Awards are variable and will not exceed tuition, fees, and books. Students must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before June 15. On January 2, 2025, the ScIP application will become available on the Delaware Department of Education website. Click on the Apply for Scholarships link at the top of the page, choose the ScIP scholarship, and provide your anticipated college enrollment information for the 2025-26 academic year by June 15, 2025.

Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA)

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency awards grants in varying amounts to eligible students who are Pennsylvania residents attending a Delaware institution of higher education. Goldey-Beacom College is a participating institution with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. Pennsylvania residents seeking funding for a PHEAA grant must file a PHEAA application form and a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The application deadline is June 1.

Meet the Financial Aid Team

Eric Johnson

Director of Financial Aid

Azra Ozgul

Financial Aid Office Intern

 

Mark McGuire

Financial Aid Counselor

Submit An Application

Ready to begin your journey?

Complete a free application today.

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4701 Limestone Road
Wilmington, DE 19808
(302) 998-8814

Goldey-Beacom College is a Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Text Telephone/Teletypewriter (TTY) Relay Service: 711 or 800-232-5460 for English or 877-335-7595 for Spanish

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