Apply for Financial Aid

Steps for Current Undergraduate Students

2024-2025 FAFSA Available

The 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available. We encourage you to complete the application as soon as possible. Please continue to monitor your email for additional updates. Visit New York FAFSA Ready for additional resources.

 

Financial aid awards are processed on a rolling basis as students complete all requirements. 

Current UAlbany undergraduates who are continuing their studies can begin the financial aid application process starting October 1 by completing the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the upcoming academic year. Students must file the FAFSA by January 1 to receive priority consideration for financial aid awards.  

Award notifications are sent via email starting in May for the Summer session and via email starting in June for the Fall and Spring semesters. Award details are also posted on MyUAlbany, where students must accept, reduce or decline their awards. 
 

Click the printer icon in the top right corner of this page to easily print these instructions.

 

Step 1: Register for Classes

Continuing undergraduate students need to register or pre-register for at least six credits in a degree program before the Office of Financial Aid can review their information. 

Step 2: Complete the FAFSA by January 1

The Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) should be completed and submitted online. 

The FAFSA opens each year on October 1 and continuing UAlbany undergraduates must complete the FAFSA by January 1. 

The University at Albany Federal School Code to be entered on the FAFSA is 002835. 

If prompted, use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to automatically load your federal income information to the FAFSA. This streamlines the application and eliminates the potential need to submit tax documents to the Office of Financial Aid. 

Have your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) ready to electronically sign the FAFSA. Dependent students will need an FSA ID for themselves and one parent. 

Step 3: Apply for New York State Grants & Scholarships (NYS residents only)

New York State residents may link to the New York State Grants and Scholarships application at the end of the FAFSA. This application will determine your eligibility for NYS aid, including the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).  

Students can also file their TAP application via the Higher Education Services Corporation website

The undergraduate NYS Grants and Scholarships school code for UAlbany is 0895. 

Step 4: Monitor MyUAlbany for Important Notices

Once UAlbany receives and processes the FAFSA, items may appear on the MyUAlbany Important Notices list. Financial aid processing cannot continue until these items are completed. 

Important Notices can be documentation requests, problems with your FAFSA that need to be fixed or processes that need to be completed by the student or parent. 

The student will receive notifications until the items are completed. Students can click each item in the Important Item list to get more detailed information on what’s needed to move forward. 

Important Notices can appear at any point during the aid processing cycle. Items most commonly appear on the Important Notices list after the FAFSA is filed and also after students accept their Financial Aid Award. 

Once you submit the requested documentation, or satisfy the outstanding request(s), we aim to review your documents within two weeks. Peak times, such as August, may result in processing delays. Please monitor your email for important updates or subsequent requests for information. 

If Important Notices are not resolved, it could prevent your award or refund being processed and/or applied to your account. 

Step 5: Submit Documentation to the Office of Financial Aid

Requested documents should always be submitted online, unless otherwise noted. The student's nine-digit UAlbany ID should appear on each page submitted. 

You will receive notification via email and/or text message on how to upload these documents. 

Note: For the protection of your information, students and parents are advised not to send documents with private information such as tax data, social security numbers or citizenship verification via email. 

If you need to speak with a financial aid advisor, please email [email protected] or make an appointment using EAB Navigate.

Step 6: Accept Award Through MyUAlbany

On MyUAlbany, students can review their financial aid and accept, reduce or decline their financial aid award offers. For information on how to accept awards, please visit the Accepting Awards page

Step 7: Secure Your Awarded Aid

Once you’ve completed all the above steps, please visit our Financial Aid page for information on securing the aid you're awarded and applying for additional financial aid.

Note: For financial aid purposes, an academic year is defined as 12 months, in which the Summer session is three months long, the Fall semester is four months long and the Spring semester is five months long. 

Students’ financial aid awards are generally packaged using a traditional nine-month expected family contribution (EFC) calculation, as determined by the FAFSA

Students who need or want to receive financial aid for the Summer session must complete a supplemental application provided annually by the University.