how to add colleges to fafsa

Financial Aid

How to Add More Schools to the 2021-2022 FAFSA

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master's in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

Reviewed by Caitlyn Cole

Caitlyn Cole is a college access professional with a decade of experience in non-profit program and project management for college readiness and access organizations.

Updated: August 17th, 2021

Adding more than 10 schools to the FAFSA is easy (and necessary for many students). So, how do you add more schools to the FAFSA?

If you are a student applying for financial aid to pay for college you are probably getting familiar with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA), which is the application that is required to receive aid from the United States government. This financial aid can include everything from need-based grants like the Pell Grant to federal student loans to work study.

One of the most confusing things about the FAFSA is that there are only 10 spots to list your colleges. Does this mean that you can only apply for financial aid at 10 colleges?

Absolutely not! You can apply for financial aid at any number of colleges and universities once you receive your Student Aid Report (SAR) and submit your FAFSA for your initial schools.

Jump ahead to:

Make FAFSA Corrections
Add schools over the phone
Add colleges with a paper Student Aid Report (SAR)
Tips for adding additional colleges to the FAFSA
FAQ about adding schools to your FAFSA

Keep on reading to learn about how to add more schools to the FAFSA! If you have any specific questions about completing the FAFSA, you can check out our step-by-step FAFSA guide.

Make FAFSA Corrections

When you login to your Federal Student Aid page, you can click on 'Make FAFSA Corrections.' Once you do that, you can remove the current colleges listed, add additional schools, and then submit the "corrections"! We know it feels weird to remove the schools, but don't worry–the colleges will still have the data you originally submitted!

Add schools over the phone

You can call the Federal Student Information Center and add the schools over the phone. When you call, you will need the Data Release Number (DRN) from your Student Aid Report or FAFSA confirmation page.

Add colleges with a paper SAR

There is also a paper option if you have a paper Student Aid Report (or SAR). Note that you can only change up to four colleges with this option as opposed to 10 online.

Tips for adding additional colleges to the FAFSA in 2021-2022

Remember, you should list public in-state colleges first. Some states will award state grants to students who enroll at one of the state's public colleges so you can miss out if you don't do this.
If you submit your FAFSA and then decide to apply to other colleges, you can complete the above steps to ensure that you are considered for financial aid.
Some colleges also require other aid forms such as the CSS profile, so you will want to make sure you know which forms are required, as well as the necessary deadlines.

Key takeaways for students

Complete and submit the FAFSA to qualify for need-based financial aid.
List the public in-state colleges and universities that you are applying to first.
If you are applying to more than 10 schools add them via online corrections, by phone, or through a paper SAR.

Frequently asked questions about adding schools to your FAFSA

Will adding another school to my FAFSA affect how much aid I will receive?

No – adding schools to your FAFSA won't have any impact on your financial aid package. Additionally, the schools who receive your FAFSA will not be able to see the other schools that received it. You can send your FAFSA results to as many schools as you'd like without any impact on your financial aid.

Does it cost money to add more than 10 schools to my FAFSA?

No – the FAFSA is an entirely free resource offered by the US Department of Education. You can add as many colleges as you'd like without any charges.

Will colleges confirm when they have received my FAFSA results?

Some colleges will send confirmations of FAFSA receipt, or include it in their online application portal. However, not all colleges will notify you. If you are unsure if your college received your FAFSA results, you should reach out to the financial aid office to double-check.