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Costs & Financial Aid

Costs & Financial Aid

FAFSA Information

FAFSA Timeline Updates
The 2025-26 FAFSA form is available! The state of Texas priority deadline is Feb. 15, 2025, but we encourage you to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible to maximize your aid eligibility. The University of Houston’s Federal School Code is 003652.

The UH Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid anticipates receiving your 2025-26 FAFSA by January. We will reach out to you via email to confirm we have received it, and let you know if we require any additional documentation from you.

What You Need to Know 

Terminology

The form has a term called contributors. It refers to anyone who can provide information for the applicant’s FAFSA form, which can be any of the following:

  • the student
  • the student's spouse (if applicable)
  • a biological or adopted parent
  • the spouse of the remarried parent who is on the FAFSA (the stepparent)

FSA ID

The form requires both students and contributors to have an FSA ID.

  • If you or your contributor have filed the FAFSA before, you and your contributor(s) already have an FSA ID.
  • If not, you and/or your contributor(s) will need to create a StudentAid.gov account by following these steps. If you have a Social Security number (SSN), you must provide it when creating your account. The process of acquiring an FSA ID can take up to three days.
  • If your contributor does not have an SSN, they can apply for an FSA ID. Click here for instructions in English or click here for instructions in Spanish.

Elimination of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

As of 2024-25, the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) has been replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI) to determine how much money a student is eligible for. This new formula has three changes:

  1. It will no longer consider how many students a family has enrolled in higher education.
  2. It allows for a negative contribution of up to 1,500.
  3. Eligibility for Federal Pell Grants will be calculated separately.

Federal Aid Estimator

Before filling out the FAFSA form, students can use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to receive an estimate of how much federal student aid they may be eligible to receive based on the SAI.

Federal Pell Grant Expansion

As of 2024-25, the Federal Pell Grant eligibility has expanded, and the amount offered will depend on family size and the federal poverty level.

Federal Tax Information (FTI)

The Future Act requires that every contributor on the FAFSA provide consent to share their tax information in the application so that the IRS can share this information with Federal Student Aid (FSA). All parties whose Federal Tax Information (FTI) is included on a student's FAFSA form must consent annually.

Unusual Circumstances

Starting with the 2024-25 offer year, both first-time and renewal applicants who indicate on their FAFSA form that they have an unusual circumstance will be granted provisional independent status. The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid may request additional information from you to make a final determination.

Helpful Tips

  • If you have already completed a FAFSA online, do not submit a paper FAFSA or it will cause delays. Reach out to the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243 (1-800-4 FED AID) for assistance.
  • Make sure that you enter household size, your tax filing status, and if applicable, any assets. Missing information may cause your SAI not to calculate correctly and will delay processing.
  • If a parent doesn’t receive your contributor invite, you should log in again, uninvite the contributor, enter your parent’s FSA ID information exactly and then resend the link.
  • The info buttons next to each question have been updated to provide more helpful information. Utilize these if you are unsure of what information to enter.
  • If you have an issue with a name or an SSN on an existing FSA ID, reach out to the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243 (1-800-4 FED AID) for assistance.

Stay Informed
Stay informed about the changes and receive up-to-date notifications and information:

  • Did you fill out a FAFSA form for 2024-25? Log in to your StudentAid.gov account and be sure they have your current email address. The ED sends out an email to students (and parents of dependent students) who applied on the 2024-25 form, reminding them to apply for 2025-26.
  • Didn’t submit a 2024-25 FAFSA form? Make sure to create your StudentAid.gov account — and remember your username and password so you can access and submit the 2025-26 FAFSA form.

Have Questions?
If you have any questions about the FAFSA form, please contact us.

Phone: 713-743-1010, option 5
Email: sfa@central.uh.edu
Virtual Advising:
The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid virtual advising is currently unavailable. We will resume virtual advising for the spring 2025 semester.

In-Person Services at the Welcome Center

Monday - Thursday | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

We are here to help you through this process.