Student Aid Report | SAR

Where, when, how, why?

Once your FAFSA has been fully processed, your individual expected family contribution (EFC) and other relevant financial information will appear on a Student Aid Report (SAR) that the Department of Education will issue to you and to the financial aid administrators of the colleges listed on your FAFSA.

The financial aid office(s) will then use the information from your SAR to prepare a custom financial aid package for you based on the types and amount of aid for which you are eligible, and will communicate that information to you in the form of a Financial Aid Award Notice.

When you can expect to receive the SAR

How soon the SAR is received depends on how you file your FAFSA. For example, if you file a paper FAFSA, it may take approximately 2-3 weeks. If you file electronically, either through the Department of Education website or by using the Student Financial Aid Services FAFSA preparation and electronic filing service, your SAR can be available in 3 to 10 days.

IMPORTANT: Because financial aid is often limited and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, the sooner you submit your FAFSA after January 1st, the sooner it will be processed, and the better your odds will be of receiving the maximum amount of available financial aid for which you may be eligible.

Incomplete and inaccurate FAFSA applications often result in application rejections or delays that may cause students to miss out on all or part of the financial aid to which they might otherwise be entitled. See FAFSA Filing Options for tips on how to ensure that your FAFSA is completed accurately and on time.