2022–23 FAFSA and Scholarships

Close-up of a FAFSA application
All eligible students are encouraged to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). (Photo: Federal Student Aid)

The 2022–23 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is now available. Every eligible student is encouraged to file the FAFSA. Even if you believe that your student will not qualify for federal financial aid, many scholarships and grant programs still require a FAFSA for consideration. If your student will be graduating this year — congratulations! — graduating students only need to submit a FAFSA if they plan to continue on to another degree program.

Helpful FAFSA Filing Hints from the Office of Student Financial Aid:

  • We are here to help!
    • To assist students in completing the FAFSA, we are hosting a FAFSA Frenzy from noon until 2 p.m. almost every Friday throughout the fall semester. Students just need to bring their laptop; we’ll bring people to help answer questions, and food.
    • Students can schedule an appointment (in-person or virtual) that meets your timing needs through the Starfish tool in their MyUW portal.
    • If you have questions about the application process, please contact our team by phone at 608-262-3060 or email at finaid@finaid.wisc.edu.
  • Don’t wait: Submit the FAFSA by UW–Madison’s priority date — December 1, 2021
    • This ensures that your student will be considered for all available types of financial aid.
    • The 2022–23 FAFSA will use 2020 Federal Income Tax Return information.
  • File online fafsa.gov
    • Be sure to enter our school code 003895 for the “University of Wisconsin–Madison” to have your FAFSA sent to our team.
  • Have you experienced financial impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic?
    • If you or your student has experienced significant changes in income or have expenses that are not reflected on the FAFSA, your special circumstances may be eligible for a professional judgment.  A professional judgment allows our team to adjust certain elements on the FAFSA to account for special circumstances that have not been adequately considered.
    • Reach out to our team if you have special circumstances or refer to our website for more information, https://financialaid.wisc.edu/applying/#SpecialCircumstance

Looking for Scholarships?

  • Visit wisc.academicworks.com to explore all of our scholarships and have your student log in to the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH) to match to scholarship opportunities. Scholarship applications for continuing students are available to complete throughout the year. Deadlines vary, so don’t miss out!
  • Follow the Office of Student Financial Aid on social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) for #FreeMoneyFriday and listings of nonUW scholarships available from around the community.