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Student Loans

How to Add More Than 10 Schools to the FAFSA

Updated Feb 26, 2024
2-min read
Dave Rathmanner Author Photo
Written by Dave Rathmanner
Dave Rathmanner Author Photo
Written by Dave Rathmanner

Expertise: Student loans, personal loans, credit cards, small business loans, consumer personal finance habits

Dave Rathmanner has researched and developed content on a variety of finance topics, such as student loans, personal loans, credit cards, and small business loans. Dave’s work has been featured by outlets including the Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, Forbes, CNBC, U.S. News, Consumer Reports, Yahoo Finance, and NPR.

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Most prospective college students apply to several colleges, and some even apply to more than 10. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), however, only allows you to list 10 schools on your application for financial aid – and that means some of the schools you applied to might not receive your financial information in order to create an aid package for you.

Is There a Way to Add More Than 10 Schools to the FAFSA?

Yes, there is! When you fill out the FAFSA, you list the schools that you’ve applied to and would like the federal government to send your Student Aid Report, or SAR, to in order for them to work on an aid package.

The Order of Schools Matters

The order in which you list these schools is important; don’t be tempted to do it in alphabetical order or by cost.

To be eligible for state-level grants that you don’t have to pay back, you’ll want to list an in-state school first.

Next, list the schools with the earliest financial aid deadlines; that will ensure they get your information in time. If you have to add more than 10 schools to the FAFSA, save the ones with the latest deadlines and don’t enter them yet.

Add More Schools Once You Receive Your SAR

Once you’ve submitted your information on the FAFSA, you’ll typically receive your Student Aid Report (SAR) within 3 to 5 days. When you do, that means all of the colleges on your list have also received your information; they get an Institutional Student Information Record, or ISIR.

Now it’s time to add the other schools on your list so they get an ISIR too. There are three ways you can do this:

  • Option 1: Log into your FAFSA account at fafsa.ed.gov. You’ll be offered the opportunity to “Make FAFSA Corrections.” When you do, you’ll see your original list of colleges. Since all of the schools listed already have your ISIR, you can remove them from the list and add in the rest of the schools you want.
  • Option 2: You can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center and ask them to add the schools for you. For this option, you’ll need to have a copy of your SAR in front of you. The number is 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800 433-3243).
  • Option 3: You can take the paper copy of your SAR and replace those schools with the new ones, then mail the SAR back to the following address: Federal Student Aid Programs, P.O. Box 7655, London, KY 40742-7655.

Any of these options will get your information to all of the colleges you want—not just the 10 you initially entered.