You add schools to your FAFSA by entering their Federal School Code during the application, or by updating your FAFSA after you submit it

The FAFSA lets you list up to 10 schools at the time you fill it out. You enter each school's Federal School Code — a six-digit number the Department of Education assigns to every college, university, and career program in the country. If you don't know the code, the FAFSA form itself has a search tool built in. You can add schools while you're working through the form, or you can go back and add them later by logging into your FAFSA account.

Schools you list on your FAFSA will receive your information automatically once you submit the form. There's no separate step where you notify the school — the system sends your data directly to their financial aid office. If you add a school after you've already submitted, the school gets your updated information within a few days.

Key Takeaways

  • You can list up to 10 schools on one FAFSA form by entering their Federal School Code.
  • Find a school's code using the search tool on the FAFSA form itself, or on the Department of Education's school code lookup page.
  • You can add or remove schools anytime before or after you submit your FAFSA — changes take effect immediately.
  • Each school you list will receive your FAFSA information within a few days of submission or update.

Finding Your School's Federal School Code

Every school has a six-digit code. The easiest way to find it is to use the search box built into the FAFSA form itself — when you get to the school section, type the school name and the form will show you matching results with their codes. If the school doesn't appear, try searching by city or state instead of the full name.

You can also find codes outside the FAFSA form on the Federal School Code Lookup tool on the Department of Education website (studentaid.gov). This is useful if you're researching schools before you start your FAFSA, or if you're having trouble finding a school in the form's search. The lookup tool shows you the code, the school's address, and whether it's a four-year university, two-year college, or career program.

If you still can't find the code, call the school's financial aid office directly. They can give you the code over the phone, and they can also confirm whether the school participates in federal student aid at all — some programs don't.

Adding Schools While You Fill Out Your FAFSA

When you reach the school section of the FAFSA form, you'll see a space to enter schools one at a time. Type the school name or code into the search box, select it from the results, and it will appear on your list. Repeat this for each school you want to add, up to 10 total.

The order you list schools doesn't matter — they all receive your information at the same time. You don't have to list all 10 schools if you don't want to. Many students list three to five schools and add more later if they change their mind.

Before you submit your FAFSA, review your school list to make sure every school name is spelled correctly and the codes match. A typo in the school code means your information won't reach that school, and you'll have to fix it afterward.

Adding or Changing Schools After You Submit

You can log back into your FAFSA account anytime and add, remove, or change schools. Go to studentaid.gov, sign in with your FSA ID, and select your FAFSA form. Click on the school section, make your changes, and submit the update. The system will send your information to any new schools you add within a few days.

There's no deadline for adding schools after you submit — you can do this throughout the year. However, schools use your FAFSA information to calculate financial aid packages, so adding a school early gives their financial aid office more time to process your information and send you an aid offer.

If you remove a school from your FAFSA, that school will no longer receive updates to your information. If you think you might attend that school later, it's usually better to leave it on your list — you can always decline their aid offer later.

What Happens After You Add a School

Once a school receives your FAFSA information, their financial aid office reviews it and calculates how much aid you may receive based on your family's financial situation. They will send you an aid package — usually by email or through an online portal — that shows grants, loans, and work-study options they're offering.

You don't have to accept aid from every school on your FAFSA. You can compare offers from multiple schools and choose which one to attend. If you decide not to go to a school, simply don't accept their aid offer.

Fixing Mistakes in School Codes or Names

If you entered a school code incorrectly or misspelled a school name, log back into your FAFSA and correct it. Delete the wrong entry and search for the correct school code. Submit the update, and the correct school will receive your information within a few days.

If a school tells you they didn't receive your FAFSA information, ask them for the code they have on file. Compare it to what you entered on your FAFSA. If they don't match, update your FAFSA with the correct code. If the codes match but the school still says they didn't receive anything, contact the Federal Student Aid Help Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) — they can investigate whether your information was sent.

Schools That Don't Participate in Federal Aid

Not every school participates in federal student aid programs. Some private career schools, trade programs, and international schools don't have Federal School Codes and won't appear in the FAFSA search. If you can't find a school in the FAFSA system, contact the school directly to ask whether they participate in federal aid.

If a school doesn't participate in federal aid, you won't be able to add it to your FAFSA. You may still be able to receive aid from the school through their own institutional aid programs, but you'll need to contact them separately to learn about those options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add more than 10 schools to my FAFSA?

No, the FAFSA form limits you to 10 schools per application. If you want to send your information to more than 10 schools, you would need to submit multiple FAFSA forms, though this is uncommon. Most students find 10 schools is more than enough.

Do schools know what other schools I listed on my FAFSA?

No. Each school only sees your FAFSA information — they don't see the list of other schools you applied to. Your school list is private and visible only to you.

What if I add a school after the financial aid deadline?

You can add schools anytime, but schools may have deadlines for awarding financial aid. If you add a school after their deadline has passed, they may not be able to offer you aid for that year. Contact the school's financial aid office to ask whether they can still process your FAFSA information.

Can I remove a school from my FAFSA without affecting my other schools?

Yes. Removing one school from your FAFSA doesn't change anything for the other schools on your list. They will continue to receive your information as normal.