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What is the SAR, why you need to carefully review it

By Beth Ziehmer

October 01, 2020

After you complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), you will receive a Student Aid Report, or SAR.

The SAR contains important information about financial aid:

• It summarizes the information you provided when you completed the FAFSA.
• It includes your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which colleges use to determine your financial aid package.

When will your SAR be ready to be retrieved?

You should notification that the SAR is ready for retrieval in:

• three to five days if you completed the FAFSA online, signed it with an FSA ID, and supplied an e-mail address;
• seven to ten days if you completed the FAFSA online, signed with an FSA ID, but did not supply an e-mail address;
• two weeks if you completed the FAFSA online and mailed a signature page; or
• two to three weeks if you mailed a paper FAFSA, depending on whether or not you supplied an e-mail address.

To view your SAR, log in to fafsa.gov and select View or Print Your Student Aid Report (SAR) from the "My FAFSA" page. You also can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (800-433-3243).

What to do?

1. Review your SAR carefully.
2. Provide additional information, if requested.
3. If you find errors, follow the directions to correct the information.
4. Keep a copy for your records.