Guide
What to gather before you apply
The accounts, IDs, tax records and balances the FAFSA and benefit applications ask for, collected in one sitting.
This guide maps the everyday support a college student can look into beyond help with tuition, along with the office that decides each one. Each program sets its own rules, so treat the map as a list of places to ask, then check your own situation with the office named.
Food and groceries
SNAP helps with groceries and is run by your state's human services agency, sometimes through a county office. Students enrolled at least half-time generally need to meet one of the program's exemptions, such as working a set number of hours a week, taking part in work-study or caring for a young child. The state office decides, so ask it which exemption fits your situation.
WIC serves people who are pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding, and children under 5, through local WIC clinics. Many campuses also run a food pantry or a basic needs office that can help the same week, often with a short sign-up.
Health coverage and care
Under the Affordable Care Act, young adults can generally stay on a parent's health plan until age 26. Many schools also offer a student health plan, and campus health centers often see students at low or no cost. Ask the student health office what its fee covers before you look elsewhere.
Medicaid is run by each state, and its rules on income and work vary from state to state and have been changing. Your state's Medicaid agency decides. Marketplace plans are sold through HealthCare.gov or your state's own marketplace, and some people get help with the monthly premium based on income.
Phone, internet and a computer
Lifeline lowers the monthly cost of phone or internet service for households that meet its income rules or take part in programs such as SNAP or Medicaid. It is run through the Universal Service Administrative Company, and you can apply through its National Verifier or through a participating phone company. The Affordable Connectivity Program ended in 2024, so any offer using that name is out of date.
Your campus may lend laptops and hotspots through the library or the IT office, and many internet providers sell their own low-cost plans for households on certain benefits. Ask the IT help desk what students can borrow and for how long.
Childcare and family support
Some schools receive CCAMPIS funds, a federal grant that helps student parents pay for campus childcare. Ask your campus childcare center or the financial aid office whether your school has it. Your state's child care assistance program may also help, though states set their own rules about counting school as an approved activity.
Head Start and Early Head Start serve young children in families with low incomes through local programs. A school's emergency aid fund can sometimes cover a sudden family cost, and the dean of students or the aid office usually knows how to request it.
Transit, energy bills and tax credits
Many schools offer a discounted or fee-funded transit pass, and local transit agencies often run reduced-fare programs for riders on certain benefits. LIHEAP helps with heating and cooling bills through state agencies, often with local partners taking the applications.
At tax time, the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit can lower the tax owed for school costs, using the Form 1098-T your school sends. The earned income tax credit and the child tax credit have their own rules on age, income and children, which the IRS explains. IRS Free File lets many people file a federal return at no cost.
The steps, in order
Work through these four in sequence. Each one sets up the next.
List your monthly costs
Write down what you spend each month on food, rent, health care, phone and internet, childcare and getting around.
Match each cost to the map
Next to each cost, note the program and the office from this guide that covers it.
Gather your papers once
Collect your ID, proof of enrollment, pay stubs and lease, since most of these offices ask for the same records.
Start with the campus office
Visit your school's basic needs or financial aid office first. Then contact each outside office it points you to.
Bring to each office
- A photo ID and your student ID
- Proof of enrollment and your class schedule
- Recent pay stubs or a work-study letter
- Your lease and recent utility bills
Who decides
Your campus basic needs office or financial aid office, then the state or local office for each program. Take your questions there: they make the decision, and asking costs nothing.
More guides
Keep reading
Guide
Grants, scholarships, loans and work-study
Which kinds of aid you repay, who awards each one, and how they fit together in a school's aid offer.
Guide
The full cost of a school year
How to add up housing, food, books, transportation, fees and personal costs alongside tuition for a full school year.