2025-2026 Aid Year
2025-2026 Financial Aid Information
The New 2025-2026 FAFSA Is Available at FAFSA.gov
The 2025-2026 FAFSA application is used to apply to receive Federal Financial Aid at Butler Community College for the Fall 2025, Spring 2026 and Summer 2026 semesters. Federal Financial Aid is Student Loans, Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, and Federal Work Study.
Significant changes have been made to the FAFSA form and to how eligibility for federal student aid is determined.
The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) has been replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI)
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) is being replaced with The Direct Data Exchange (DDX). The DDX is required where in the past the DRT was optional.
Parents, Stepparents, and Spouses are now “Contributors” to the FAFSA Application.
- The student and each contributor must have an FSA ID, no paper signature process will be available. In the past parents or students could print and mail in a paper signature, that process has been eliminated.
- Each Contributor will log in separately to provide their information for the student’s FAFSA
- The student and each contributor must give consent to the IRS Direct Data Exchange using their FSA ID.
For Pell Grants - Enrollment Status (such as full-time, half-time, etc.) is replaced with Enrollment Intensity.
Federal Aid is awarded based on the Cost of Attendance, Student Aid Index, Other Scholarships and Grants, and Enrollment Intensity.
Ready To Complete The FAFSA?
Ensure that each student, spouse, and parent/stepparent have an FSA ID. The FSA ID can be created or managed at studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch.
Gather 2023 federal tax return information for the student, student’s spouse, student’s parent, and stepparent.
Go to FAFSA.gov and sign in using the student’s FSA ID to complete the FAFSA.
- Dependent Students – Will need parent/stepparent legal name, social security number, date of birth, and email address.
- Parents who filed taxes as Married Filing Jointly in 2023, the student will send the invite to both parents but only one parent will need to log in to studentaid.gov to accept the invite. Once one parent has accepted the invite, the other parent will no longer see the invite in their dashboard.
- Parent Contributors can log in at Studentaid.gov to view the invite from the student and complete their portion of the FAFSA.
- Parents who filed taxes as Married Filing Jointly in 2023, the student will send the invite to both parents but only one parent will need to log in to studentaid.gov to accept the invite. Once one parent has accepted the invite, the other parent will no longer see the invite in their dashboard.
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Married Students – Will need spouse legal name, social security number, date of birth, and email address.
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Students and spouses who filed taxes as Married Filing Jointly in 2023 will still need to send the spouse invite, but the spouse will not have any action to take.
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Spouse Contributors can log in at Studentaid.gov to view the invite from the student and complete their portion of the FAFSA, if necessary.
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Students and families should use the most accurate information available and list all the schools they are considering for the upcoming Fall 2025 semester. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, corrections can be made after the initial submission and processing, with the latest deadline to make updates usually being around September 13, 2026.
What To Expect After Submitting The FAFSA
Immediately Once the FAFSA is submitted:
Students will receive an email from U.S. Department of Education with information regarding their eligibility including the SAI (if calculated) and aid eligibility. If there is an issue with the FAFSA submission, the email will explain the problem and resolution options.
3-4 Days after submitting the FAFSA, students should log back in to FAFSA.gov to ensure that everything is completed and the FAFSA is submitted correctly.
Students will receive an email from the U.S. Department of Education informing them that their FAFSA form has been fully processed and their FAFSA information has been sent to the schools they listed on their forms. The email will include information on how to access the FAFSA Submission Summary and make any necessary corrections to the FAFSA form online at fafsa.gov.
- FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly Student Aid Report) – Displays the student’s FAFSA data that was manually entered on the FAFSA form.
- Student and Parent Federal Tax Information (FTI) from the DDX will not show on the FAFSA Submission Summary or in the student’s online application data. The colleges listed will have access to view this Federal Tax Information.
Butler Financial Aid plans to begin sending communications to students including confirmation that the FAFSA form has been received and any additional steps the student needs to take. Once everything is complete the student will receive an offer letter with their federal aid eligibility information. This date is subject to change.
Other Steps to Take
- Students and families can use the Estimator to receive an estimated federal aid amount at studentaid.gov/aid-estimator
- Butler Scholarship Information, including application can be found at https://www.butlercc.edu/scholarships.
- Apply for scholarship opportunities provided by the State of Kansas at kansasregents.org/students/student_financial_aid
- Prepare resumes, essays, and letters of recommendation for scholarship applications and on-campus employment opportunities.
- Information on every aspect pertaining to Federal Student Aid, from application to repayment of student loans, can be found at studentaid.gov
Important Dates
Butler processes federal student aid year-round and there is no cut off date in which a currently enrolled student cannot receive federal aid for the current academic year. We strive to surpass our guaranteed dates and encourage students to apply for federal aid even if they have missed the date listed or even after the semester has begun.
Butler Financial Aid FAFSA form guarantee dates: Jul 1 – Fall 2025 / Dec 1 – Spring 2026 / May 1 – Summer 2026
- If we have received the FAFSA form and all required documentation by the date above, we guarantee to have your Federal Aid eligibility determined before payment is due for the upcoming semester.
- Please note this is not a guarantee of federal financial aid eligibility. Many things can affect a student’s ability to receive Federal Financial Aid such as Satisfactory Academic Progress, enrollment in eligible courses, amount of federal aid already received, etc.
Butler Academic Scholarship Deadline: Aug 1 – Fall 2025 / Jan 1 - Spring 2026
- Recent high school graduates who have not attended another college since graduating high school may be eligible for Academic Scholarships.