How to answer FAFSA® student demographics questions
Find out how to correctly answer FAFSA® questions about your race and ethnicity, citizenship, and your parents’ background.
Student demographic information
Why do they need this info?
The FAFSA® asks for this information to use for research. Your answers won’t affect your financial aid.
Can I skip these questions?
No
How to answer these questions
- Enter your gender and whether you’re transgender. Or select “Prefer not to answer” if you don’t want to share this info.
- For the FAFSA®, “Nonbinary” means you don’t identify exclusively as male or female. It doesn’t refer to a transgender student who identifies exclusively as either male or female.
- Transgender refers to a student whose gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth.
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Student race and ethnicity
Why do they need this info?
The FAFSA® asks for this information to use for research. Your answers won’t affect your financial aid.
Can I skip these questions?
No
How to answer these questions
- Select the race(s) that best identify you and your heritage. Select more than one race if you need to.
12 Student Race and Ethnicity
Is the student of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
- No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
- Yes, Mexican, Mexican-American, or Chicano
- Yes, Puerto Rican
- Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
- Prefer not to answer
What is the student’s race?
White
- German
- Irish
- English
- Italian
- Polish
- French
- Other
Black or African American
- African American
- Jamaican
- Haitian
- Nigerian
- Ethiopian
- Somali
- Other
Asian
- Chinese
- Filipino
- Asian Indian
- Vietnamese
- Korean
- Japanese
- Other
American Indian or Alaska Native
- Other
Native Hawaiian
- Samoan
- Chamorro
- Tongan
- Fijian
- Marshallese
- Other
Prefer not to answer
Student state of legal residence
Why do they need this info?
- Your FAFSA® info may be shared with state agencies, so you can be considered for state aid programs on top of federal aid.
- It’s a chance to get even more free college money — financial aid from your state!
Can I skip these questions?
No
How to answer these questions
- Enter your state’s two-letter postal abbreviation
- Enter the month and year when you became a state resident.
Heads up! If you were born and lived in the state your entire life, put your birth month and year as the date you became a legal resident. This is important because state grants often require you to be a resident of the state for a certain amount of time, usually at least two years.
Parent education status
Why do they need this info?
- Some schools and states offer financial aid programs specifically for “first-generation” students—those whose parents didn’t attend college.
- If you’re a first-generation student, you could qualify for additional financial aid money. That’s more free money for school!
Can I skip these questions?
No
How to answer these questions
- Check yes if either parent attended college.
- If either parent attended college but didn’t graduate or earn a degree, you’ll still check yes.
Parent killed in line of duty
Why do they need this info?
- This question will help determine if you’re eligible for federal aid programs that help students whose parent was killed in the line of duty while serving in the military on or after September 11, 2001 (9/11/01).
- This type of federal aid may also be available if your parent was a public safety officer killed in the line of duty on or after 9/11/01.
- You could also qualify for financial aid programs from your school or your state for students in this situation.
- “Public safety officer” can mean:
- Law enforcement officer, firefighter, or chaplain
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employee
- Emergency management or civil defense agency employee
- Member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew
- Others defined in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
Can I skip these questions?
No
How to answer these questions
- Check yes if your parent or guardian was killed in the line of duty while serving in the military on or after September 11, 2001.
- Also check yes if your parent or guardian served as a public safety officer during this period and was killed in the line of duty.
2025-26 FAFSA® questions
Choose the FAFSA® questions you would like help with.
Student financial information
FAFSA® student income tax information
