Availability of the MyStudentData Download Guide for the 2021–22 FAFSA form

Author
Federal Student Aid
Subject
Availability of the MyStudentData Download Guide for the 2021–22 FAFSA form

We are pleased to announce the availability of the 2021–2022 FAFSA® MyStudentData Download guide, which includes the record layout for the download file that will be available to users of the 2021–22 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on fafsa.gov.

The MyStudentData Download function allows students to download processed results from their FAFSA form into a machine-readable, plain text file. This function is available to students with a valid FSA ID for whom a FAFSA form has been processed.

To access the MyStudentData Download function, the student must first log in to fafsa.gov using his or her FSA ID and password. The student should then

  1. select “Learn more” under the “Create a shareable file with some of your student information” page text;

  2. click the “MyStudentData Download” option;

  3. select a specific processed transaction to download;

  4. choose to download the file in English or Spanish; and

  5. designate a file location for downloading.

A warning will display, alerting the student that the file should not be downloaded to a public computer. The file is then downloaded to the specified location as a comma-separated values (CSV) file.

CSV-formatted files can be easily opened in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel for further viewing, sorting, and printing. The downloaded file contains specific FAFSA field labels and the corresponding values for each field on the selected transaction.

We provide the FAFSA MyStudentData Download guide to assist software vendors with designing new tools for students to maximize the usefulness of the data. The attached FAFSA MyStudentData Download guide, posted in PDF format, defines the format and structure of the file that students will be able to download from the 2021–22 version of the FAFSA form when it becomes available on Oct. 1, 2020.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding the MyStudentData Download file layout, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 1-800-330-5947 or by email at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.

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