Posted Date:September 18, 2013
| Author: | Lisa DiCarlo, Director, Student Experience Group, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Availability of MyStudentData Download Record Layout for 2014-2015 FAFSA on the Web
We are pleased to announce the availability of the 2014-2015 FAFSA MyStudentData Download Record Layout, which includes the record layout for the download file that will be available to users of the 2014-2015 version of the FAFSA on the Web site.
The FAFSA MyStudentData Download function, which was implemented in April 2013 for the 2013-2014 version of the FAFSA on the Web site, allows students to download processed results from their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) into a machine-readable, plain text file. This function is available to students with a valid Federal Student Aid PIN for whom a FAFSA has been processed.
We provide the FAFSA MyStudentData Download Record Layout to assist software vendors with designing new tools for students to maximize the usefulness of the data. The attached FAFSA MyStudentData Download Record Layout, provided in PDF format, defines the format and structure of the file that students will be able to download from the 2014-2015 version of FAFSA on the Web when it is available in early January 2014.
To access the FAFSA MyStudentData Download function, the student must first log in to the FAFSA on the Web site (www.fafsa.gov) using his or her identifiers. After logging into FAFSA on the Web, the student can access the MyStudentData Download function from the “My FAFSA” page by clicking “Learn More” under the “Create a shareable file with some of your student information” page text. After clicking the MyStudentData Download option, a student is taken to a page that describes the download function and allows the student to select a specific processed transaction to download. After choosing whether to download the file in English or Spanish, the student is prompted to provide his or her PIN and then designate a file location for downloading. A warning will display, alerting the student that he or she should not download the file 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 opened easily in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel for further viewing, sorting, and printing. The downloaded file will contain specific FAFSA field labels and the corresponding values for each field on the selected transaction.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding the MyStudentData Download file layout, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.