FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s how most students that are applying to or attending college apply for financial aid, from federal grants to those pesky loans. If you worked at a stuffy campus library shuffling books and organizing DVDs nobody checks out, it’s probably because of your FAFSA application. And if you’re going to college for four years, you have to apply every year until you graduate. On October 1st , the 2020-2021 FAFSA was opened to all renewing and first-time applicants.