Lake Forest College > Admissions > Financial Aid > FAFSA Process

Submitting a PIN for the Federal Application

The FAFSA PIN (personal identification number) is used to electronically sign the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and to access other financial aid documents.

To be considered valid, the FAFSA must be properly signed...in most cases by both the student and one parent. If the student and his/her parent uses a PIN, the FAFSA will be processed much faster (a few days rather than several weeks).

Note: The College will provide you with a different PIN for the Lake Forest Application for Financial Aid (LFAFA).

Click here to apply for a FAFSA PIN

If you initially completed the FAFSA without a PIN but now have a PIN, follow these steps to apply the PIN(s) to your FAFSA:

Go to the FAFSA on the Web site at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Select "Sign Electronically with Your PIN" from the lower middle portion of the screen.
Select the school year of the application the student or parent wants to sign. Click Next.
Indicate whether you are signing as the parent or the student.
If signing as the student, confirm your identity by providing your Social Security Number, first two letters of his or her last name, date of birth, and PIN. Click Next.
If signing as the parent, you must confirm both your identity and the student's identity. Click Next.
The next page reads "Electronic Signatures" and “Please Read Before Proceeding”. Review the content and click Next.
The next screen should be a confirmation page. If not, the electronic signature has not been properly submitted.

The PIN serves as your identifier to let you access your personal information in various U.S. Department of Education systems. It's like the Personal Identification Number that you get from your bank that enables you to access your account. Because your PIN serves as your electronic signature, you should not give it to anyone...not even a family member.

Once you successfully complete a PIN request, the U.S. Department of Education will e-mail or mail your PIN. It will take approximately 1-3 days to receive an e-mail notification, or 7-10 days to receive it in the mail.