Washington student and vocational grants: WA Grant, College Bound, WASFA and WIOA (2026-27)

How WA Grant’s income bands set your 2026-27 award

For 2026-27 the income test uses household income from your 2024 tax year ⁠¹. Students at public colleges get the full amount if they are at or below the 60% column in the income chart above. Above that, the share drops in four steps. Here are the steps for a family of four, with the award at a community college and at UW ⁠¹⁠²:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: WSAC 2026-27 award chart and MFI levels ⁠¹⁠²⁠³. Students enrolled in a fourth quarter or third semester (usually summer) can receive more than these annual amounts ⁠².

For the 2027-28 school year the chart rises. A family of four gets the full award up to $88,000 and some grant up to $147,000. For a single student with no dependents, the full-award line is $46,000 and the cutoff is $76,500 ⁠⁶.

What each type of Washington school pays under WA Grant in 2026-27

The 2025 law SSB 5785 changed what students at non-public schools receive, starting this year ⁠⁴. Students at for-profit colleges, both two-year and four-year, no longer get WA Grant. The private nonprofit four-year maximum is now half the average award at UW and WSU. Western Governors University’s maximum dropped to $4,150 ⁠²⁠⁴.

Source: WSAC 2026-27 award chart ⁠².

Apprentices apply to WSAC, not through a college. Under SSB 5785 their maximum is now half the community college award, which is $2,548 ⁠⁷⁠⁴. WSAC opened the 2026-27 application on July 1, 2026. It needs 2024 tax information, a Social Security number or ITIN, and your Labor & Industries ARTS ID. Renewal offers may not be ready until September because WSAC waits for training-hour data from L&I ⁠⁷.

Residency, credits and the 18-quarter limit

WA Grant follows Washington’s tuition residency law (RCW 28B.15.012), so citizenship is not required. In the most common route, you earn a high school diploma or GED and live in Washington for 12 months in a row before your first term, for reasons other than college. You then sign an affidavit ⁠⁴. Non-citizens who meet that route, including students with current or expired DACA, qualify. At public colleges the residency officer makes the decision, not the aid office ⁠⁴. Several other rules apply ⁠⁴:

• Enrollment: at least 3 credits a quarter (or the equivalent). Part-time awards are prorated.
• Program: an associate or bachelor’s degree, or a vocational certificate of at least 600 clock hours, 16 semester credits or 24 quarter credits, at a school approved for federal aid. Registered apprenticeships count through WG-A.
• Exclusions: you cannot have a bachelor’s degree (foreign degrees included), owe a repayment on any state aid, or be pursuing a theology degree.
• Time limit: 18 full-time quarters or 12 semesters over your lifetime, with apprenticeship and college use counted together.
• Progress: starting in 2026-27, every college must use its federal satisfactory academic progress policy for state aid too.

WASFA: Washington’s state-only application

You need a FAFSA or the Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA) every year ⁠⁴. The WASFA is for residents who cannot or prefer not to file the FAFSA. Examples: you or a parent are undocumented, your parents will not file, or you have a defaulted federal loan ⁠⁵. Filing the WASFA makes you eligible only for state aid and some college aid, not Pell. File one form, not both ⁠⁵. Both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 WASFAs are open now. The 2026-27 form can be processed until June 30, 2027 ⁠⁵⁠⁴. For 2027-28, WSAC moved the WASFA to a new vendor. The questions no longer copy the FAFSA, and the form no longer calculates an SAI ⁠⁴.

WSAC sets no statewide priority deadline for WA Grant because every eligible student is funded ⁠⁴. Colleges may set their own priority dates for campus aid.

College Bound, Passport and benefit-based shortcuts to the maximum grant

College Bound. Students who signed up in 7th or 8th grade, or in 9th grade if they newly qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, get a larger promise ⁠⁴. If family income is at or below 65% MFI, College Bound raises the award to the full public-college WA Grant plus $500. That comes to $13,703 a year at UW and $5,595 at community colleges in 2026-27. In the 61-65% band, College Bound fills the gap above the partial WA Grant ⁠². To use it you must enroll within one year of high school graduation. Credits earned in Running Start before graduation no longer count toward that deadline. You must use the award within six years. Direct admits to four-year schools need at least a 2.0 high school GPA ⁠⁴.

Passport to College. Former foster youth who were in care on or after their 13th birthday, and youth verified as unaccompanied homeless before age 22, can receive up to $2,000 for a nine-month year ⁠⁸. Under SB 5963, signed March 14, 2026, Passport-eligible students also qualify for the maximum WA Grant starting in 2026-27, even if they have not filed a FAFSA or WASFA. The program’s age-27 cap has been removed ⁠⁴⁠⁸.

WCG-Connect. Students in the Aged, Blind, or Disabled program, Housing and Essential Needs or Pregnant Women Assistance meet the WA Grant income test without a FAFSA or WASFA ⁠⁴. Under the Early Path to WA Grant, students whose families received Basic Food or Food Assistance in 10th, 11th or 12th grade get one year of guaranteed WA Grant ⁠⁴.

Community college workforce money: Opportunity Grant, Worker Retraining and BFET

Washington’s community and technical colleges run three state-funded training programs alongside WA Grant. Each college receives a fixed allocation, so funds can run out.

• Opportunity Grant. For residents at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines in a college-approved pathway to a high-demand job. It pays tuition and mandatory fees for up to 45 credits, which is $5,092 at 2026-27 rates. It also pays up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies, plus support services ⁠⁹. You can get first-term funding before filing a FAFSA or WASFA, but you need one to continue.
• Worker Retraining. For people who are receiving or eligible for unemployment benefits, or who used them up within the past four years. It also covers unemployed veterans discharged within four years, formerly self-employed people, and displaced homemakers. Workers at risk of losing their jobs may qualify if they meet two of three tests ⁠¹⁰. It pays tuition, fees and books in basic skills and professional-technical programs ⁠¹⁰.
• Basic Food Employment and Training (BFET). For Basic Food (SNAP) recipients who are not on TANF. It can pay tuition and support services through a college BFET coordinator ⁠¹¹. TANF families train through WorkFirst instead; see our Washington cash assistance guide.

WorkSource, Career Bridge and Workforce Pell’s first Washington cycle

WIOA training money for adults and dislocated workers comes through an Individual Training Account at a WorkSource center. WorkSource centers are run by Washington’s 12 local Workforce Development Councils ⁠¹³. An ITA pays only for a program on the state’s Eligible Training Provider List. You can search that list on Career Bridge by checking the “On ETP List” box. The same list decides which programs qualify for extra unemployment weeks under the Training Benefits program ⁠¹³. State or local boards may cap how much an ITA pays and for how long. WIOA must also count Pell and state training grants first ⁠¹⁴.

Federal Pell for 2026-27 ranges from $740 to $7,395 ⁠¹⁵. Workforce Pell extends Pell to programs that run 8 to fewer than 15 weeks and 150 to 599 clock hours, with completion and job placement rates of at least 70% ⁠¹². In Washington, WSAC runs the state’s single application. State agencies verify each program, then a Cross-Agency Steering Committee reviews it and sends approved programs to the Governor for certification ⁠¹². The first-cycle application deadline is November 6, 2026, with committee decisions in November and a second cycle in January and February 2027 ⁠¹². As of October 20, 2026, WSAC’s page lists no certified Washington programs. You cannot receive Workforce Pell and regular Pell in the same term ⁠¹².

Applying for 2027-28 in Washington, step by step

1. Check your income band

   Find your family size on WSAC’s 2027-28 income chart and compare it with your income from two years before the school year ⁠⁶⁠¹.

2. File one application

   File the FAFSA if you can receive federal aid. Otherwise file the 2027-28 WASFA through WSAC’s WASFA page; it opened October 1, 2026 ⁠⁴⁠⁵. List every Washington college you are considering.

3. Settle residency early

   Apply for admission and complete the college’s residency questions or affidavit. At public colleges, ask the residency officer to confirm which part of RCW 28B.15.012 you meet ⁠⁴.

4. Flag any shortcut

   Tell the aid office if you are in College Bound, are Passport-eligible, or are in a WCG-Connect benefit program or the Early Path. Bring your benefit approval letter ⁠⁴.

5. Answer the aid office

   Colleges, not WSAC, award WA Grant. Expect requests for tax or income documents. WASFA filers can resolve questions with documents other than a federal tax return ⁠⁴.

6. Add training funds

   For short or career programs, ask the college’s Opportunity Grant, Worker Retraining or BFET coordinator. Visit a WorkSource center for a WIOA ITA, and choose a program marked ETP-eligible on Career Bridge ⁠⁹⁠¹⁰⁠¹¹⁠¹³.

7. Apprentices apply separately

   Submit the WG-A application in the WSAC Portal with your 2024 tax information and ARTS ID. Then sign the payment directive when you receive the offer ⁠⁷.

8. Keep it or regain it

   Meet your college’s academic progress policy and refile every year. If you lose aid for progress, use the college’s appeal process. If you owe a state repayment, your eligibility returns once you repay it ⁠⁴.