FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (November...3 Objectives Understand acronyms and...
Transcript of FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (November...3 Objectives Understand acronyms and...
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FAFSA:
Free Application for
Federal Student Aid
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Objectives
Understand acronyms and jargon associated with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
Appreciate the importance of completing the FAFSA early
and accurately—each and every year.
Recognize how to address unique family and financial situations when completing the FAFSA—and, what to do if your situation cannot be addressed within the form itself.
Identify the correct FAFSA website and the form itself.
Become familiar with dependency questions. Determine what information and/or documents are
needed to complete the FAFSA and understand where to obtain this information.
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What…
…is the FAFSA?
The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid; it is the gateway to
almost all money to pay for college. This form is used to determine the amount of
money (or EFC) a family can “reasonably contribute” to the price of attending a
postsecondary institution. The results from the FAFSA are used in the awarding of
student grants, work-study, and loans.
…is an FSA ID?
This is a Federal Student Aid Identification, which is used to access all Federal Student
Aid websites, including www.fafsa.gov. The FSA ID consists of a user-created
Username and Password. The student can create an FSA ID at any point prior to or
after starting their FAFSA at https://fsaid.ed.gov. The student and, if student is
dependent, a parent will require an FSA ID to complete the FAFSA. For a list of
dependency questions to help determine dependency status, please see
page 25. Both student and parent will require a separate, unique email address for
their FSA ID; all FSA ID users are strongly encouraged to verify their email address.
…is a SAR?
The SAR is the Student Aid Report; it is a summary (approximately 5 pages) of all
the information entered into the FAFSA. The EFC can be found at the top right corner,
on the first page of the SAR. Once the FAFSA is processed, the student will receive an
email stating the Student Aid Report is ready.
…is an EFC?
The EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution. It is an indicator of a family’s
ability to pay towards the student’s education. It is also used by financial offices to
determine a student’s eligibility for federal, state, and some institutional financial aid
during one school year.
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How…
…do I start?
Students should begin by visiting https://fsaid.ed.gov to create their FSA ID Username
and Password. The FSA ID allows students to securely access their FAFSA, as well as
other Federal Student Aid websites, including National Student Loan Data System
(NSLDS).
…do I find the FAFSA?
The FAFSA can be found at www.fafsa.ed.gov. REMINDER: The FAFSA is FREE; do
not complete the FAFSA at any other website. You will be asked to pay.
…often must I complete the FAFSA?
The FAFSA is a form that must be completed every year the student is in school—the
earlier the better, as soon as possible!
…important is it that I check email regularly?
Because Federal Student Aid will email the student when the Student Aid Report (SAR)
is ready, it is vitally important that the student check his or her email on a regular
basis. Communication is not frequent, but anything from Federal Student Aid is
important. Communication will also be sent if a financial aid office makes changes or
corrections to a FAFSA and to remind students to make corrections if the FAFSA was
originally filed with estimates.
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Why…
…should I file a FASFA?
The FAFSA is the necessary application for any student wanting to receive federal,
state, and some institutional aid. Think of it this way: NO FAFSA=NO AID.
…is it important to file as early as possible?
Many kinds of financial aid are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Since some
funding is limited, students want to complete the FAFSA early in order to receive funds
for which they are eligible.
When…
…do I complete a FAFSA?
The FAFSA is not available until January 1st, 2016 and should be completed as soon
as possible. Aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. The earlier the better!
…is Missouri’s FAFSA deadline?
In order to be considered for some Missouri aid, particularly the Access Missouri
Grant, schools must receive the FAFSA before April 1st, 2016. New deadlines will be
implemented as the FAFSA shifts from January to October; please contact The
Scholarship Foundation for updates on state deadlines and your school’s financial aid
office for updates on institutional deadlines.
…is my school’s FAFSA deadline?
Many colleges and universities have their own priority FAFSA deadlines; oftentimes,
these deadlines are utilized not just in the awarding of institutional dollars, but also
state aid (i.e., Access Missouri). Please check with each school’s financial aid office to
determine what those dates might be.
…do I renew my FAFSA?
Students should always renew their FAFSA as early as possible after it is made
available. Beginning with the 2017-2018 FAFSA, the application will be available on
October 1st of each year. (So, the FAFSA will be available October 1st, 2016!).
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FAFSA:
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
www.fafsa.ed.gov
First-time FAFSA filers will
want to log-in here! If you are a returning user,
you will use this Login to
complete, correct, or
update your FAFSA!
NOTE: Look for Federal Student Aid on the FAFSA website; double-check and make sure your
website looks like the above and says www.fafsa.ed.gov and nothing else! Remember, the FAFSA
is free and other websites may charge you!
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Log-in using the
student’s FSA
Username (or
verified e-mail
address) AND
FSA Password.
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Students will need
to create a SAVE
KEY in order to
return to a saved
FAFSA! A SAVE
KEY is temporary
and between 4-8
characters long.
Please complete the 2016-2017 FAFSA,
which will be available starting January
1st, 2016.
Check and/or confirm status of student’s
FSA ID Status here! For new users, who
have not created an FSA ID, here it will
indicate you need to “Create FSA ID”.
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Click here in order to access the various
help functions (live chat, phone number,
email addresses, etc.). The live chat
function is great—it allows you to save
and print the conversations you’ve had
with a customer service representative.
It is not mandatory to read through
these, but they provide good information
about Frequently Asked Questions
for the FAFSA.
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Students are not required to provide
a driver’s license. There is no reason
not to, but it will not prevent a
student from moving forward with
completing the FAFSA.
Most of the information on this
page is now pre-populated, based
on information entered for the
student’s FSA ID. Please review to
confirm information is correct and
answer any blank questions.
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There are several possible
options in the drop-down box;
please be sure to remember that
students are eligible for different
aid. Even if you are planning to
eventually obtain a master’s or a
doctorate degree, please make
sure to enter the degree you will
be working on for the 2016-2017
aid year. It could cause mix-ups
in the financial aid process.
Answering the high school question,
correctly, is more important than
ever! Don’t forget to hit
“CONFIRM!”!
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Search for schools here—
remember, you can add
up to 10 schools!
Don’t forget to ADD the
schools by clicking on this
box after checking the
school(s) you want to
select.
Don’t forget to
check important
school
information,
including
graduation
rates! This chart
also shows net
price average,
retention rates,
and other
important
information.
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Dependency
Status
&
Special
Circumstances
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NOTE: Parent refusal to
provide information or
contribute to college is not a
special circumstance. Schools
will not provide dependency
overrides in these
circumstances.
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Students who complete a FAFSA without parent
information must be aware of two things. First, the
student must immediately contact the school’s
financial aid office to begin the process of a
dependency override. Second, until a
dependency override has been granted, the FAFSA
will not calculate a student’s EFC.
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Dependent students will need
to know the marital status of
their parents. If a student’s
biological parents BOTH live
with the student, both of their
financial information MUST
be in the FAFSA, regardless
of marital status. As of
January 1st, 2014 parent
marital status includes an
option that says: “Unmarried
but living together”. This will
be for families where
biological parents never
married or, are divorced or
separated, but still reside
together.
By clicking on the link titled
“parents”, one can read
additional information and
descriptions to best choose
the correct marital status.
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Both parents and students will see these
questions, separately; a dependent
student will see these questions twice
(once for parent’s income/assets and
once for student income/assets). Each
will have to answer if they will file, are
not going to file, or have already filed
2015 federal taxes. In addition, they
should indicate their tax filing status
according to that tax return.
By indicating “will file”, you will be
prompted to estimate your 2015 tax
information. You must include
adjusted gross income, as well as
earned wages.
Additionally, you may be asked to
indicate whether or not you’ve
received certain federal benefits.
Once taxes have been filed, you
should make a correction with
updated tax information.
Information on this page and the
screen on page 19 will be
transferred over directly if the
IRS Data Retrieval function is
used for 2015 taxes.
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You will be answering this
question for 2015 taxes.
Options will include Already
Completed, Will File, or Not
Going to File.
In February 2016, families who
have “Already Completed” their
taxes will have the option to
use IRS Data Retrieval.
This feature allows families to
connect directly to the IRS and
have tax information
transferred over directly.
Using IRS Data Retrieval
is not required, but
strongly encouraged.
Federal Student Aid
recommends the tool because it
helps save time; families do not
have to be concerned about
making mistakes; and, if they
use IRS Data Retrieval
and do not change the
retrieved information,
they will not need to
provide tax transcripts if
selected for verification.
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This question is dynamic;
each individual family
will have a unique asset
dollar amount. It
includes an asset
protection allowance
based on the parent(s)
marital status and age. If
your assets exceed the
dollar amount shown on
the student’s FAFSA, the
parent(s) must answer
questions about bank
accounts,
savings/investments, and
businesses.
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This question should always be
left a “NO”; it is only marked
otherwise if you pay someone to
complete the FAFSA for you.
And you should never, ever
pay for FAFSA help! There
are many free resources: see
page 21!
Both the student and one
parent will sign
electronically, using
their FSA IDs!
Both must read the
accompanying statements
and indicate agreement.
You are all finished—hit
submit!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Department of Education ask for income information from the year before I go to school? The law requires that this information be used, since studies have consistently shown that verifiable income tax information from the most recently completed tax year (2015 for the 2015-2016 award year) is more accurate than projected (2016) information and provides a reasonable basis for determining family financial strength in calculating the Expected Family Contribution.
I’ll be filing a tax return this year, but I probably will not file until April. How should I answer the financial questions? Should I wait to fill out this form until after I’ve filed my tax return? Ideally you should complete a FAFSA after you have completed your tax return, but do not wait until April. Remember, many schools award aid on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, you may not be eligible for some Missouri state aid if you wait until April to submit your FAFSA. If you haven’t completed your tax return, you may use estimates from the prior tax year (2014). You can also calculate your adjusted gross income (AGI) and taxes paid using the instructions for the IRS Form 1040. The instructions can be found online at www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html. Keep in mind, if you submit your FAFSA with estimates, you will need to make a FAFSA correction later. If my parents are divorced, whose information do I need? Report the information of the parent with whom you lived the most during the 12 months preceding the date you completed the FAFSA. It does not make a difference which parent claims you as a dependent for tax purposes. If you did not live with either parent or lived equally with each parent, the parental information must be provided for the parent from whom you received the most financial support during the preceding 12 months or the parent from whom you received the most support the last time support was given. If your parents are divorced, but still share a household, both parents information is required in the FAFSA.
What should I do if my parent with whom I live is remarried and my stepparent refuses to supply information? If you are a dependent student and your parent is remarried, the stepparent’s information must be included or you will not be considered for federal student aid. If you believe that your situation is unique or unusual other than the stepparent’s simple refusal to provide the requested information, you should discuss the matter further with your financial aid administrator at the college or university which you plan to attend. How are 529 savings plans reported on the FAFSA? There are two types of Qualified Tuition Programs: tuition prepayment plans and college savings plans (529s). Both will have the plan value reported on the FAFSA as an asset of the owner (not the beneficiary), except when the owner is a dependent student, in which case the plan is an asset of the parent. So, regardless of whether student or parent is owner, it is always reported as an asset of the parent. The plan value is not reported as an asset if the owner is another person (i.e., grandparent or non-custodial parent). In addition, plan values of a student’s sibling are also reported when the parent is the owner of the plans. Whose income do I report if I live with a grandparent, aunt, etc. (other than a biological or adoptive parent)? The FAFSA is very clear—only biological or adoptive parent information should be included in the FAFSA. Students who reside with a grandparent, aunt/uncle, or another adult may, depending on circumstances, be considered an independent student, which means no parent/guardian information is required. Otherwise, students may need to pursue a dependency override or begin conversations with a parent to secure necessary information.
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That’s great, but I still want help.
Help text is available and accessible for every question on the FAFSA if you apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You can
also get free live help online via this website.
Contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center: 1.800.4.FED.AID (1.800.433.3243) for assistance with any
questions you have regarding your FAFSA!
The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis is offering a free FAFSA Completion Clinic on February 6, 2016 (9:00am-
12noon). Please call our offices, 314.725.7990, to schedule an appointment.
Take advantage of the Missouri Department of Higher Education’s FAFSA Frenzy in 2016! Here is a list of local
sites, dates, and times! All FAFSA Frenzy events are free and open to the public!
Bayless High School: Thursday, February 4, 2016 (4:00-7:00pm)
Carnahan High School of the Future: Wednesday, February 9, 2016 (5:30-7:00pm)
Cleveland NJROTC High School: Thursday, February 18, 2016 (6:00-8:00pm)
Clyde C. Miller Career Academy: Tuesday, February 2, 2016 (6:00-8:00pm)
ESOL Bilingual Migrant Program: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 (5:00-7:00pm)
Fontbonne University: Sunday, February 29, 2016 (1:00-4:00pm)
Gateway Science Academy: Friday, February 5, 2016 (6:00-8:00pm)
Gateway STEM High School: Thursday, February 11, 2016 (5:30-7:30pm)
Hancock High School: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 (3:00-6:00pm)
Harris-Stowe AT&T Library & Resource Center: Sunday, February 28, 2016 (12noon-2:00pm)
Hazelwood East High School: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 (5:00-8:00pm)
Hillsboro High School: Monday, February 22, 2016 (6:00-8:00pm)
Jennings High School: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 (6:00-8:00pm)
McCluer High School: Tuesday, February 9, 2016 (5:00-8:00pm)
McCluer North High School: Friday, February 5, 2016 (3:00-7:00pm)
McCluer South-Berkeley High School: Monday, February 8, 2016 (5:00-7:00pm)
Potosi High School: Sunday, February 28, 2016 (2:00-4:00pm)
Pride St. Louis: Sunday, February 28, 2016 (11:00am-4:00pm)
Ritenour High School: Sunday, February 28, 2016 (2:00-4:00pm)
Riverview Gardens High School: Wednesday, February 10, 2016 (5:00-8:00pm)
St. Charles Community College (TECH Building): Sunday, February 28, 2016 (2:00-4:00pm)
St. Louis Community College Harrison Ed. Center: Tuesday, March 8, 2016 (5:00-7:00pm)
St. Louis Community College Meramec: Sunday, February 28, 2016 (12noon-2:00pm)
Silex High School: Tuesday, January 19, 2016 (5:00-8:00pm)
Soldan International Studies High School: Thursday, February 18, 2016 (4:00-7:00pm)
South Technical High School: Thursday, March 3, 2016, (6:00-7:30pm)
St. Clair High School: Saturday, February 6, 2016 (2:30-6:00pm)
Sullivan High School: Sunday, February 28, 2016 (2:00-5:00pm)
Sumner High School: Thursday, February 25, 2016 (4:00-7:00pm)
University City High School: Tuesday, February 23, 2016 (5:00-7:00pm)
Vashon High School: Sunday, February 28, 2016 (4:00-7:00pm)
Webster University: Sunday, February 28, 2016 (2:00-4:00pm)
For more information on FAFSA Frenzy Sites, please visit www.dhe.mo.gov/ppc/ffsites.php.
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2016-2017 FAFSA Checklist
Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at www.fafsa.ed.gov to apply for federal, state,
and college-based financial aid.
Dependent students must include parents’ information on the FAFSA. To determine your dependency status,
see dependency status worksheet.
REQUIRED INFORMATION WHERE TO FIND IT
2015 Federal Income Tax Forms and, Personal records or call the IRS at
If applicable, Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) 800-829-1040—allow 10 days processing.
2015W-2 Forms Personal records or contact your employer(s) or
call the IRS at 800-829-1040
Federal Student Aid (FSA) IDs Create FSA ID Username and Password
https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm
Student’s driver’s license number Personal records
Social Security Number (both student and parent) Personal records or call the Social Security
Administration at 800-772-1213
Birth date (for both parents and student) Personal records
Date you or your parents were married, separated, Personal records
divorced, or widowed.
Current (day of FAFSA filing) cash and Personal records or from your bank
checking/savings account balances.
Current investment values (stocks, savings bonds, Statements from the financial institution
mutual funds, CDs) excluding parent’s home and
retirement plans.
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2016-2017 Dependency Checklist
Dependency Status Questions Answer the following questions to determine your dependency status for the FAFSA. Were you born before January 1, 1993?
Yes No
Are you married?
Yes No
Will you be enrolled in a master’s or doctorate program at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year?
Yes No
Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces or currently serving on active duty?
Yes No
Do you have children who will receive more than half of their financial support from you?
Yes No
At any time since you turned age 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a dependent or ward of the court?
Yes No
Are you or were you an emancipated minor as determined by a court in your state of legal residence?
Yes No
Are you or were you in legal guardianship as determined by a court in your state of legal residence?
Yes No
At any time on or after July 1, 2015, were you homeless?
Yes No
If you answer “no” to every question, you are dependent and must provide parental information on the FAFSA. If you answer “yes” to any question, you are independent and should not include parental information on the FAFSA.
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Teresa Stock Steinkamp, LMSW
Advising Director
The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis
p. 314.932.6932
f. 314.725.5231
@tstockstein www.sfstl.org
Teresa Stock Steinkamp, LMSW
Revised November 2015