Session #31 FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid Angela Smith Bob Tschinkel

2 What is the FAFSA? Department of Education’s free application for Title IV aid –Collects applicant information required by statute –Processed by Department’s Central Processing System (CPS) All students must complete unless parent PLUS is only aid requested

3 Central Processing System (CPS) Processes the FAFSA for use in determining student eligibility –Edits data for errors –Calculates expected family contribution (EFC) –Sends output documents Paper or electronic output to students Electronic file to schools

4 CPS Matches student information with other databases  Social Security Administration  Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  Selective Service  Department of Veterans Affairs  Department of Justice  National Student Loan Data System

5 Methods For Filing FAFSA Student Paper application FAFSA on the Web Renewal FAFSA on the Web School FAA Access to CPS on-line  Must have completed and signed copy of paper FAFSA

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9 FAFSA Instructions Available online at cations/completing_fafsa/index.html

10 FOTW Worksheet Recommended for applicants using FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) Paper worksheet that follows web version of FAFSA FAFSA Worksheets A, B, C are included in FOTW Worksheet

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12 CPS Web Applications Demo  –User ID – eddemo –Password - fafsatest Demos both FAFSA on the Web and FAA Access to CPS on-line Ideal for new staff, demonstrations, or practice Demo student information is preloaded

13 FAFSA Sections 1.General Student Information 2.Student/Spouse Income and Assets 3.Student Dependency Status 4.Parent Information (dependent student only) 5.Household Size and Number in College (independent student only) 6.School Information 7.Signature Requirements

14 FAFSA Data Income is “base year” – calendar year prior to award year Marital status, household size and assets are reported as of date of application

15 Social Security Number Student enters incorrect SSN Must correct SSN in question # 8. –CPS identifier will carry original SSN –COD will carry corrected SSN Student enters SSN and first two letters of last name that match what’s already in CPS database –If SSN entered incorrectly, must file new FAFSA –If SSN entered correctly, must file “correction application”  Call

16 Student’s Marital Status - #16 Marital status at time of application remains for entire award year May not change marital status once application is filed –No change to dependency status or household size

17 Questions 29 & 30 Parent’s education level requested because some states award aid to first generation college students Answers not required for EFC processing

18 Question 31 - Drug Conviction An applicant loses eligibility for Title IV aid if was convicted for a drug related offense that occurred while enrolled and receiving Title IV aid –Date of ineligibility begins on date of conviction

19 Questions 32b & 76b Reported estimated income information – tax return not yet filed Estimated information not automatically conflicting information  After April 15 of award year, CPS requests that families “correct” information to reflect actual tax information

20 Questions 44 & 88 Qualified education benefits include Coverdell savings accounts, state prepaid tuition plans and 529 prepaid and savings plans  All are included in assets on FAFSA  Report as asset of dependent student’s parent if parent is owner of the account or plan  Never considered an asset of a dependent student  Report as asset of independent student if student/spouse owns the account/plan

21 Family Ownership of Small Business Asset Questions 45 and 89 Exclude from assets on FAFSA any part of a family owned and controlled business with no more than 100 FT employees or FTE’s

22 Dependency Questions Step Three 8 criteria set in the law Student must be able to answer “yes” to at least one question to be independent

23 Dependency Questions 48. Must be age 24 or older by December 31 of award year 49. Enrolled in a master’s, doctorate, or graduate certificate program 50. Married as of date of application  Common law marriage in states where recognized  Same-sex marriages are not recognized for Title IV purposes

24 Dependency Questions 51. Have children for whom provide more than 50% support 52. Have dependents other than children and spouse for whom provide more than 50% support How do you measure 50%?

25 Dependency Questions 53. Both parents deceased OR ward of court at age Serving on active duty in U.S. armed forces for purposes other than training 55. Veteran of U.S. Armed forces  Served active duty for purpose other than training and discharged other than dishonorably  Database match with VA

26 Who Is A Parent? Biological and adoptive Stepparent currently married to above Legal guardians cannot be parents on the FAFSA Grandparents cannot be parents on the FAFSA unless they have legally adopted the student

27 Questions Parent’s SSN, Name, and DOB  Would be used if IRS database match begins  At least one parent’s data must match Social Security administration database  Parent without SSN must enter all zeroes in SSN field

28 Federal Means-Tested Benefits Questions & Additional criteria for simplified needs test and automatic zero EFC Is not conflicting information if reports these but does not report corresponding income on Worksheets A Answering these questions will not affect receipt of these programs

29 EXERCISE FAFSA QUESTIONS

30 Resources FSA Handbook, Application and Verification Guide (AVG), Chapters 1 & FAFSA & instruction booklet

31 Contacts Bob Tschinkel Phone: (646) We appreciate your feedback and comments. We can be reached at: Angela Smith Phone: (312)

32 Please provide any comments regarding this training or the trainers to: Jo Ann Borel Title IV Training Supervisor