Understand how to complete the FAFSA Know the required elements of student eligibility for federal student financial aid. Objective
Required for federal student aid programs Schools may not require an additional application for federal aid programs Computes Expected Family Contribution Database matches confirm eligibility as an eligible student Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Multiple ways to complete the FAFSA On the Web Paper FAFSA FAA Access FAFSA on the Phone FAFSA
FAFSA on the Web English or Spanish Real time submission Electronic signatures Pop up help Pop up chat help FAFSA
Special Circumstances Students may skip the parent questions if they feel they have a special circumstance FAFSA
IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) Pulls IRS tax return data into the FAFSA Can be used for the correction process Relieves the student/parent from submitting a tax return transcript for verification Not available for everyone (i.e. amended return) FAFSA
Common Mistakes Form is not signed Wrong SSN Wrong Name Wrong Date of Birth Putting parent income information in student section FAFSA
How to sign the application PIN Printed Signature Page Sign rejected paper Student Aid Report (SAR) School submits the signature through FAA Access FAFSA
Signing the application: Certifies the information is correct Gives ED authority to verify the information with other agencies Agrees to provide the school with requested documents Certifies the student’s identity Acknowledges consequences of false information Agrees to certain application certification statements FAFSA
The amount a family can be reasonably be expected to contribute to a student’s annual cost of attendance. The same at all schools Calculated using a congressionally mandated formula Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
US Citizen or Eligible Non-Citizen If required, be registered for Selective Service Not be default on a federal debt Not have exceeded aggregate borrowing limits Not owe Title IV Refund Student Eligibility
Not have been convicted of selling or possessing drugs while receiving federal student aid Self reported on the FAFSA Database match with the Department of Justice Student Eligibility
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Established by the individual schools 2.0 by the beginning of the junior year No more than 150 percent of the program length. Student Eligibility
May not admit as a regular student those who do not have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent and Who are below the age of compulsory secondary school attendance in the student in which the school is located Institutional Eligibility
SSN (for the student and the parents) Department of Homeland Security When the answer to the citizenship question is “eligible non-citizen” Selective Service For males over the age of 18 National Student Loan Data Service Defaults Overpayments Aggregate borrowing limits CPS Database Matches
Department of Defense To identify students eligible for the Iraq/Afghanistan Grant Department of Veteran Affairs When the student claims on the FAFSA to be a veteran CPS Database Matches
Student receives a Student Aid Report (SAR) Paper EFC Comments (verification, database match failures) Eligibility for Pell/Stafford Loan Output
School receives a Institutional Student Information Report (ISIR) EFC Verification Code “C” Code Comment codes Output
Corrections : Applicants may correct items entered incorrectly or originally estimated (Income, assets) Updates : Year in school, Dependency Status (except for the student’s marital status) Adjustments : Changes made by the school as the result of professional judgment (dependency, income, etc.) Changes to the FAFSA
Questions?