Transcript College Goal Sunday January 17, 2009

Applying for
Financial Aid
2010-2011
1
Sponsors/Partners:
Presenter:
2
Types of Financial Aid
• Gift Aid - Grants or
•
•
scholarships that do not
need to be repaid
Work - Money earned by
the student as payment for
a job on or off campus
Loans - Borrowed money
to be paid back, usually
with interest
3
Sources of Financial Aid
•
Federal government
•
State government
•
•
Colleges and universities
Private agencies,
companies, foundations,
and your parents’
employers
4
Types of Applications
•
•
•
FAFSA
Deadlines
• MA State deadline May 1st
•College deadlines vary
Other applications or forms
as required by the college
such as:
•
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE
•
Institutional scholarship
and/or financial aid applications
2009 federal tax returns (along
with schedules and W-2s) or other
income/asset documentation
•
5
Federal PIN
• PIN (Personal Identification
Number) serves as the electronic
signature on ED documents
• Both student and at least one
custodial parent need PIN to
sign the FAFSA electronically
• May be used to:
• Check on FAFSA status
• Verify and correct FAFSA data
• Add additional schools to receive
FAFSA data
• Change home and e-mail
addresses
• If an e-mail address is provided,
PIN will be e-mailed to the PIN
applicant within hours
Apply for student
and parent PINs at
www.pin.ed.gov
6
Getting Ready
•
Before starting the FAFSA, gather:
• Student driver’s license
• Student Alien Registration Card
• Student and Parent
Social Security cards
2009 W-2 Forms and other records of money earned
2009 federal income tax form (even if not completed)
Records of untaxed income
Current bank statements
Business, farm, and other real estate records
Records of stocks, bonds, and other investments
Create a file for copies of all financial aid documents submitted
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FAFSA on the Web Worksheet
The 2010-2011 FAFSA
on the Web Worksheet
may be used for the
January 1, 2010
through June 30, 2011
federal aid application
cycle
8
The FOTW Worksheet
A Four Section Form
Section 1 – is about the student
Section 2 – determines student
dependency status
Section 3 – collects parental
information for dependent
students
Section 4 – collects student finances
and information about the
independent student
9
Section 1
(page 2)
STUDENT INFORMATION
10
Section 1
Citizenship Status
•
•
•
If U.S. citizen, status will be confirmed by Social Security
match
If eligible noncitizen, status will be confirmed by Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) match. This includes:
• U.S. permanent residents with I-551
• Conditional permanent residents with I-551C
• Eligible noncitizens with I-94
If neither a citizen or eligible noncitizen, the student is
ineligible for federal/state aid, but might still be eligible for
institutional funds
11
Section 1
School Selection
An important question NOT on the Worksheet:
FAFSA on the Web allows the student to
list up to 10 colleges/universities that
will receive his/her student and parent
information
The student should list the schools
he/she is most likely to attend, and then
list others to which the student is
applying for admission
12
Section 1
School Selection
An important question NOT on the Worksheet:
• While in the School Selection Section,
the student will be asked to enter the
federal school code for each school to
which he/she wants information sent
• If the student does not know the
federal school code, enter the state in
which the college/university is located
and search for the federal school code
by the college/university name
13
Section 1
School Information
Strategies for Listing Colleges
•
•
List those schools with the
earliest financial aid deadlines
If the student is applying to more
than ten schools, wait for the
processed Student Aid Report
(SAR) and add additional
schools via the Web
or by phone using the student
PIN
14
Section 2
(page 2)
STUDENT DEPENDENCY
STATUS
15
Section 2
Determination of Student Dependency Status
16
Section 3
(page 3)
PARENT
INFORMATION
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Section 3
Who is Considered a Parent
See Page 3 of FAFSA on the
Web Worksheet about who is
considered a parent
•
•
•
Biological or adoptive
parent(s)
Stepparent (regardless of
any prenuptial agreement)
In case of divorce or
separation, provide
information about the
parent and/or stepparent
the student lived with
more in the last 12 months
18
Section 3
Who is Not a Parent
•
Do not provide information on:
•
Foster parents or legal guardians
• If the student is in foster care or has a legal
guardian, he/she is automatically
considered an independent student
•
Grandparents or other relatives
• The student must attempt to get
biological parental information
• Colleges may use Professional Judgment
to allow the student to file as independent
19
Section 3
Parent Information
•
If the answer to any question is zero or
the question does not apply, enter 0: $
,
•
Report whole dollar figures:$
•
Recommendation: If the parents have not filed
their 2009 federal tax return, use 2009 W-2
forms and/or other 2009 employment records such as final pay check stubs - to estimate total
taxable income
•
Remember, rather than miss any filing
deadline, use estimated 2009 income
information
12 ,356
0
(no cents)
20
Section 3
Dislocated Worker
• The student will be asked to check if the father/stepfather
and/or mother/stepmother is a dislocated worker
• A person may be considered a dislocated worker if he/she:
• is receiving unemployment benefits due to being laid off or
losing a job and is unlikely to return to a previous occupation
• has been laid off or received a lay-off notice from a job
• was self-employed but is now unemployed due to economic
conditions or natural disaster
• is a displaced homemaker
21
Section 3
Parents’ Tax Return Filing Status
for 2009
• The student will be asked to provide information
about parent tax filing status for 2009:
• If his/her parents have completed their 2009 federal
income tax return, mark the first box
• If they have not as yet filed, but plan to file a 2009
federal income tax return, mark the second box
• If they have not, nor will not, file a 2009 federal
income tax return and are not required to do so,
mark the third box
22
Section 3
Parent 2009 Adjusted Gross Income
$$$$$$
•
•
If the student’s parents have not yet filed their
2009 federal tax return, use estimated
information for this question
If the student’s parents have completed their
2009 federal tax return, use actual 2009 tax
return information to complete this item.
Reminder: If the answer is zero or the question
does not apply, enter 0
23
Section 3
Money Earned from Work by
Parent(s) in 2009
$$$,$$$
$$$,$$$
Use W-2 forms and other records to list all income
earned from work in 2009 (including business
income earned from self-employment) for
father/stepfather and/or mother/stepmother
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Section 3
Parents’ Household
2008 or 2009 Benefits Received
Indicate if the student, his/her parents, or anyone in the
parents’ household received benefits in 2008 or 2009
from any of the federal programs listed:
•Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Food Stamps
• Free or Reduced Price School Lunch
• TANF
• WIC
25
Section 3
2009 Additional Financial Information
The student will be asked to report if his or her parents received
or paid any of the following items in 2009 (check all that apply)
- Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits
- Child support paid
- Taxable earnings from work-study, assistantships, or
fellowships
- Grants and scholarship aid reported to the IRS
- Combat or special combat pay
- Cooperative education program earnings
26
Section 3
2009 Parent Untaxed Income
The student will be asked to report if his or her parents had any
untaxed income in 2009. Check all that apply. Some examples of
the most common items are:
- Payments to tax-deferred pensions and savings plans such
as 401Ks, IRA deductions, and payments to self-employed
SEP and Keoghs
- Tax exempt interest income
- Child support received
- Housing, food and other living allowances paid to members of
the military and clergy
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Section 3
Parent Assets
•Parents may be asked to report the current
balances of their cash, savings, and checking
accounts as of the day they complete the FAFSA
•They may also be asked to provide information about
the net value of their investments such as real estate,
rental property, money market and mutual funds,
stocks, bonds and other securities
•In addition, they may be asked questions about the net
value of their businesses and investment farms
•They should not include the home they live in, the
value of life insurance and retirement plans, or the
value of a family-owned and controlled small business
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Section 3
Parent Household Size
An important question NOT on the Worksheet:
Parent Number in Household
•
Include in the parents’ household:
• the student
• parent(s)
• parents’ other dependent children, if
the parents provide more than half their
support or the children could answer “no” to every
question in Section 2, regardless of where they live
• other people, if they now live with the parents and will
continue to do so from 7/1/10 through 6/30/11, and if
the parents provide more than half their support now,
and will continue to provide support from 7/1/10
through 6/30/11
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Section 3
College Students in the Parent Household
An important question NOT on the Worksheet:
College Students in the Parent Household
•
•
•
Always include the student even if he/she will attend
college less than half-time in 2010-2011
Include other household members only if they will
attend at least half-time in 2010-2011 in a program
that leads to a college degree or certificate
Never include the parents
NOTE: Some financial aid offices will require proof
that other family members are attending college
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Section 4
(page 4)
STUDENT INFORMATION
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Section 4
Student Information
•
•
Questions in Section 4 are identical
to the parent financial questions we
covered in Section 3
•
If the student is single, ignore
references to “spouse”
•
If the student is married, report
spouse’s income and assets
The questions in Section 4 ask:
•
Which 2009 Federal income tax
return the student filed or will file?
•
The student’s 2009 Adjusted Gross
Income, if filing a tax return, and
earnings from work as well as
untaxed income and assets
32
Section 4
Student Dislocated Worker
A person may be considered a dislocated worker if he/she:
• is receiving unemployment benefits due to being laid off or losing
a job and is unlikely to return to a previous occupation
• has been laid off or received a lay-off notice from a job
• was self-employed but is now unemployed due to economic
conditions or natural disaster
• is a displaced homemaker
33
Section 4
Student Information (Independent Students)
There are questions in
Section 4 that the student
will be asked only if he/she
checked at least one
response in Section 2 –
Student Dependency Status
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Section 4
Student Benefits (Independent Students)
Indicate if the student, his/her spouse, or anyone
in the student’s household received benefits in
2008 or 2009 from any of the federal programs
listed:
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Food Stamps
• Free or Reduced Price School Lunch
• TANF
• WIC
35
Section 34
Student Household Size
An important question NOT on the Worksheet:
•
Include in the student’s household:
• the student and the student’s spouse (if married)
• the student’s dependent children, if
the student provides more than half their
support
• other people, if they now live with the student and will
continue to do so from 7/1/10 through 6/30/11, and if
the student provides more than half their support
now, and will continue to provide support from 7/1/10
through 6/30/11
36
Section 4
Student Number in College
(Independent Students)
An important question NOT on the Worksheet:
•
Count the student even if he/she will
attend college less that half-time in
2010-2011
•
Include others only if they will attend at
least half-time in 2010-2011 in a program
that leads to a college degree or
certificate
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DO NOT MAIL THIS WORKSHEET
Go to www.fafsa.gov to complete and submit your application.
For more information on federal student aid,
visit www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov.
You can also talk with your college’s financial aid office
about other types of student aid that may be available.
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Special Circumstances
Contact the Financial Aid Office if there
are circumstances which affect a family’s
ability to pay for college such as:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Loss or reduction in parent or student income or
assets
Death or serious illness
Natural disasters affecting parent
income or assets
Unusual medical or dental expenses
not covered by insurance
Reduction in child support or other untaxed
benefits
Financial responsibility for elderly grandparents
Or any other unusual circumstances that
affect a family’s ability to contribute to
higher education
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What Happens Next?
Students and the colleges the student listed receive
Student Aid Report (SAR) from federal processor

Students and families review SAR for important
information and accuracy of data

Colleges match admission records with financial aid
applications and determine aid eligibility

Colleges mail notices of financial aid eligibility to
admitted students who have completed all required
financial aid forms
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Student Aid Report (SAR)
•
•
•
After the student completes the
FAFSA on the Web, a SAR will be
sent to the student
• An electronic SAR Acknowledgment
will be sent if student provides an
email address
• A paper SAR will be mailed if no
student e-mail address is provided
An electronic copy of the data will
be sent to each college or
university listed by the student in
Section 1
Keep a copy of the SAR with other
financial aid documents
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Questions
and Answers
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