mitch md to be

thanks for the info

cjman

Copy and pasted from www(dot)just4classes(dot)com/financialaid.asp




How can I apply for financial aid?

Your first step in applying for aid is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Submit the FAFSA form as soon as possible on or after January 1. Most states need to receive the FAFSA by March 1 to qualify for state aid. You don’t need to wait to complete your tax return, you can just estimate your income; any errors may be corrected later.

The application can not be submitted before January 1, because the need analysis methodology for financial aid uses the income and tax information from the most recent tax year (the base year) to judge eligibility for need-based financial aid for the upcoming academic year (the award year). Since the base year ends December 31, a financial aid application can't be submitted until January 1.

You can complete a paper application of the FAFSA or file electronically through the Internet. You can a get the paper FAFSA from the financial aid office at a local college, your local public library, or by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID. Filing on the Internet is the fastest way to get the FAFSA processed, and is helpful for checking errors. You will also need to provide information regarding household size, income and assets. Follow directions carefully (if corrections are needed it can cause delays.) If you choose the fill your FAFSA by paper, make sure to make copies and get a dated receipt for proof of mailing.

If you need help, you don’t need to pay someone to help you with the FAFSA, contact your school’s financial aid administrator or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-(800)4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).



I don’t think I qualify financial aid. Should I still apply?

Of course! You should never assume that you do not qualify for financial aid. Many students end up missing out on many sources of aid, including grants and low interest loans that are offered no matter your grade point average, credit history or financial need. Most federal and state aid programs do not have an age limit although some scholarship programs might. Many large companies offer tuition assistance programs. Most financial aid comes in the form of scholarships or grants, student loans, federal work study, or tax credits. The largest portion of financial aid comes from the federal and state governments, then colleges and universities, and private sources of aid such as community and professional organizations.



What happens after I file the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid)?

The FAFSA will be processed by the U. S. Department of Education within approximately four weeks, and a Student Aid Report (SAR) will be mailed to you. This same information is also sent to the colleges you listed on the FAFSA. The SAR will contain the information from your application, and if there are no errors or questions, will provide your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), or what you will be expected to pay toward your education.



How is My EFC (Expected Family Contribution) determined?

Your EFC is determined by using the information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and a "federal methodology" formula. The formula incluldes income, assets, family size, and the number of family members enrolled in college.

After receiving your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) figure from the federal processor, the financial aid office at your school then subtracts your EFC from the school's average cost of attendance to find your financial need. Contact your school to get a breakdown of their cost of attendance.



When will I receive My financial aid?

Colleges usually disburse financial aid at the beginning of each semester. Funds may first be used to pay your tuition and other expenses, and the balance remitted to you by check.



Do I have to re-apply for financial aid every year?

Yes, for continued eligibility, you must re-apply every academic year. After the first year, you will receive a FAFSA Renewal Application that includes information from the previous year's FAFSA. You must also maintain satisfactory academic progress (earn a minimum GPA and complete a number of course credits). Depending upon your circumstances, you may be awarded more or less financial aid.



What if my financial circumstances change?

There are some special circumstances that may adjust your estimated EFC and qualify you for more aid. For example: the death of or divorce from a spouse, loss of employment or other income, extraordinary medical expenses, and expenses for dependent child care. Contact your financial aid administrator if any of these conditions apply. However, you will need to provide proof to support any changes.



Do I have to attend Full-time to qualify for financial aid?

No, you may register for as many or as few courses as you wish. Financial aid is also available for part-time students; however the amount given depends on the number of units taken.



How do I compare financial aid from different schools?

To determine the best award package, calculate the amount of aid that remains after paying a school's tuition and fees instead of just considering the total aid amount. A good award package allows a generous portion of grant aid with a reasonable level of self-help which are renewable.



Can I get financial aid for non-degree programs or courses?

Generally, courses for personal development or other programs that do not work toward a degree are not eligible for financial aid. You must be admitted into an accredited college or university degree program. You can attend full or part-time.



What do I do if I have received an outside scholarship?

Outside financial aid and scholarships must be reported to the financial aid office in order to adjust your financial aid package.

dou

I'm an international student, will I be able to get financial aid as well? And if I can, what do I need to do?

formeraidlady

Absolutely complete the FAFSA and CSS if it is required - the bottom line is everyone can get student loans IF you need them and IF that is the only way you can get your education then use them - the investment IF managed properly is worth it.

Also I spend 30 years in the student lending business with all the big companies and I went into a new line of work this past August 07 so I have no fee, and no vested interest in who you use or any one particular lender - if I can help ask away and I will give you the best opinion without bias that I can.

AskMe02

Hi thumper1, thanks for starting a great thread.

You mentioned:

"8. The FAFSA is available online for filing on January 1 of the year your child is applying for finaid (e.g. Jan 1, 2008 for the 2008-09 school year). Plan to file very close to Jan 1 using accurate estimates using a "will file" status, meaning you will be filing your taxes for the 2007 tax year. Then complete your taxes ASAP after Jan 31, and you can amend the FAFSA online and resubmit indicating that you have filed."

Now, I understand many banks / mutual fund companies send out 1099 later Feb/Mar. I would think it may not be possible to file the taxes before that unless some one wants to file amendment returns later. Any suggestion on that?

Muffy333

I'm kind of obsessive about getting a refund, so I always have my taxes filed by the first week of Feb. I believe banks and investment companies have to have them out by Jan 31, because I usually get them by then. If I don't have something, I call to get actual numbers if possible. I use software and put the numbers in as they become available, so by Feb 1 there are only a couple of numbers I need.

thumper1

>>I understand many banks / mutual fund companies send out 1099 later Feb/Mar. >>

I thought it was required that these be sent by Jan 31. I have always received all of my 1099s by that time. Also, you should have end of the year statements from ALL of these types of accounts. When I help my kids fill out the FAFSA (and YES I do it with them), we use the end of year interest numbers from the statement at the end of the year. And as mentioned above, you can usually get the exact numbers by either going in person, or calling the bank or investment house.

Optimization

What do you mean wait until it is processed? As in, wait until Jan 31 when you have the real data or....?


Also, I have to do CSS. Should I just wait until I have 07 data? 06 is, I'm sure, pretty close...but should I wait until Jan 31 so I can avoid having to send in a paper correction, too?

franglish

No, you wait a couple of days for FAFSA to process the form, and send you back your report through email, if you have done it online. Then you go to the corrections part of the FAFSA site, open your report, delete the first schools, and replace them with the remaining schools. Send that to FAFSA, and you will get back in the email, a few days later, another transaction. Each school, from both reports, will get your application. As far as when to do all this, you can do it now with estimates, and then go back in and correct them, or you can wait until you have the exact figures, which may very well be after you and your family have done taxes. Someone above said that you could not correct CSS online later if you complete it with estimates now. I don't know about that. I do know that you can estimate now for FAFSA and correct it with exact figures later. Check CSS, for that info.

kjcastillo1990

really?! Yikes, I put all 10 of the school codes I applied to in the online FAFSA form and I've already submitted it....Should I go back and delete some of the schools or would it be worthless to do so?

orchestramom

^^
kjcastillo -- my understanding is that THIS YEAR FAFSA made changes and increased the number of schools that you could send to with one submission once -- so I think you are fine using all 10. That's why they had 10 spaces for colleges in the form. I filled out ours today, and I thought the instructions made it very clear. But I believe that Thumper's original post referenced last year's FAFSA form.

kjcastillo1990

OOooooooohhh, ok. Thanks for clarifying!

mam2Asenior

Just a heads up...

I read somewhere that you should not leave the additional slots on the Fafsa school codes blank, but rather pad them.

For instance...my daughter applied and was accepted to 7 colleges. So, out of the 10 spots on the fafsa, we added these 7 colleges. This left 3 more spots.

Now, when the schools you list on the fafsa receive the institutional SAR, it shows every school you requested your sar be sent to. The financial aid departments see all those schools listed there prior to awarding financial aid.

So, we padded the other 3 schools. Since we were appling mostly to schools in Texas, we added Rice, SMU and TCU as our last 3 codes. The article I read said that financial aid offices might see these schools, assume these are also schools for which you have applied and been accepted, and PERHAPS offer high financial aid packages for you to come to THEIR school.

It may be a long shot...but it definately cant hurt!

drmaQueen

What about financial ais process for boarding school?

remark_gi

This is the most confusing post I've read. Padding the school listing? Where did you read you should do this? And how, in January, does your daughter have 7 acceptances already? College financial aid officers know that acceptances have not been announced (only EA and ED, but not groups of 7 unless I'm mistaken about the process...) - how would they think she has been accepted to 10 schools as of January 14??
I've never heard of such a thing. and why would you clog up the system sending reports to schools that have no application on file for your student??
Don't the ad com and fin aid people have enough to do already withouth trying to match nonexistent materials??