2015 YOU CAN AFFORD COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID WORKSHOPS

Transcription

1 YOU CAN AFFORD COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID WORKSHOPS Student/Family Financial Aid Guide

2 I. OVERVIEW & KEY INFORMATION Welcome! Welcome to the annual Dallas County FAFSA/TASFA Workshops! We are thrilled you re here! This packet is meant to serve as a resource for you both during today s workshop, as well as after the workshop is done so that you can refer back to answer any future questions you may have. The goal for today is that you complete as much of your financial aid application as possible with the support of trained volunteers. Whether you are filing a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid), we are all here to help make sure that You Can Afford College. What is the FAFSA? What is the TASFA? Do I file both? Most colleges and universities use the information you provide to determine how much financial aid you can receive to help you pay for college expenses. It does not obligate you to taking out loans. FAFSA = Free Application for Federal Student Aid TASFA = Texas Application for State Financial Aid You will need to file EITHER the FAFSA OR the TASFA. You must file your financial aid application every year you are attending school. In the case of undocumented students, you may need to file both a paper FAFSA for DCCCD, and a TASFA for other schools that accept that as your financial aid application. The chart below will help you determine if you need to file the FAFSA or TASFA based on your residency status. Who files the FAFSA? Who files the TASFA? U.S. Citizen Residency Status (Student) Permanent resident w/ Alien Reg. Card (I- 551) Conditional permanent resident w/ visa type I- 551C Eligible non- citizen w/ Arrival/Departure Record (I- 94) showing one of the following: Refugee Asylum granted Parolee (1 year) Cuban- Haitian entrant I do not meet one of the statuses above, but I ve been classified as a TX resident & therefore am eligible to pay TX in- state tuition rate. I also do not meet one of the statuses above, but I ve been classified as a TX resident & therefore am eligible to pay TX in- state tuition AND I am applying to a Dallas County Community College campus. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) TX Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) Paper FAFSA 1

3 FAFSA/TASFA Deadlines Priority deadlines vary by college and can be as early as February 15. The Texas Priority Deadline and deadline for the top 10 percent scholarship and TEXAS Grant is March 15. Here are the priority deadlines for local universities as listed on their websites: College/University FAFSA Priority Deadline Forms Accepted Dallas County Community Colleges May 1 FAFSA/Paper FAFSA Paul Quinn College No Priority Deadline FAFSA/TASFA SMU February 15 (first- year students) FAFSA/TASFA/CSS Profile April 15 (returning students) Texas A&M University - Commerce March 15 FAFSA/TASFA University of Dallas March 1 FAFSA/TASFA/CSS Profile UNT Dallas March 15 FAFSA/TASFA UT Arlington April 1 FAFSA/TASFA UT Dallas March 31 FAFSA/TASFA Why should I file my financial aid application? Many students have reservations about filing financial aid applications, including some of the following: My parents may make too much money, so I won t qualify for financial aid. - There is no income cut- off to qualify for student aid. Many factors besides income for example, the size of your family are taken into account. Remember, when you file your FAFSA or TASFA, you re applying for funds from your colleges and state, in addition to the federal government. Some schools won t consider you for scholarships until you ve submitted your FAFSA/TASFA so fill it out! Only students with good grades receive financial aid. - A high grade point average may help a student be accepted to a good school and may help with academic scholarships, but most federal student aid programs do not take a student s grades into account. As long as you keep your grades up, financial aid will help you complete your education. 1 The FAFSA/TASFA is too hard to fill out. - If you are struggling after today to finish your financial aid application, you can visit your college counselor or school s college and career center to make sure you feel confident submitting your FAFSA or TASFA. You can also call the Federal Student Aid Information Center: FED- AID ( ). The hotline is open every day, including weekends and evenings. Lastly, you can also visit for more resources to help you understand and complete your FAFSA, or for help on the TASFA. My parents don t want the government or colleges to have access to all of our family s financial information. - The FAFSA and TASFA require specific information about your parents taxes so that colleges can determine how much aid would be most helpful given your financial situation. Neither the federal government (for the FAFSA) nor the state government (TASFA) or colleges share your information with anyone, so you can trust they are keeping tax information confidential. For that reason, it is better to share this tax information so that you can receive the maximum financial aid; otherwise, institutions will not be able to determine a helpful financial aid package for you. 1 7 Common Myths about Financial Aid, myths- about- the- fafsa- and- applying- for- financial- aid- 2/. 2

4 My parents are concerned about providing their information because of their citizenship status. - Your parents citizenship status does not affect your eligibility for federal student aid. In fact, the FAFSA doesn t even ask about your parents status. Note: If your parent does not have a Social Security number, you may enter all zeroes ( ) for him or her on the FAFSA where it asks for that information. At the end of the FAFSA online, you will need to print out the parent signature page, have your parent sign the page and mail the form to the FAFSA processor via regular first- class mail (Federal Student Aid Programs, P.O. Box 7006, Mt. Vernon, IL ). II. FOCUS ON TODAY: TIPS FOR WORKING ON YOUR FAFSA/TASFA DURING THE WORKSHOP Key Vocabulary Personal Identification Number (PIN) - Your electronic PIN for the FAFSA serves as your identifier to allow access to personal information in various U.S. Department of Education systems and acts as your digital signature on some forms. Both you, the student, and your parent apply for and receive a PIN, which you ll use every year you file your FAFSA. Your PIN is an essential piece of information, which you do not want to lose. - For students filing the FAFSA online with undocumented parent(s), a reminder that your parent(s) will not apply for a PIN since they do not have a Social Security Number. You will need to print the parent signature page at the end, and mail the page signed to: Federal Student Aid Programs, P.O. Box 7006, Mt. Vernon, IL Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) - This is the number used to determine your eligibility for student financial aid. This number results from the financial information you provide in your FAFSA or TASFA. Your EFC is reported in your Student Aid Report (SAR) for the FAFSA, and in a financial aid award letter from your colleges for the TASFA. Student Aid Report (SAR) - A summary of the information you submitted on your FAFSA. You receive this report (often called the SAR) via e- mail a few days after your FAFSA has been processed. If you did not provide an e- mail address, you will receive it by mail within 7-10 days. If there are no corrections or additional information you must provide, the SAR will contain your EFC, which is the number used to determine your eligibility for financial aid. Verification - The process your schools use to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA or TASFA is accurate. Your schools have the authority to contact you for documentation that supports income and other information that you reported. They may request different documentation, so be prepared. - In order to minimize the likelihood of verification, use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to download your tax information into your FAFSA. 3

5 Work- Study - Work- study jobs are part- time employment opportunities that help students earn money to pay for their education. When evaluating your financial aid award letter, know that this is not money you receive up front. It is paid out to you over the course of the semester as paychecks for hours you work. How the FAFSA and TASFA Work Where does my FAFSA information go once I submit it? Your FAFSA information is shared with the colleges and/or career schools you list on the application. The financial aid office at a school uses your information to figure out how much federal student aid you may receive at that school. If the school has its own funds to use for financial aid, it might use your FAFSA information to determine your eligibility for that aid as well. (The school might also have other forms it wants you to fill out to get school aid, so check with the financial aid office to be sure.) Your information also goes to your state higher education agency, as well as to agencies of the states where your chosen schools are located. Many states have financial aid funds that they give out based on FAFSA information. How can I check to see whether my FAFSA has been processed? You can check the status of your FAFSA immediately after submitting it online. You can check the status of a paper FAFSA after it has been processed (roughly 7 10 days from the date mailed). Here s how: Option 1: Go to and click Start Here to log in. Option 2: Contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at FED- AID ( ). If your FAFSA is still being processed, we recommend you wait a few days before checking the status again. What kinds of changes can I make to my FAFSA once it s been processed? Corrections: If You Made a Mistake If you made a mistake in what you reported on the FAFSA, you ll need to make a correction. Note: FAFSA on the Web doesn t allow you to change your Social Security Number (SSN). If you made a mistake in reporting your SSN, ask the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend whether you should start over again and submit a new FAFSA. Updates: If Your Situation Has Changed Most information cannot be updated because it must be accurate as of the day you originally signed your FAFSA. For example, if you spent some of your savings after filing the FAFSA, you may not update your information to show a change in that amount. Talk to the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend if there will be a significant change in your or your parent s income or if your family has other circumstances that cannot be reported on the FAFSA. You may update your mailing address, e- mail, or other contact info if it changed. There are certain items that you must update: You must update anything that changes your dependency status (for instance, you are now pregnant or are now in legal guardianship) except a change in your marital status. If your marital status changes, you must speak to the financial aid office to determine whether you may update the FAFSA. If (and only if) you are selected for verification, you must update your FAFSA if there is a change in the number of family members in your parents household or in your household. If the number of family members changes as a result of a change in your (the student s) marital status, you must speak to the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend to determine whether you may update the FAFSA. 4

6 If (and only if) you are selected for verification, you must update your FAFSA if there is a change in the number of people in your parents household who are in college or the number of people in your household who are in college. If the number of people in college changes as a result of a change in your (the student s) marital status, you must speak to the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend to determine whether you may update the FAFSA. Changes to Federal School Codes: If You Want to Add or Delete a School If you want to make your FAFSA information available to an additional school after filing the FAFSA, you may add that school s Federal School Code. Note: No more than 10 schools may be listed on your FAFSA at one time. (The paper and PDF FAFSAs have space for only four schools, while FAFSA on the Web allows 10 to be listed.) If you add an eleventh school, the new school code overwrites a previous school code. You may choose which school to replace with the new school. The school removed from the list will not have automatic access to any new information you provide after you ve removed that school. Correcting or Making Changes to Your FAFSA Check with the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend; the school might be able to make changes for you electronically. Make changes at 1. Click Start Here to log in. 2. Click Make FAFSA Corrections. 3. Enter your Federal Student Aid PIN. 4. Change your information. 5. Submit your new information. Write in the corrections or updates on your paper Student Aid Report (SAR), sign it, and mail it to the address provided on the SAR. Common Mistakes Watch out! - Forgetting (or losing) your FAFSA PIN - Entering Social Security Number incorrectly - Paying to file (The FAFSA is free! Make sure you use - Not entering first and last name as it appears on Social Security Card - Parents entering their information on the FAFSA student section (or vice versa) - Parents not signing the FAFSA (even electronically PIN signature required) - Incorrectly reporting the number of people in the household - Parents reporting unemployment earnings as wages, salaries, and tips on FAFSA III. KEEP UP THE HARD WORK: AFTER THE WORKSHOP AM I DONE? NOW WHAT? What to Do If You Finished Your FAFSA/TASFA If you submitted your FAFSA online today, the Department of Education will send you a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is a summary of the FAFSA data you submitted. You ll get your SAR within three days to three weeks after you submit your FAFSA. Look over your SAR to make sure you didn t make a mistake. Pay attention to communication (either e- mail or snail mail) from the colleges to which you ve applied they may request additional information regarding your income or other aspects of your identity, to complete the process called verification. See below for more information on how to proceed with this. 5

7 If you are an undocumented student and finished filling out the TASFA or the paper version of the FAFSA, your next step is putting the paperwork in individual envelopes addressed to the schools to which you are applying. Be sure to reach out to each school and find out that they ve received all your materials within the next week. Colleges will likely request additional information from you to verify your income, so make sure you are paying attention to your mail and e- mail. What to Do If You Need to Finish Your FAFSA/TASFA If you haven t finished your online FAFSA, make sure you save the last page on which you were working. You ll be able to return to keep working on your FAFSA via but you ll need to sign in with your PIN and Social Security Number this is why it s so important to hold on to that information. If you haven t finished your paper FAFSA or TASFA, make sure you keep your paperwork in a safe place and complete it as soon as possible. Because this is a paper form, it will take colleges longer to process, and so you want to be sure to send it to the colleges as quickly as you can. Follow- up Items: What to Expect I m receiving letters or e- mail messages from my colleges that say they need more financial information, in addition to my FAFSA or TASFA. What do I do? If colleges are telling you they need more information from you about your income or family, you have probably been selected for the process of verification. Remember that most universities use this process to confirm that the information you reported about your financial situation is true. To potentially avoid verification, you can utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer your parents tax information into the FAFSA online when you first file the FAFSA. See below for a detailed explanation of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. Otherwise, if you do not or cannot electronically transfer your tax information into the FAFSA (e.g. you are filing a paper FAFSA), your colleges will probably request a copy of your IRS Tax Transcript. Learn more about obtaining a copy of your IRS Tax Transcript here: (select Order a Transcript ) or call the Transcript toll- free line at Colleges may also request a copy of your passport or other documentation pertaining to residency if you are an immigrant student filing an electronic FAFSA. It is important that you understand exactly what the colleges are asking for and that you send those documents as quickly as you can. In general, the number one rule to remember is to communicate with your colleges and their financial aid officers otherwise, you could miss out on opportunities for financial aid. If you re nervous or unsure about contacting colleges or how to handle verification, ask a counselor or trusted teacher to help you navigate the process. What is the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, and how do I use it? The IRS Data Retrieval Tool is designed to transfer you and your parents federal tax return information into your FAFSA online. Entering your tax information is one of the most important steps on the FAFSA. If you and your parents filed your taxes within the last two weeks prior to filing your FAFSA online, your tax information should be available through the IRS online. If your taxes are transferred to the FAFSA online through the IRS, you are less likely to be selected for the process of verification, which is described above. If you are finishing your FAFSA before completing your taxes, don t worry! You can log back into your FAFSA online later and use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer your most updated tax information into the FAFSA. 6

8 I ve received an award letter from my school. Which financial aid is the best to accept? Our recommendation is free money first (scholarships and grants), then earned money (work- study), and lastly borrowed money (federal student loans). Start from the top of this table and work your way down: Order of Aid from Most Preferable to Type of Aid What to Keep in Mind Least 1 Scholarships and grants Make sure you understand the conditions you must meet (for instance, you might have to maintain a certain grade- point average in order to continue receiving a scholarship, or your TEACH grant might turn into a loan if you don t teach for a certain number of years under specific circumstances). 2 Work- study You don t have to pay the money back, but you do have to work for it, so take into account that that ll mean less time for studying. However, research has shown that students who work part- time jobs manage their time better than those who don t! This is not money you receive up front; you need to work the hours at your 3 Federal student loans (subsidized or unsubsidized) 4 Loans from your state government or your college work- study job to earn the funds throughout the year. You ll have to repay the money with interest. Subsidized loans don t start accruing (accumulating) interest until you leave school, so accept a subsidized loan before an unsubsidized loan. You are required to start making payments on unsubsidized loans while you are still a student. Note: You don t have to accept the full amount of loans, so only borrow what you need. You ll have to repay the money with interest, and the terms of the loan might not be as good as those of a federal student loan. Be sure to read all the fine print before you borrow. 5 Private loans You ll have to repay the money with interest, and the terms and conditions of the loan almost certainly will not be as good as those of a federal student loan. Avoid these if possible! How do I get my money? The financial aid staff at your college or career school will explain exactly how and when your aid will be paid out. They also will tell you whether you need to fill out any more paperwork or meet other requirements. For instance, if you re receiving a federal student loan for the first time, you should expect to be required to sign a promissory note and go through entrance counseling online. Be sure to keep in touch with your school s financial aid office so that you understand the whole process of receiving your aid. 7

9 More Resources Federal Student Aid Information Center ( FED- AID or ) North Texas Dream Team if you think you might qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and have yet to apply, visit Student Aid Website many helpful videos and visuals explaining how FAFSA works. If you are eligible for federal aid but your parents are undocumented, find information on how to answer questions about your parents and their residency status at the following link: aid- and- undocumented- students.pdf. Your School or College Counselor can help you with any follow- up questions you might have after the workshop. Make an appointment to consult this valuable resource. Information on other workshops if you didn t finish your FAFSA or TASFA today can be found at You Can Afford College also has valuable resources on navigating the financial aid process under and- family- resources. Scholarships Finish your FAFSA or TASFA! Nearly ALL postsecondary institutions use your financial aid application to determine your eligibility for scholarships and other aid. - Search online for more scholarships at any of the following websites: o o o scholarships/finding- scholarships o 8

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