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MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATIONAL FINANCING AUTHORITY

UNDERSTANDING THE FAFSA Counselor Webinar: Fall 2016

About MEFA

•Not-for-profit state authority created in 1982

•Helping families plan, save, and pay for college

•Keeping families & counselors on track with college planning:

–mefa.org: tools & resources

–Emails: Info catered to you: sign up on mefa.org

–Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn

–Webinars: live and recorded

–YourPlanForTheFuture.org

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid

• FAFSA.gov

• FREE form (Families should NEVER pay to submit the FAFSA)

• Required by all colleges/universities for federal & state aid

• Opens October 1, 2016

• Complete and submit before the earliest college deadline (!!)

– Often Feb or March

• Complete online, but can find a full FAFSA PDF on fafsa.gov

• Must be completed each year (one for every child)

• Tip: If an answer is zero or the question does not apply, enter 0

• Note: Families may have other financial aid applications required

• Application may ask user to check for errors on a question. Type the answer again

if correct.

About the FAFSA

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•Student and parent Social Security numbers

•Student’s drivers license

•Student and parent:

–2015 W-2 forms (or pay stub)

–2015 federal income tax return

–2015 untaxed income records

–Current bank statements

–Current business and investment records

Documents Needed to Complete the FAFSA

FAFSA Customer Service

•Phone: 1-800-4-Fed-Aid (433-3243)

•Email Form: Located at StudentAidHelp.ed.gov

•Chat: Located at StudentAidHelp.ed.gov

(Chat option disappears if chat is not available)

•Hours:

– Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.–11 p.m. ET

– Saturday & Sunday: 11 a.m.–5 p.m. ET

•Help icon at the top of each page leads to:

– FAQs

– Search (also available throughout the site)

– Contact Information

FSA ID

•A Log-in: Username & Password

•Needed to complete the FAFSA

•Both the student and one parent will need one

•Replaces the now-retired Federal PIN

•Provide personal information and answer challenge questions

•FSAID.ed.gov

•Webinar recording on mefa.org/events

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FAFSA on the Web: FAFSA.gov

Start

here

Login

FSA ID

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Entering Student Information

Get Started

For

high

school

seniors

Reminder to

create an

FSA ID

Save Key

The Save Key allows you to save your application and return to it later

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Further Help and Instruction

Further

instructions

Tips for

each

question

Search

Introduction Page

Section

tabs

Student Demographic Information

Save as

you go

View your

answers

anytime

Use an email

address that

you check

often

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Student Eligibility

Who is Eligible for Federal Financial Aid?

•U.S. citizens

•Eligible non-citizens, including:

• U.S. Nationals

• Permanent Residents

• Carriers of Arrival-Departure Records (I-94)

• Holders (student or parent) of a T-visa

• “Battered immigrant-qualified aliens”

• Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the

Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau.

Citizenship status will be verified by:

• the Social Security Administration (citizens)

• the Department of Homeland Security (eligible non-citizens)

Further Eligibility Details

•Males 18 and older must register for Selective Service

(Male is defined as male at birth)

•Current high school students should select:

–Never before attended college

–Do not have a bachelor’s degree

•Interested in work-study? Answering yes does not:

–Obligate the student to work

–Guarantee a job

–Cause the student to lose grants and scholarships

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Student Eligibility Continued

If high school diploma is selected, the student will have to list a high school

School Selection

List up to 10 colleges/universities

Wait 3-5 days to add additional schools

Compare

schools side

by side

Housing

Housing selection affects the college total cost and may affect financial aid

Select the

housing plan

for each school

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Dependency Determination

Independent students do not have to report parent data

Application

automatically

saves

throughout

Providing Parent Data

Parent Demographics Information

Household

size worksheet

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Who is Considered a Parent?

•Biological or adoptive parent(s), and certain step-parents

• Include both parents if parents are married or are not married but live together

•Married parents include same-sex couples

• If separated but living together, select “Married”

• In the case of divorce or separation, provide information only about the parent the student lived with more in the last 12 months, and step-parent if that parent is remarried.

Included in the Household Size

•Student

•Parent(s)

•Parents’ other dependent children, if parents provide more than half

their support or the children are federally dependent

•Other people who live with the parents, parents provide more than half

of their support, and parents will continue to provide more than half

their support from 7/1/17 through 6/30/18

College Students in the Household

•Always include the student, even if he/she will attend college less than

half time in 2017-2018

• Include other household members only if they will attend at least half

time in 2017-2018 in a program that leads to a college degree or

certificate

•Do not include the parents

•Some financial aid offices will require proof that other family members

are attending college

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Parent Tax Information

Option to Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool

IRS Data Retrieval Tool

•Upload federal tax return data directly to the FAFSA

•2015 federal tax return must be submitted to the IRS

•Certain individuals cannot use the tool

– Married individuals who file married filing separately or head of household tax returns

– Change in the marital status after the end of tax year

– Amended Tax Returns

– Foreign Tax Returns (even if U.S. return is also filed)

– Filers with Tax ID Number (TIN)

– FAFSA and tax return address do not match

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Parent Financial Information

• Income earned from working: salary, self-employed income, and farm income

• This information will feed in automatically if using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool

Parent Financial Information Continued

Parents’ Income Tax:

Found on the federal

income tax return (not

the amount withheld

from parents’

paychecks)

Parent Assets To Be Reported

•Current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts

•Net value of investments

–Real estate

–Rental properties

–Money market and mutual funds

–Stocks & bonds

–529 college savings for all children (reported as a parent asset)

•Net value of some businesses and investment farms

Do not include your primary residence, life insurance, value of retirement accounts, and value of small family businesses or farms

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Student Tax Information

•Student will be asked same income and asset questions as parents

•Student should report all income earned in 2015 even if he/she did not file taxes

•Student will also be offered the option to use the IRS DRT if he/she filed taxes in 2015

Sign & Submit

Other option to sign and submit:

• Print a signature page

• Submit without a signature

Confirmation Page

Expected

Family

Contribution

(EFC)

Transfer parent

information to a

sibling’s FAFSA

College information

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Special Circumstances

Contact the Financial Aid Office if there are circumstances which affect

your ability to pay for college such as:

•Loss or reduction in parent/student income or assets

•Death or serious illness

•Natural disasters affecting parent income or assets

•Medical or dental expenses not covered by insurance

•Financial responsibility for elderly grandparents

What Happens After You Apply

•Colleges and your state receive data electronically

•You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) (electronically or by mail)

in a few days

•Colleges may request additional documentation or information, such

as tax data, through a process called Verification

•Colleges send out financial aid award letters (typically Mar-April)

National and Community Resources

•FAFSA Day

–Free assistance completing the FAFSA

–November 6, 2016 and January 29, 2017

–FAFSADay.org for additional dates and times

•First Lady‘s Up Next Mobile Messaging Tool

–Text “COLLEGE” to 44044 for tips on all things college

•Educational Opportunity Centers

–Free financial aid help

–MassEdCo.org

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MEFA Counselor Webinars

All webinars begin at 10am. Register online at mefa.org/events.

CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE: Wednesday, 10/5/16

Connecting Undocumented Students

to College Access Opportunities : Wednesday, 12/7/16

Financial Aid: National Landscape and

Regulatory Updates: Friday, 1/20/17

Counseling Families with Unique

Circumstances: Tuesday, 1/31/17

Working with Foster Youth in the

Financial Aid Process: Monday, 2/13/17

Helping Families Understand Fin Aid Award

Letters: Tuesday, 4/4/17

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•Provide assistance and clarity on:

–Financial aid awards

–College bill

–Payment plans

–College loans

–What to ask the Financial Aid Office

•Locations across MA in March and April

•MEFA emails will provide details

MEFA Paying the College Bill Seminars

What You Can Do Now

•Sign up for MEFA emails

•Advise families to get an FSA ID for the

student and parent

•Tell families to research deadlines and

required applications

–Schools may require applications in

addition to the FAFSA

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Thank You

Questions? Comments?

Meredith Barnhart

Director of Integrated Communications

info@mefa.org

(800) 449-MEFA (6332)

mefa.org