welcome to college goal alaska 2015 1. 2015 partners & sponsors coalition of alaskans supporting...
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to College Goal Alaska 2015
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2015 Partners & Sponsors
Coalition of Alaskans Supporting Higher Education
2015 Sponsors:
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Understanding the FASFA
Presenter:
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THE FAFSA PROCESS
Understanding the FAFSA
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The FAFSA
Free Application for Federal Student Aid Evaluates a family’s eligibility for federal student aid
programs Serves as application for state scholarships/grants Bases financial capacity on prior year Students must re-apply each year
Assets may change from year to year
www.fafsa.ed.gov
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FAFSA Goals
Determines Expected Family Contribution (EFC) A measure of your family’s ability to pay for college Used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid for a single
school year
Everyone should file a FAFSA No income cutoff Required for federal and state aid Often required for campus-based aid Many public and private scholarships require FAFSA
Alaska Performance Scholarship
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Timelines for Filing the FAFSA Available after January 1 of each year Best to file by mid-February
Don’t wait until you file your taxes – you can use 2013 information or estimates to meet deadlines, and update your FAFSA after you’ve filed your taxes.
State priority deadline: June 30 Some programs award funds on first-come, first-served basis Some colleges have early deadlines
Check deadlines on college websites Don’t wait until after admission to the school
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Getting Ready
Before starting the FAFSA, gather:
Student’s driver’s license Student Alien Registration
Card
For both student and parent, be sure to have:
Social Security cards 2014 W-2 Forms & records of
money earned & other taxable benefits
2014 Federal income tax form Records of untaxed income Current bank statements Business, farm, & other real
estate records Records of stocks, bonds, &
other investments
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PIN Registration Website PIN (Person Identification Number)
serves as the electronic signature on ED documents
Both student & one parent need PINs to sign the FAFSA electronically
May be used to: Check on FAFSA status Verify & correct data Add additional schools to receive
FAFSA data Change home & e-mail address
If an e-mail address is provided, PIN will be e-mailed to the PIN applicant within minutes!
www.pin.ed.gov9
File your FAFSA Online
Internet application used by students & parents to complete electronic FAFSA
Quick on-line edits to reduce likelihood of errors/delays
Easy on-line help available for each question
www.fafsa.ed.gov10
Questions on the FAFSA
SECTION 1: Demographic information about the student & schools you are considering attending
SECTION 2: Determination of student dependency status
SECTION 3: Parental information for dependent students
SECTION 4: Student finances & information about the independent student
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Completing the 2015-2016 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet A line-by-line discussion Traditional student
emphasis (straight out of high school)
Anyone can file a FAFSA Traditional students Non-traditional students Older returning students Graduate school students
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Student Aid Report (SAR)
SAR sent to student within 2 weeks Review it for accuracy Report any changes SAR sent to schools listed on FAFSA
School will use EFC to determine your financial need
School sends award letter to student or requests additional information
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Finding Your EFC Expected
Family Contribution
Located in upper right hand corner of SAR
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Other Forms
Some schools require additional paperwork CSS Financial Aid PROFILE
www.collegeboard.org Not a federal requirement, check with your school to see if it’s necessary
Campus scholarship application Ask what forms the college requires!
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Award Letters
Schools may send paper or electronic award letters Award letters show the amount of financial aid you will
receive at the school Can include grants, scholarships, work-study, and
loans Compare award letters at www.finaid.org/calculators You have to act on the award letter – you can accept
all or part of the award package, or decline it.
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State Programs & Awards
By filing the FAFSA, you’ve applied for your state grant and scholarship programs.
Your initial award letter may not reference the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) and Alaska Education Grant (AEG), even if you do qualify.
Sign up for an Alaska Student Aid Portal account at APS.alaska.gov to monitor your eligibility status, and take any required action.
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Verification
Save copies of documents used for your FAFSA Be prepared to provide additional information Colleges verify 30% of all applicants’ information Colleges cannot certify many types of aid unless the
student/family provides the necessary information by the verification deadline
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GETTING STARTEDSection 1 - Student Demographics and Schools
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FAFSA Renewal
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Establish a Password
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Introduction Page
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Full Name Social Security # Date of Birth Gender Mailing Address State of Residency Phone # Email Address Marital Status Driver’s license
Student Demographic Info
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Student Eligibility Screen
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Selective Service Registration
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www.sss.gov
Student Aid Eligibility and Education Status
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Student Work-Study
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Parent’s Education Indicate the highest level of school your father and
mother completed. Some states and colleges offer aid based upon this.
Use birth parents or adoptive parents, not step-parents or foster parents
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Student Aid Eligibility and Drug Convictions
Student Eligibility (continued)
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School Selection
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School Housing Plans
DEPENDENCYSTATUS
Section 2 - Is parental information required?
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Dependency Determination
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Dependent or Independent?
ANY “YES” answers = independent student You will not have to provide parent information
ALL “NO” answers = dependent student You must provide parent information
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Special Circumstance
If dependent, and you submit without parental information… Your FAFSA is not
complete No EFC calculated
You must contact the financial aid office Their decision is final
PARENTAL INFORMATION
Section 3 - Dependent students only
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Parents
Who is a parent? Biological parents Adoptive parents Step-parents
Who is not a parent? Grandparents Foster parents Legal guardians Older siblings Aunts or uncles
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Parents’ Marital Status
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Parent Identifying Info
If applicable, your parent’s month and year of marriage
Father/stepfather’s SS#, name, DOB
Mother/stepmother’s SS#, name, DOB
E-mail address (for parents)
State of residence
Parent Household
• Household size includes parents, the student, and other dependents
• For household college students:• Always include the student even if he/she will attend college less than half
time in 2015-2016• Include other household members if they will attend at least half time in
2015-2016 in a program that leads to a degree or certificate• Never include the parents
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Parent Tax Information
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IRS Data Retrieval
• If your parents answer “Already completed,” they will be given the option to transfer their 2014 income tax information directly from IRS records
• If filing the FAFSA within 6-8 weeks of having filed your tax return, you should ignore this question and use your actual 2014 IRS tax return to complete the FAFSA so you do not miss any important financial aid deadlines.
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Parent Financial Information
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Parents’ Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) What type of income tax return will your parents file
for 2014? What was your parents’ AGI for 2014?
1040 line 37 1040A line 21 1040EZ line 4
Only asked if your parents filed taxes.
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Parents’ Earnings from Work
Enter how much each of your parents earned from working in 2014 (wages, salaries, tips, etc.) W2 forms – box numbers 1 + 8 1040 line 7+12+18+Box 14 of Schedule K-1 (form 1065), if applicable 1040A line 7 1040EZ line 1
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Dislocated Worker Is either of your parents 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 the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces and has
experienced a loss of employment because of relocating due to permanent change in duty station;
• is the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces and is a displaced homemaker;
• or is a displaced homemaker.
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Parents’ Household Benefits In 2013 or 2014, did anyone in your parents’
household receive any of these benefits? Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Free or Reduced Price Lunch Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC)
Check all that apply
Parents’ U.S. Income Taxes and Tax Exemptions
• Enter the amount parents paid (or will pay) in U.S. income tax for 2014?• Form 1040 – Line 56• Form 1040A – Line 37• Form 1040EZ – Line 10
• Enter the parents’ tax exemptions for 2014 • Form 1040 – Line 6d• Form 1040A – Line 6d• IRS Form 1040EZ and did not check either box on line 5,
enter 01 if they are not married or 02 if they are married• IRS Form 1040EZ and checked either the "you" or "spouse" box on line 5,
use line F on EZ worksheet to determine number of exemptions ($3,950 equals one)
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Additional Parent Financial Information Did your parents have any of the following in 2014?
Check all that apply You will be asked to report amounts online
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Asset Net Worth Question
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Error Message on Asset Net Worth Question
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STUDENT INFORMATION
Section 4 - Student (and spouse) income
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Student Information
• Questions in Section 4 are identical to the parent financial questions covered in Section 3• If the student is married, also report spouse’s income and assets
• The questions in Section 4 ask:• For 2014, has the student completed their IRS income tax return• For 2014, what is the studen’ts filing status • Which 2014 federal tax return the student filed or will file• The student’s 2014 Adjusted Gross Income, if filing a tax return• The student’s earnings from work• The student’s untaxed income and assets• If the student is a dislocated worker• The student’s total current assets as of the FAFSA filing date
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Congratulations! You’re Done!
After you have entered all your information online: use your PIN to sign and submit electronically
Or print, sign and mail your signature page Remember – do not mail the worksheet
Print your confirmation page You can go back to update your information any
time after you file the FAFSA If you selected “will file” you will be required to do this after you complete
your 2014 tax return.
www.fafsa.ed.gov
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For More Information
Contact the school you plan to attend Contact Federal Student Aid at:
800-4-FED-AID
(800-433-3243)
www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov
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Thank You!Your feedback is important!
Please fill out the Student Survey at
http://ow.ly/GBYsp
After completing the survey, you can enter to win a $700 scholarship donated by Bilan Chiropractic.
Winners will be notified after the drawing takes place on April 30, 2015.
(one entry per FAFSA filer)
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