FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

Source: FAFSA blog

The FAFSA4Caster is the Department of Education’s financial aid estimation calculator, and the one thing that sets it apart from every other calculator online is that the results from your estimate can be fed directly into a FAFSA application, reducing the time it takes to file a FAFSA. However, the output of the FAFSA4Caster isn’t always clear. Here’s a line by line analysis of the various numbers it returns.

First, the FAFSA4Caster tells you what you’re qualified for and the average or maximum amount of aid available. Here’s a recent report:

• Federal Pell Grant $4,310 / $4,310
• Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)* $750 /$750
• Federal Stafford Loan (Subsidized) $3,500 / $3,500
• Below you will see other sources of federal aid that you may receive. These amounts are based on the average award amount that other students have received.
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) $765 / $765
• Federal Work-Study $1,200 / $1,455
• Federal Perkins Loan $0 / $2,185
• Average Cost of Attendance $10,525 / $18,875
• Total Estimated Aid Eligibility $10,525 / $12,965
• Estimated Need $0 / $5,910

Let’s examine this report line by line.

The Federal Pell Grant is a need-based grant from the government. In the example above, the student has qualified for the maximum amount of Pell Grant aid available and it will be awarded automatically in the student’s financial aid package.

The Academic Competitiveness Grant is a partial merit, partial need-based grant for students. In order to receive it, the student must meet academic qualifications and be eligible for the Pell Grant.

The Federal Stafford Loan, subsidized, is a student loan backed by the federal government with interest that is paid for by the government while you’re in school.

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is another need-based grant that supplements the Pell Grant for the neediest students.

Federal Work Study is employment in which the pay you earn goes to pay your tuition. Federal work study was designed to create jobs, even where jobs might not have existed, for the sole purpose of helping students earn money.

The Federal Perkins Loan is school-based student loan available at a fixed interest rate.

The most important thing about this award letter is that the last line is actually a misnomer. Estimated need in this case isn’t how much you need, but rather how much out of pocket money you’ll need to pay for school. This is otherwise known as the EFC, or Expected Family Contribution, and in the example above is the best case scenario: nothing.

Source: FAFSA blog

Here’s an overall FAFSA strategy to help you maximize your federal financial aid.

First, gather up all your paperwork and do an IRS 1040 form. Unless you’re in a situation where you’re expecting a massive year-end bonus or a huge chunk of overtime, chances are your tax year 2007 is coming to a close with relative predictability, allowing you to get a reasonably accurate picture of your taxes.

Next, see a financial planner about making any last minute, year-end adjustments to your taxes, such as additional contributions to retirement funds to maximize the deductions you can take. Most community banks and credit unions offer free or very low cost access to financial planners.

Download a copy of the FAFSA from our help guide and do a practice run.

If you run into trouble or there are questions that are confusing, contact us, ask a financial aid administrator at your school, or attend a College Goal Sunday event for free help.

Make careful note about when the FAFSA deadlines for your state are! If you miss a deadline, you will very likely miss out on some financial aid.

Source: FAFSA blog

From NASFAA:

Beginning January 1, 2008, students and parents will be able to apply for and receive a “real-time” PIN when completing a FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.ed.gov) or when applying for a PIN on the Department’s PIN Web site (www.pin.ed.gov).

After determining that 97 percent of PIN applicants provide correct information (i.e. social security number), the Department decided to make this real-time PIN available not only for first-time PIN applicants but also for those who have lost or forgotten a previous PIN. After receiving the real-time PIN, applicants will be able to change the PIN to a number that is meaningful to them.

First-time PIN applicants will instantly receive a conditional PIN that will allow them to electronically sign their FAFSA on the Web. The conditional PIN can only be used to sign the original application that students and/or parents are completing at the time they applied for the PIN. The data supplied by the PIN applicant will then be verified with the Social Security Administration (SSA). If the applicants’ PIN information is accurate, the conditional PIN will then be good for all processes that require a PIN in the future. If the applicants’ data does NOT pass the SSA match, they will receive a SAR with a rejected signature comment and the school will receive a rejected ISIR. The students and/or parents will then need to provide the required FAFSA signatures. Students and parents will need to correct PIN data to receive their PINs.

The 2008-09 Process Guide for Student Web Application Products provides more guidance about how the real-time PIN process will work. The following is taken from that guide.

* Real-time PIN - When applying for a PIN, requesting a duplicate PIN, or changing a PIN, applicants can receive their PIN in real-time. Whether system-generated or user-selected, if the applicant chooses to display or personalize the PIN or receive the PIN via e-mail, he or she can use the PIN immediately to sign the application.

* SSA Match - The Social Security Number (SSN), name, and date of birth information submitted by the applicant and parent is transmitted for a match with the Social Security Administration (SSA). If the SSN, name, and date of birth are successfully matched, the PIN remains valid and becomes a permanent PIN. 98% of student records and 97% of parent records are successfully matched with the SSA, so this change will positively impact the application process for the vast majority of students and parents.

* PIN Status Information - Using the PIN Web site, the applicant can check the status of a PIN application and learn the results of the data match with the SSA.

* Successful SSA Match - After receiving a successful SSN match from SSA, the PIN can be used to access SAR information on the Web, make corrections using Corrections on the Web, and access personal information on other Federal Student Aid Web sites.

* Unsuccessful SSA Match - If the match with the SSA is not successful (does not result in a match flag of “4″), we alert the student. We ask the student to apply for a new PIN using the correct information if the information provided on the PIN Application is not correct, or to contact the SSA if the information is correct. The student is unable to use the PIN until the SSA match is successful.

By Susan Luhman

NASFAA Assistant Director for Professional Assessment, Training, and Regulatory Assistance