FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

For those who don’t know, if you have past drug convictions, for selling or possession while you were receiving Federal aid, then this can affect your aid eligibility. Your eligibility for Federal aid is revoked for a period of time (directly correlated to the type and number of convictions).

I did some research on this, and it appears that as long as you have completed an “acceptable drug rehab program”, you can still receive federal aid. There are no time constraints on this, either. You could be convicted of selling/possessing drugs, enter a rehab program, complete it, and still get federal financial aid right away

An acceptable drug rehabilitation program must include two random drug tests.

The program must also:

• Be qualified to receive funds from federal, state, or local governments

OR

• Be qualified to receive funds from a federal or state licensed insurance company

OR

• Be administered or recognized by a federal, state, or local government agency or court

OR

• Be administered or recognized by a federal or state licensed hospital, health clinic, or medical doctor

I also found that if this drug conviction (for selling or possessing) was 2 or more years ago, then a drug rehab program is NOT required, and you should still be able to get federal aid. If you have more than 1 drug conviction in the past 2 years, then your eligibility is suspended for longer.

If you have more than 1 drug conviction in the past 2 years, you have to wait longer in order to be eligible for Federal aid. (it appears that each drug conviction you have = 1 year of lost eligibility). If you have 3 or more drug convictions in the past, then you are ineligible for Federal aid indefinitely.

Some more advice from the EASFAA conference - at least once in your college career, complete the EFC formula by hand to see what variables have the most impact on your financial aid. Some variables count more than others, and every situation is unique, so give it a try at least once and see how you fare. It may not be the most exciting way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but it could very well be one of the most financially rewarding.

I had the opportunity over the past three days to attend the EASFAA conference, and one of the best sessions I sat in on was on Demystifying Federal Methodology. The presenter explained this vital fact:

The income tax paid line on the FAFSA is the one most often done wrong, and when done wrong, it costs students and families money.

Most people put down their withholding amounts on the FAFSA, not the actual income tax paid.

Depending on how you have federal tax withholding set up, this could cost you financial aid!

So we’re going to change our advice here - instead of recommending that you do your taxes before filing your FAFSA, we’re now going to suggest that you MUST file your taxes first, to ensure as correct a FAFSA (and subsequent EFC) as possible.

Consult a qualified tax professional or a financial planner/CPA to have your taxes done (or redone) - and if you have already filed your FAFSA, do the EFC formula by hand or use the FAFSA Forecaster to see if filing a correction makes sense.

Via NASFAA:

As amended by the Senate, HR 5175 makes the following changes::

* Directs all savings generated by the bill into the ACG and SMART Grant programs

* Adds a fifth year to SMART Grant eligibility for programs that require five years

* Allows students attending at least half time to qualify for ACG and SMART Grants and requires proration based on Pell Grant methodology for less than full-time attendance

* Allows eligible non-citizens (e.g. permanent residents) to qualify for ACG and SMART Grants

* Changes “academic year” to simply “year” for purposes of progression through grant levels, but did not include companion amendment recommended by NASFAA that would have allowed students who are classified as second year based solely on AP or IB coursework to be considered to have met the second year 3.0 GPA requirement

* Allows students who are enrolled in an institution that offers a single baccalaureate-level liberal arts curriculum that permits no subject area major, but who are taking coursework in an area equivalent to a SMART-eligible major at other bachelor degree-granting institutions, to qualify for SMART Grant eligibility

* Extends first-year ACG eligibility to students enrolled in at least a one-year certificate program and extends second-year ACG to students enrolled in at least a two-year certificate program. In both cases the certificate must be offered by a degree-granting institution

* Appears to remove some of the Secretary’s authority to define “rigorous secondary school program of study,” permitting only states to designate such programs. This amendment may further restrict what is currently considered a rigorous program