FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

It seems that students who live in West Virginia may have some additional help in filling out the FAFSA form. Check out the article below from West Virginia Public Broadcasting.org. Can other states get in on this :)

Turbo Tax, Marshall Team up to provide FAFSA Help

By Clark Davis of West Virginia Public Broadcasting

March 26, 2009 · Intuit, the makers of Turbo Tax software, has developed a new product for West Virginia customers called Turbo Tax FAFSA.

Students and parents often dread filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form each year. The form contains more than 100 questions that have to be answered before a student can apply for financial aid.

Now, through the cooperation of Marshall University and the makers of Turbo Tax, there may be an easier way.

Last fall, Marshall University President Stephen Kopp approached Intuit’s CEO and Marshall Alum Brad Smith about developing a program that would help students fill out the federal financial aid form

Chris Womack is a product manager at Intuit and helped develop the Turbo Tax FAFSA program.

“The key value that we have in this first product launch this year is the ability to take data directly from your TurboTax product, so students and parents will go and complete their taxes using either one of our free or paid offerings,” Womack said.

“They will complete their taxes like they normally would and when they get to the end of it they can automatically transfer over all of that data from TurboTax into our new product TurboTax FAFSA. Depending on the situation up to 50 or 60 percent of the data required on the financial aid form comes directly from the tax return.”

Womack says they realized the importance of making it easier for students to apply for financial aid in today’s economy.

“Especially in an economy this year where lots of people find themselves needing more help and in general there are more people trying to go to school,” Womack said.

“All that kind of comes together into a climate where it’s really important to get as many people into getting financial aid applications done quickly and easily and early so they have the best opportunity at getting the financial aid.”

Wayne High School counselor Lynnetta Welker thinks the program will make it easier for students and their parents to fill out the federal financial aid form.

“We have families that don’t want to deal with the paperwork and lot of times the student themselves will come to me and they’ll say my mom and dad won’t do this for me will you help me,” Welker said. “And we do and if the child has trouble getting the tax information and we’ve had trouble with that in the past, maybe if there parents think no one else will see it and it’ll just transfer it will make it easier because I’ve had parents that they don’t want anyone else to see their tax information.”

And Welker sees this as an opportunity for students who might not go to school without the help of finical aid.

“With any luck will have more students fill out the FAFSA in order to get the money so they will go on to school,” Welker said. “A lot of them just think they don’t have any hope of having the financial stability to go to school and this way they will. I think it’s going to be a great help, even this year alone with the online FAFSA students have filled out a lot more and we’re sending a lot more to college this year. It’s really going to make a big difference.”

The program is only available for West Virginia residents when they submit their taxes online using Turbo Tax; however, the company may make the program available nationwide if it does well in West Virginia.

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Remember all of the following when you fill out your 2009-2010 FAFSA:

• When the FAFSA refers to “I”, “You”, “Your”, etc. it is referring to the student! (not the parent, family, or FAFSA preparer)
• Always double check even basic things like your address and ZIP code.
• Nothing will kill a FAFSA faster than errors or omissions! Check everything!
• Colors matter and each year’s FAFSA is different.
  • Student-related items are in green, while items for the parent(s) are in purple.
• The FAFSA is free. You don’t need to pay for it.
• A tip for filing online: The form itself has a “Save” button – but not on every page. Make sure you save your FAFSA when you’re filing online on every page you can, so that if something goes wrong, you can retrieve your saved application.
• It’s also helpful to print out the paper version and do a “practice” run on it before going online. This way, if you encounter technical difficulties, you won’t lose the information itself.
• If you feel that you have a unique circumstance regarding your dependency status, you should talk with a counselor at the financial aid office at your school.

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Let me just start off by expressing my love for forums. I love them for a few different reasons, the main reason being that I can communicate and learn from others without actually having to meet them:) Ok but seriously, forums are great. I am currently a proud member of 4 forums: 1. My Morning Jacket Fan Club Forum (Jim James is my hero) 2. ILoveDogs.com Forum (self explanatory) 3. CNN Forum (news junkie) 4. Financial Aid Forum.

The Financial Aid forum is a great place for students of all ages to come together and share their experiences with federal aid, loans, school policies, financial hardships etc. It really can help to hear about what others have gone through, and it can sometimes prevent you from making the mistakes they made. For anyone who has a question on financial aid, post it on the financial aid forum. If you have experience in financial aid you should visit as well because you can lend your expertise to those in desperate need of it.  Also, don’t forget to sign up for the 10k scholarship drawing. The drawing is March 31st.

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I wish I could tell you the FAFSA was due each year on June 30 and that was the end of it, but I can’t. Like so many aspects of the financial aid process you need to dig a little deeper to uncover the truth as it applies to you.

The federal deadline for filing your FAFSA is June 30 each year, but your state deadline is generally much earlier than that.

Application deadlines differ from state to state, school to school, and even take your enrollment status into consideration.

Let me give you an example of just how confusing it can be to find out something as simple as when your FAFSA is due.

We’ll say you are enrolling at MIT in Boston. If you go to the Department of Education’s website you will notice for the state of Massachusetts the FAFSA deadline is May 1. So that means you have until May 1, right? Nope.

MIT sets their own 4/15 deadline for all enrolled undergrad’s, and for prospective and enrolled graduate students.

If you are a prospective undergrad or transfer student you barely have past Groundhog Day, as those applications are due on 2/15.

My advice. Ask your school’s financial aid office or go on-line to your school’s website for deadline details. That said, it is ALWAYS advisable to get your FAFSA done as early as possible. Some aid is on a first come, first serve basis and you don’t want to miss out.

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The FAFSA was created in 1992 to “simplify” applying for financial aid. Simplify? I cringe to think what the process was like before the current six page, 100 question document. What, did they have you walking over hot coals while reciting your available income and asset details? Were you required to battle to the death, like a gladiator, for the right to file your application? The current process is painstaking enough.

The truth is many Americans are so intimidated by the application process that they don’t fill out a FAFSA, and sadly, those are usually the families that need aid the most. Last year congress ordered the form streamlined, but in the same bill they added seven new questions to the application. Can someone please tell the left hand what the right hand is doing?

Even for those who do complete the FAFSA, many feel the form does not accurately depict a families financial need as it does a poor job of assessing financial worth and does not factor in the high cost of living. In addition, many students do not get assistance from Mom and Dad, although parental income and assets are used when determining eligibility for dependent students (those under 24). Is that fair?

The FAFSA reminds me of that old Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song, Love the one you’re with. If you can’t have the form you want, love the one you’ve got.

Do you feel the FAFSA application is challenging? Do you think it’s unfair? We want to know. Sound off!

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In a national address on Tuesday, President Obama spoke about making some important changes to the financial aid application (FAFSA), with the goal of making it easier for people to apply for financial aid. He called for plans to simplify the FAFSA form by reducing the number of data elements asked for on the application. He also said it could be simplified by corroborating with the information the IRS already has in regards to income (NO, they do not already do this).

Currently the FAFSA has over 100 questions on the application, and for a student that is applying without the help of parents this can be a pretty daunting feat. It also can be confusing for parents to fill out because it does ask for extensive details about income and assets. Records show that in 2008 there were about 10 million FAFSA applications filed. A recent changed that is already in effect makes it possible for students who have no contact with their parents to file an appeal through their school so that they can still file a FAFSA without their parents’ information.  This also works if the parents just refuse to release their information. For those who are unaware of the dependent v. independent status when it comes to financial aid, it may come as a surprise to you. The government views you as dependent if you are under the age of 24, and you are not married, you do not have a child, and you are not in the military. Even if you do not live with your parents, you live alone and work to support yourself, like a lot of young adults do, the FAFSA still requires your parents’ income information.

This recent change may make it easier for students to get that form filled out in these circumstances with the help of their financial aid officers at their schools. The simplification of the form and the change stated above should result in an increased number of FAFSA applications filed. …right? More FAFSAs filed typically means more students are applying to college, which is Obama’s ultimate goal. So while it can’t hurt to make the current FAFSA less confusing, what do you think about the way it is now? Is it that terrible that it is prohibiting people from filling it out? I want to hear what you guys think…

Points code: FAFSAWOES

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Janet Johnson of Abington Massachusetts sent me an email recently asking for help in breaking down the SAR report, and I thought it might be beneficial to blog about it and share the answer with everyone as I am a man of the people.

By the way, SAR stands for Student Aid Report and is the figure located in the upper right hand corner of said report. The SAR is also the report you get back from the Department of Education after you file your FAFSA.

There are four key ingredients for dependent students that they look at.

- Available Parent Income

- Avilable Parental Assets

- Total Parental Contribution

- Student Contribution

The available parent income simply looks at total income and then deducts taxes, a basic income allowance (like food and shelter), and looks at other exclusions such as child support payments.

The available parental assets is pretty straight forth. That just covers checking/savings, real estate investments, family business net worth, etc. It deducts education savings (like a 529 College savings plan).

Total parental contribution is just available income + assets which gives you the adjusted available income multiplied by the assessment rate. There is also a deduction if any other children are in school.

The student contribution is total income minus work-study earnings, taxes, and provides an income protection allowance of $3,750 per year.

The parent and student information is then added together and that gives you your EFC total.

I hope this helps clarify things for you. Also, special thanks to Janet for the query. Keep the questions coming gang.

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Let me first start off by saying that even if your credit is has been severely affected by credit card debt, or any other kind of debt….you can still file a FAFSA and receive a Stafford loan. Your FAFSA results are not affected by your credit history. Recently there was a post on forum that is specifically for students and parents who have questions about financial aid, that relates to this question:

credit card affecting my student loans

by patti on Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:31 am

i took out credit cards while i am a full time student. i borrowed way too much and now one of those cards is in default. my F.A. adviser said that i cannot get any more F.A. with this happening. if i enroll my cards in a credit counseling AKA debt management program will this in any way affect my ability to 1. get more student loans, since i have 2 more years of graduate school. 2. cause me to have to enroll my already low interest rate student loans into this debt management account. i need help now !! thank you

Re: credit card affecting my student loans

by Ms. Stafford on Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:23 am

Hi Patti, your credit and any credit card debt you may have in no way affects FEDERAL aid….which means you can still file the FAFSA and borrow federal loans. Your debt would affect your ability to get approved for private student loans. Can you afford school with just federal loans? How much is your tuition?

Re: credit card affecting my student loans

by patti on Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:20 am

ms stanford, i need the loans due to the high cost of private graduate school. the f.a. officer denied a budget increase for this term. she said that the school approved the increase but the federal people denied it based on my credit card debt being on collections. she told me that i would not be able to get Federal aid next year if this or any other debt is over due 60 days.can you refer me to a contact in the federal area to contact to resolve this?

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It’s no surprise that when the economy is flat lining that many retreat back to school. It’s a warm sanctuary in a cold cold world.

The problem, as I have previously discussed, is that federal aid goes quickly. The Department of Education reported a 20 percent increase in the number of FAFSA applications submitted for the 2009-2010 processing year over the 2008-2009 year. More students, young and old, are lining up to exercise their mind.

Understandably loan volume has also increased with more students seeking aid. The Direct Loan program alone has increased by more than 7 billion so far this academic year, compared to the same time period in the 2007-08 academic year. FFELP loans are also up despite the fact that 59 schools have moved from the FFELP program to the Direct Loan program.

So what does all this mean? It is always better to get your FAFSA application done early. The closer to January 1 you can complete your application each year the better the chances of maximizing your financial aid package. Keep that in mind as you move forward, and come back to read up on all our helpful FAFSA hints.

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If you have ever filled out a FAFSA form then you know all about the parent section in the financial aid application. In my experience I have come across 3 types of Parents.  Type 1 is the proud parent. They are so happy that their child decided to go to college make something of him/herself. These parents want and are willing to help the child in any way they can. Type 1 parents usually have money:) Type 2  parents are fearful. They are happy their kid is going to school, but they are fearful at the same time because they don’t have the money saved up to help pay for school and they don’t want to acquire more debt than they already have. Type 3 parents are hands off. Their child is going to college, and they will not be helping financially, either because they cannot or they choose not to…I don’t come into contact with these folks too much, since it is usually the child calling or emailing for help.

It’s the type 3 parent that will be my focus. I find that these parents usually disagree with their child’s choice of major (art, music, theater) OR they just simply cannot afford to help their kid out. Obviously each type of parent I have experienced, does not represent all the parents out there, so PLEASE do not be offended by my generalizations. This is just what I have experienced from working in the financial aid industry.

So what can an eager-student-to-be do if they want to apply for financial aid, but their parents will not give them their financial information to actually fill out the form? In previous years, students were basically out of luck. Their school could try and help them get more funds elsewhere, but the  FAFSA was not an option  which means the student couldn’t even borrow a loan from the Federal government.

Provisions made to the 2009-2010 FAFSA changed all that. A school now has the authority to deem a child independent based on their special circumstances, which means you can still fill out the FAFSA without your parents information IF the school works with you to do that. I have yet to hear how in fact a school over rides this, so if anyone has dealt with this recently please share your experience. If you find yourself in this situation my advice is to go talk with someone directly at the school.

If you feel there is a chance you can convince your parents to give up their information…then keep in mind that all the aid you will receive (Stafford loans, Pell grants etc) are in your name only. Your parent has no responsibility for those, even though their financial information is needed for that FAFSA form. Reiterating this to your parents may help change their minds, because it is the fear of ownership/responsibility for those loans that deter most parents from giving up their financial information. Also, DO NOT PASS THIS UP….the 10k Scholarship drawing is March 31st and takes 30 seconds to sign up for it. Any college student or high school senior can enter. Enter the drawing here.

Points Code: LOCKDOWN

Have a story you want to share? Post a comment or come to the financial aid forum.

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