FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

If you are like many college students and are thinking about transferring schools, then you want to make sure you update your FAFSA before going forward. I get numerous calls from students who just assume that the money from their old school will automatically transfer over to their new school. This is not true and unless you cancel out your old loan from your old school you may be responsible for that loan even if you are not attending that college.

Furthermore, since different schools have different costs of tuition, the amount you may be awarded can also be different. Just because you got awarded a certain amount at one school doesn’t mean you will get that same amount at the new school. In order to assure that you get any money please remember to update your FAFSA. I can’t stress this enough. That is not the final step however. Just like when you first applied at your old school you need to wait for the award letter and then fill out the application for a Stafford Loan. This can be done at the Stafford Loan Website. Hopefully I was able to provide a little clarity on the subject and remember if you ever have questions it is always best to ask your schools financial aid office.

HELPFUL LINKS:

www.studentloannetwork.com

www.fafsaonline.com

www.studentscholarshipsearch.com

As the first half of the school year comes to an end, it is never to early to start planning for the next upcoming year. The 2007-2008 FAFSA forms are now available for you to fill out at The Student Loan Network.

Why start so early??? Well, the sooner you complete the FAFSA the better your chances on receiving more money from your school are. This applies especially to those loans that are awarded on a first come first serve basis. Such as, Pell Grants, Perkins Loans, and Scholarships. Also, don’t forget to have all your tax information updated and on hand for filling out the FAFSA. Furthermore, since you will be on a much needed holiday break it should be a good time to get yourself settled and prepared for the upcoming year. This way you can enjoy your summer vacation and be as stress free as possible going into the new year. Happy Holidays!

Suggested links:

Ms. Stafford and Financial Aid Podcaster’s BLOG
ActEducationLoans.com

Filing out your FAFSA is like filling out an application at a bank before you get approved for the loan. Just because you got the award letter or the pre approval doesn’t mean that you are done and money will be sent to your school. If you got awarded a Stafford loan you need to find a lender and provide them with a Master Promissory Note before you receive anything. A FAFSA is just an application you fill out to determine how much aid you are eligible for. It is not a loan.

Furthermore, the money you get awarded from a FAFSA is all Federal aid and is determined by your school. This is not free money and you have to pay it back. You can find more information regarding this application at FAFSA Online. After reviewing that website you may want to check out Stafford Loan . If you are looking for a loan that you do not have to pay back you would want to ask your school what type of scholarship programs they offer and ask about Pell Grants. The previous loans are need based and are usually awarded on a first come first serve basis. You can also check out Scholarship Points

So… you are 23, independent, living on your own, and you decide that it’s time you got a college degree. Pretty cool idea! BUT….you need to know an important detail (one that I think is seriously outdated…). The Federal Government does not look at you as an independent being. Even if you support yourself and live on your own, until you are 24 or older, the government bases your eligibility for grants and student loans on your parents’ income! I know it seems bizarre, but that is how it is. There are some exceptions: you’re a U.S. armed forces member, you are married, you have a child, or you are legally emancipated from your parents. Whoa, crazy right? Don’t get down though. You need your parents’ information to fill out the FAFSA, but you do not need them to cosign on Federal Loans. Your parents’ will have no liability for your loans. And unless they make A LOT of money, chances are you will be eligible for a student loan.

FAFSA: FREE Application for Federal Aid.

When applying for federal aid, filling out your fafsa is the first and most important part in determining whether or not your eligible for federal loans. You can download this free application on fafsa online . Remember this application should be free so if you see some sites out there that want to charge you for this beware. This application is based on you or your parents last year tax returns so have that info. handy to make the process go a little bit easier. When you have completed this process you should receive a Student Aid Report. (SAR). On this form it should tell you if and how much federal aid you have been awarded. This is not the last step however… Many get confused and think fafsa is the lender of the loan and the money is automatically disbursed to the school. If you are awarded pell grants or a perkins loan contact your school and if you are awarded a Sub or Unsub Stafford Loan you must then apply for that loan. I must reiterate that Stafford is not the name of the Lender it is simply the type of loan you are receiving. You can apply for this loan on Stafford Loan Further if you still feel confused you can always give one of our reps a call at the Student Loan Network… (877)328-1565.

Morning everyone…I just wanted to write a quick note about a common question I hear a lot on a daily basis…”How is a loan considered Financial Aid?”…Well the way in which the U.S. Government determines it is as follows…Stafford and Perkins loans are low interest loans guaranteed by the Federal government…what does this mean for you? Well, it means that you have rights with these loans that you do not necessarily have with a private/alternative student loan. These rights include deferment if you become unemployed, forbearance if you want to put your payments on hold, and loan forgiveness if you become disabled. These benefits are really good; therefore you must fill out a FAFSA in order to get these loans. The government wants to make sure you NEED this loan before they give it to you. Hope this clears some things up.

The new 2007-2008 FAFSA form is now available for review (PDF)(. Please note that the Department of Education will not accept it until January 1, 2007.

Author: General Manager, FSA Application, School Eligibility and Delivery Services Summary: 2005-2006 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Processing Deadlines The U.S. Department of Education would like to remind financial aid administrators of the approaching application and correction deadlines for the 2005-2006 application processing system, as published in the Federal Register on June 7, 2005 (70 FR 33134). This notice is available on the IFAP Web site at http://www.ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/FR06072005.html. A correction was published on June 15, 2005 (70 FR 34818) and is available at http://www.ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/FR06152005.html.

The deadlines are as follows:

** 2005-2006 FAFSAs must be received and accepted by the Central Processing System (CPS) before 12:00 midnight Central Time (CT), June 30, 2006. **

** Corrections to 2005-2006 processed applications, including signature pages, must be received and accepted by the CPS before 12:00 midnight CT, September 15, 2006. **

These deadlines apply to both paper and electronic submissions. The Department will make no exceptions to these deadlines, including cases in which schools have awarded Federal Pell Grants (Pell Grants) to students who do not have Pell-eligible Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs).

The Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System will not accept a Pell Grant disbursement record for a student who does not have a Pell-eligible ISIR. Students and schools should submit 2005-2006 data to the CPS far enough in advance of the deadlines to allow time to make corrections to the application data, if necessary.

If you have any questions about the deadlines, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.

… for falsifying a FAFSA. I had thought that wasn’t the case, but in the fine print on the DOE web site, the penalties for FAFSA falsification are pretty stiff. If you knowingly and intentionally submit false or fraudulent data on your FAFSA, you stand a $2,000 fine, jail time, or both…

So don’t do it. Instead, shift your money around legally!

June 7, 2006

Author: Jennifer Douglas, General Manager, Student Aid Awareness and Applicant Products and Services

Summary: First draft of the 2007-2008 FAFSA available for comment

The first draft of the 2007-2008 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available for comment. A Federal Register Notice opening the 60-day public comment period was published June 6, 2006. Comments on the draft FAFSA may be sent by e-mail to FAFSAComments@ed.gov.

We are proposing the following changes to FAFSA questions in order to be compliant with the Higher Education Reconciliation Act (HERA):

1) We added new questions for a student (and spouse) or a student and his/her parents asking about benefits they received from any of five means-tested federal benefit programs.
2) We added a new dependency question to allow a member of the U.S. Armed Forces serving on active duty for purposes other than training to be treated as an independent student for financial aid purposes.
3) We revised the question about drug-related offenses to reflect changes made under HERA.
4) We deleted the following questions for space reasons: questions 27 and 28 regarding the student’s interest in student loans or work-study and questions 94-97 representing a fifth and sixth college choice. (Question numbers refer to the 2006-2007 FAFSA)

http://www.ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/attachments/Draft0708FAFSA.pdf