Financial Aid Updates
FAFSA Reminder
The 2012-2013 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) will be available on January 1. Students and their families are encouraged to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1 to meet the federal deadline for student aid and any state and institutional deadlines.
The FAFSA determines a student's eligibility for most federal and state grant awards, work-study programs, institutional aid, and federal student loans.
The FAFSA is available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Completing the FAFSA online helps eliminate errors and offers a quicker processing time. Students who do not have computer access can request a paper FAFSA by calling 1-800-433-3243.
How to Avoid Common FAFSA Mistakes
A mistake on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) may delay the processing time by as much as 3 weeks. We've compiled some of the most common errors students and their families make when completing the FAFSA.
Make sure you DON'T do any of these:
- DON'T leave fields blank—It's better to enter "0" or "not applicable" instead of leaving a field blank. Too many blanks may cause miscalculations, and the application may be rejected.
- DON'T use commas or decimal points in numeric fields—Always round up to the nearest dollar.
- DON'T list a parent's marital status incorrectly—The FAFSA asks for financial information from the custodial parent or, if he or she has remarried, from both the custodial parent and stepparent.
- DON'T list an incorrect Social Security Number or driver's license number—Check these entries. Ask someone else to check them too.
- DON'T list the same figure for adjusted gross income and total income—These are not the same figure. Adjusted gross income can be found on the 1040 form at Line 37, on the 1040A form at Line 21, and on the 1040EZ form at Line 4.
- DON'T enter the wrong federal income tax paid amount—Look for the federal income tax paid on income tax return forms, not W-2 forms.
- DON'T forget to list any colleges—The FAFSA asks for the Federal School Code for any college the student applies to or plans to attend.
- DON'T forget to sign and date the FAFSA—The paper FAFSA requires a signature, so be sure to provide one. FAFSA on the Web requires an electronic signature using a PIN. Obtain a PIN (personal identification number) from www.pin.ed.gov.