FAFSA
What family assets are considered during the process of financial aids qualification evaluation? Review the FAFSA and the FAFSA instructions; you can find the 09-10 FAFSA questions in Part 3 of the 09-10 Counselors and Mentors Handbook .
Does it matter if assets are titled under students name or parents with regard to loans? Subsidized loans (based on financial need) do take the Expected Family Contribution into account. The EFC is often based partly on parental and student assets. Student assets count more heavily in the EFC formula than parental assets do. See how information about how the EFC is calculated and look at the EFC Formula Worksheets. (Keep in mind that assets are only part of determining the EFC.)
What is the deadline for obtaining PINs for FAFSA? Can the FAFSA PIN be obtained before January 1?
There is no deadline for obtaining PINS (one for the student and one for the parent). PINS should be obtained prior to completing your FAFSA because they act as your signature to submit your FAFSA. Learn more about PINS .
When will the 2009-2010 FAFSA forms be released?
The FAFSA becomes available January 1, 2009 for the 2009-10 academic year. Each state/institution may have deadlines or recommended filing dates to be considered for aid. Be sure to learn these dates. Learn more about state deadlines.
Is there a separate application process for federal loans, or do you become automatically qualified through your FAFSA info? Also, are there direct formulas to determine need-based eligibility?
Each FAFSA submitted automatically makes students eligible for consideration for federal loans, grants, and work-study. Eligibility is based on your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
If income level is anticipated to decline by a lot next year, is there a place on the FAFSA where this can be shown?
If a family’s financial situation changes once a FAFSA has been filed, they should contact the institution’s student financial aid office.
Does the FAFSA take into account education expenses for children not yet at university level ... i.e. very expensive college-prep private high school?
The FAFSA does not account for expenses; however, the applicant should speak to the institution’s financial aid office about any unusual expenses like this.
FSA Resources or FSA
What if you can pay for part of the tuition but need help with the rest? Can you borrow partial amounts?
The award notification from your institution will tell you the amount of aid for which you qualify. It is to your discretion to determine the portion you wish you borrow.
Is there an income cut off for federal student loans that would prevent families making more than a certain amount of money from receiving those loans? No. Eligibility for subsidized loans is based on the Expected Family Contribution – which comes from more than just income. Eligibility for unsubsidized loans is not based on financial need.
What family income level qualifies a family for the federal loans: Perkins or Subsidized? See question above. The Expected Family Contribution comes from a combination of income, assets, family size, number of family members in college, and more. Learn more about the EFC formula and take a look at the EFC Formula Worksheets.
Does "income-based repayment" apply to Unsubsidized Stafford loan? What about the parent plus loan? Please refer to Your Federal Student Loans for details about repayment options for various loans.
To clarify, every student/family has access to some amount of unsubsidized federal loans even if they don't qualify for need based aid? “Every” is a big word; “most” is more accurate. Some students are not eligible for any federal aid (for instance, students who are neither US citizens nor “eligible noncitizens”).
Can a Parent PLUS loan taken out for child be deferred if one of the parents is in school half to full time? Generally, the same deferment provisions that apply to Stafford Loans also apply to PLUS Loans. Please refer to Your Federal Student Loans for details about deferment, forbearance, and other options. Also, it’s important to refer to the loan’s promissory note (the loan contract) for information about the terms of the loan. Any questions about the loan terms should be directed to the lender.
Does the student loan repayment (for monthly payment installments) take a student's possible career into consideration? No it does not – which is why it’s important for students to plan ahead, not borrow more than they will be able to repay, and be aware of their repayment options.
For Stafford loans, is there a minimum credit score and do the Stafford loans apply to private schools? Stafford Loans are student loans; federal student loans do not require a credit check. Stafford Loans are offered at both public and private schools. If it is a priority for the student to have access to a Stafford Loan, he or she may check with the school’s financial aid office (or visit the financial aid section of the school’s web site) early in the college application process to learn whether that school participates in the Stafford Loan program.
Question about emancipation—is it advisable for families in bad economic situations? The U.S. Department of Education does not provide advice on such matters.
What resources or contacts are there for student loan default? The most important contact is the holder of the loan; the borrower must remain in contact with the loan holder to see whether arrangements can be made to repay the loan. The U.S. Department of Education offers these resources: “Got a Federal Student Loan? Be a Responsible Borrower” – a fact sheet with tips. For information about repayment, please visit www.studentaid.ed.gov/repaying and www.1800iwillpay.com, or call 1-800-I-WILL-PAY.
If a student's single parent is disabled and not able to work will the student still qualify for a federal loan or are there other sources of funding for a student in this situation? A student’s parent being disabled will not affect the student’s eligibility for a federal student loan. As for other sources of funding, the student should try the free scholarship search at www.studentaid.ed.gov and take a look at www.disabilityinfo.gov.
If a student assumes debt from a student loan at the undergraduate level, will that impact them applying for loans at the graduate level? There are limits to the total amount of loan debt that a student can accumulate; but the simple fact of having received some loan funds as an undergraduate does not affect basic eligibility at the graduate level. See Your Federal Student Loans for information about annual and aggregate loan limits.
Can you give a brief overview of what factors might exclude a student from eligibility for federal aid? (i.e. citizenship status, criminal record, etc.) Please refer to Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid or the Student Eligibility page.
When a family goes to the quick calculator to get an idea of their EFC and have two kids in college next year...is the EFC per student or divided in two? Then do they fill out FAFSA's for each child, and if so, how do the two colleges take this into consideration for aid? Each student must submit his or her own FAFSA. An EFC is for a single student. The fact that there are two children in college is already taken into account in each student’s EFC, so the colleges do not need to do anything additional.
Re-visiting (and building upon) the example of the family with two students in college next year ... assuming the SAR showed an EFC of $15,000. Does each of the two postsecondary educational institutions view the individual student's EFC as $7500 or is the EFC actually $15,000 for each student? See question above. The EFC is associated with the individual student; the calculation is a student’s EFC, not a family’s EFC. Each student has his or her own EFC that results from his or her own FAFSA.
I need a loan. Problem is my parents’ credit. My parents have horrible credit so they can’t really co-sign anything for me. Either can other relatives. I've applied for loans on my own and was denied for every one of them. I don’t know why, because I have really good credit. But I guess it’s almost an unspoken rule that you need a cosigner to get the loan. What is the most one could obtain in federal loans, the max? Federal student loans do not require a credit check or a co-signer for the student. Please ask the financial aid office at your school about getting a federal loan such as a Stafford Loan. To determine the maximum annual amount you can borrow, refer to Your Federal Student Loans.
If a student is currently attending college but has not had to borrow until now, when can he fill out the FAFSA - must he wait until January 2009? Would any money be available for the Spring 2009 term, or only beginning in the Fall 2009? If a student wants money for the spring 2009 term, he or she must submit the 2008-09 FAFSA, which is currently available. To obtain aid for fall 2009, the student must submit the 2009-10 FAFSA, available January 1, 2009.
If a parent is rejected for the PLUS, what type(s) of loans are generally offered to students to cover the resulting funding gap? The student might be able to receive additional Unsubsidized Stafford Loan funds. The student should speak to the financial aid office at his or her school as soon as possible.
Will the details for the Parent Plus loan option be automatically communicated with the other aid options or do they need to be requested separately? That depends on the institution’s policies for offering aid. Many colleges/universities automatically include the offer of a PLUS Loan in the award “package” they send to the student. If a student is not offered a PLUS Loan as part of the award package, he or she may certainly ask the school about obtaining one.
Can the postsecondary education institution's UNSUBSIDIZED Stafford loan amount "award" be increased at the parent/student request? (In other words, some families do not find that the EFC, upon which the loan offer may be based, is realistic). There are limits to the amount of loan funds a student may receive each year; please see “Federal Student Aid at a Glance” or Your Federal Student Loans.
Can grant money given be taken away if additional information on finances changes? I think this might be asking, “If I already have my EFC and was offered grant money as a result, but then my family wins $30,000 in the lottery, or my mom gets a big year-end bonus at work, will my EFC (and my eligibility for the grant) change?” The FAFSA asks about the family’s financial situation as of the day the FAFSA is signed. If the family’s situation changes after that date, the student does not (as a general rule) need to make changes on the FAFSA. However, there are too many “if/then’s” involved in this topic, and the student should contact the school or the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID to discuss his or her specific situation.
How do you assess financial aid in the case of divorce when the non custodial parent is uncooperative in providing the financial data necessary to determine aid? How does the student proceed? If the student’s parents are divorced, then the student only provides information about the custodial parent; the noncustodial parent’s information is irrelevant.
Would students who go to junior colleges with the intention of transferring to a 4-year college still qualify for financial aid? If the junior college participates in the federal student aid programs, and the student meets federal aid eligibility criteria, then yes.
What happens when there are problems with initial eligibility as determined by the FAFSA? As, for instance, in a case where a returning student did not sign up for selective service before age 26 and it is recommended that a statement of eligibility be sent to the college's financial aid department for a determination. What is happening when a financial aid office at a college receives a situation such as this, or something else where there is a problem with initial eligibility? The student must meet eligibility criteria before receiving aid. If the student is asked to provide proof that he did not “knowingly and willfully” fail to register for Selective Service, then he must do so or forfeit federal aid. In the same vein, if the student is told that his or her citizenship was not confirmed, or that his or her Social Security Number was not confirmed, he or she must follow the procedures necessary in order to resolve the situation before he/she can receive aid. For any questions, the student should talk to the financial aid director at the school or call 1-800-4-FED-AID.
Content in Presentation
Do you have a rule of thumb of the total amount a student should borrow for college? That depends on a variety of factors, including the career the student plans to enter. The student should look at the Occupational Outlook Handbook to see what starting salaries are in that career, and then do some math and some budgeting, perhaps with the assistance of a parent or financial advisor.
I don't understand what a Direct Student Loan is compared to a Stafford (either subsidized or unsubsidized) loan. Who is eligible for a Direct Loan and who/what distributes them? There are two types of Stafford Loans: Direct Stafford Loans and Federal Family Education Loan Program Stafford Loans. The student may receive one or the other depending on which program his/her school participates in.
Is borrowing a loan for school from a credit union or bank a good idea? There is no way to give a single answer to this question; for some people, it is a good idea, and for some it’s not. Read Federal Aid First for some general tips.
You mentioned websites with scholarship information. Can you give us some example websites that provide scholarship information? www.studentaid.ed.gov has a free scholarship search.
Does it make sense to fill out the FAFSA4caster in your child's junior year? What is the URL for the FAFSA4caster to submit the application? Yes; in fact, you might want to fill out FAFSA4caster earlier than the junior year to help with pre-planning for college. Visit the FAFSA4caster.
Can a student lock in a fixed rate if he/she only has one loan? These days, federal student loans are fixed-rate loans, so as soon as you’ve received one, your rate is locked in. However, I believe this question is asking whether a student can consolidate a single federal student loan into a federal consolidation loan. It is possible to do this; learn more.
You advise applying for as many outside scholarships as possible. But won't that end up in many hours spent on comparatively few dollars? Most outside scholarships (that average students are competitive for) seem to be for small amounts of money and just for one year. Also, is there a particular site you recommend using? We get many complaints about Fastweb because of the amount of spam students get, as well as the often very narrow criteria of many of the scholarships. A student who wants to minimize borrowing might find it worth the time spent in order to acquire “comparatively few dollars.” Several small scholarships can add up to a nice chunk of money … that doesn’t have to be repaid with interest later. The U.S. Department of Education has a free scholarship search and ED will not share the student’s information with spammers.
I have found that there are many students and parents not willing to look for scholarships because the fact that so many of them are requiring a certain GPA and ACT score. What can we tell them as admissions counselors in order to try to encourage them to look some more? There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of scholarships that are based on more than just merit. If a student tries the free scholarship search, he or she will find that money might be available for writing an essay, or for being Italian-American, or for living in a certain town. Students should never make assumptions about eligibility for any aid – either private scholarships or federal aid.
Citizenship
Can international students apply for federal loans? Yes, if they are “eligible noncitizens” – see the “Important Terms” section of Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid.
What information would a student need to put for an undocumented parent? The FAFSA does not ask about the parent’s citizenship status, so the student would put the same information as for a parent who is a citizen or a permanent resident. If the undocumented parent does not have a Social Security Number, the student should enter all zeroes in that field of the FAFSA.
Also, any advice for students who are citizens, but whose parents are not, in terms of filing a FAFSA and being eligible for financial aid? See answer from question above this one.
I have a student who has lived in the United States for several years. Her parents are now permanent residents, her younger siblings are either permanent residents or American citizens. Her status was just recently changed to "Asylum" status. My reading of the FAFSA website is that Asylum status makes her eligible for Federal aid. But she's being told by some college admissions offices that she is not eligible. Also, once her status becomes "permanent resident" - what happens then? Please see the “Important Terms” section of Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid for information about what makes a student an eligible noncitizen. Once the student is a permanent resident, he/she will need to enter his/her Alien Registration Number on the FAFSA. Note: if you need detailed information about eligible noncitizen status, read the Federal Student Aid Handbook’s chapter on citizenship.
If a parent is a non-citizen, should the student write 000-00-0000 for the parent's SSN or leave that answer blank? Enter all zeroes.
I have a boarding student who is from Taiwan. She has a permanent resident card. Her aunt and uncle are her legal guardians in the U.S. and are permanent residents as well. Her parents, however, live in Taiwan and are citizens of Taiwan. Would she be eligible for Federal Aid? Would she put her guardians' information on the FAFSA? As of the 2009-10 FAFSA, a student who is in a legal guardianship will be considered an independent student and will not need to report parental information. Until that time, a dependent student who lives with legal guardians would still need to provide information about his/her parents – legal guardians are not parents for the purposes of the FAFSA. Please refer to the Counselors and Mentors Handbook for further information (both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 versions are online).