The world of financial aid can be confusing and diverse. Here are a
few guidelines to understand what happens to your information.
A
student decides to attend college and applies for financial aid by
completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The
first step in application is applying for a PIN (personal
identification number). Each student and parent will need a PIN. You
can do this at www.pin.ed.gov. Upon receiving your PIN, use the electronic application for the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
The electronic version decreases processing time, decreases likelihood
of errors, and can be saved and returned to in order to complete at a
later time.
FAFSA
is sent to the CPS (Central Processing System). This is a third party
servicer for the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE). Here
your FAFSA will be matched to ensure accuracy for social security
numbers. Be sure to apply using the exact name as it appears on your
social security card (i.e., middle initial, Jr., full name, etc.). All
male students will be matched with the Selective Service database. If
you are not registered with Selective Service, you may do this via
FAFSA.
If you choose to not register, you may not receive any federal aid.
A
Student Aid Report (SAR) will be sent to the student . If you included
a valid e-mail address on your FAFSA, the SAR will be sent to you
electronically, followed by regular U.S. postal service. All schools
listed on your FAFSA will receive an ISIR (Institutional Student
Information Record). This notifies a college that you are considering
attending, and a financial aid package can be prepared.
The
U.S. Department of Education mandates at least 30 percent of all FAFSAs are
chosen for verification. This is another term for audit. You will be
asked to submit all tax information used to prepare your FAFSA
(parents’ taxes and student’s taxes). Please be sure to sign the copy
of your tax return. The Financial Aid Office
is available to assist with this paperwork. For more
information on verification, please click here.
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