COMPLETING THE FAFSA 1 What is the FAFSA

COMPLETING THE FAFSA 1

What is the FAFSA? The FAFSA is a Free Federal Application for Student Aid By completing the FAFSA you are eligible for financial assistance to attend college. 2

FAFSA Sections The FAFSA is divided into these sections: Student Demographics School Selection Dependency Status Parent Demographics Financial Information Sign and Submit Confirmation 3

Student Demographics Use your full name as shown on your Social Security card Help and Hints boxes are located on each screen to assist you 4

Student Demographics Enter your birth year, not the current year Enter your marital status as of the day you submit your FAFSA 5

Student Demographics Eighteen yearold males who haven’t registered with Selective Service can’t receive financial aid. You can elect to register here on your FAFSA. 6

Student Demographics Students are required to indicate the high school from which they graduated High school names will be shown for you to select and confirm. If your school isn’t currently in the database, simply type in the name, city and state. 7

School Selection You can send your FAFSA to 10 different schools. If you don’t know the school’s 6 digit code, you can search by School Name, City or State. When sorting on Enid, Oklahoma, it listed these 2 schools. Click the school(s) you may attend. 8

School Selection When you click ‘View Selected School Information’, you’ll see a comparison like this. 9

School Selection You must provide Housing Plans for each school you’ve chosen. Your options: • On campus • Off campus • With Parents 10

Dependent or Independent? Your answers to these questions will determine your dependency status. If you’re unable to answer YES to one question, you’ll be considered a dependent student. 11

Dependency Status • Dependent students must provide parental information • Independent students aren’t required to show parental information unless requested by their school 12

Dependency Status To view the Dependency Status Questionnaire, check out the Resources tab at UCan. Go 2. org. 13

Special Circumstances If a dependent student is unable to provide parental information, he/she or may indicate that here. It’s highly recommended the student speak to the financial aid office at the college they’ll attend however. Many schools have specific procedures they follow to handle this question. 14

Special Circumstances This page explains some exceptions to the rule for providing parental information. Contact your financial aid office for more details. 15

Parent Information If your biological parents are separated or divorced, use information about the parent you lived with most during the last 12 months. If you lived with both parents equally, use information for the parent who provided you the most support in the last 12 months If your divorced parent is remarried, use information for your parent and step-parent 16

Parent Demographics Enter your parent’s demographic information. It will be the parent that claims you as a dependent on their taxes. Remember, your parent’s name must be entered just like it’s shown on the Social Security card. If you’re unsure whom should be counted in your family’s household size, click here to get a full definition. You can only enter family members in college who are pursuing a degree or certification. Parents cannot be included. 17

Financial Info - Parent In this section parents will enter the type of tax return they filed, as well as their requested 2011 income figures. The Help and Hints box will provide corresponding line numbers on your tax return to assist you in locating answers. 18

Financial Info - Parent This page requests additional income and asset information for the parents. 19

Financial Info - Student The Student Financial Information section requests the type of tax form the student filed, as well as the student’s income and asset figures. 20

IRS Data Retrieval While completing the FAFSA online, applicants may submit a real-time request to IRS for tax data IRS will authenticate taxpayer’s identity If match found, IRS sends real-time results to applicant in a new window Applicants choose whether or not to transfer tax data to FAFSA 21

IRS Data Retrieval Available February 1, 2012 for the 2012 -13 FAFSA processing cycle Participation is voluntary Reduces documents requested by financial aid office 22

IRS Data Retrieval Electronically filed tax return information will be available from the IRS 1 -2 weeks after you file Data from paper tax returns will be available on the IRS site in approximately 6 -8 weeks 23

Sign and Submit You can review and print all the information you’ve submitted on your FAFSA to keep for your records. To sign your FAFSA, you and one parent (or your spouse) can enter a PIN here. You may also print and mail a signature page to complete the FAFSA process. 24

Sign and Submit If you wish to sign electronically, but haven’t requested a PIN, you may do so from this page. Click ‘Submit’ to send your completed FAFSA off to the processing center. 25

Confirmation Your Confirmation page will indicate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as well as an estimated amount for the Pell Grant and/or student loans. For assistance with your FAFSA, you may contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at the numbers shown here. 26

Contact Us Each page of your online FAFSA houses a ‘Contact Us’ button at the top of the screen. Click it to find a variety of ways to obtain assistance with your FAFSA application. 27