Welcome to College Goal Alaska

2015 Partners & Sponsors Coalition of Alaskans Supporting Higher Education 2015 Sponsors: 2

Understanding the FASFA Presenter: 3

THE FAFSA PROCESS Understanding the FAFSA 4

The FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid Evaluates a family’s eligibility for federal student aid programs Serves as application for state scholarships/grants Bases financial capacity on prior year Students must re-apply each year Assets may change from year to year 5

FAFSA Goals Determines Expected Family Contribution (EFC) A measure of your family’s ability to pay for college Used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid for a single school year Everyone should file a FAFSA No income cutoff Required for federal and state aid Often required for campus-based aid Many public and private scholarships require FAFSA Alaska Performance Scholarship 6

Timelines for Filing the FAFSA Available after January 1 of each year Best to file by mid-February Don’t wait until you file your taxes – you can use 2013 information or estimates to meet deadlines, and update your FAFSA after you’ve filed your taxes. State priority deadline: June 30 Some programs award funds on first-come, first-served basis Some colleges have early deadlines Check deadlines on college websites Don’t wait until after admission to the school 7

Getting Ready Before starting the FAFSA, gather: Student’s driver’s license Student Alien Registration Card For both student and parent, be sure to have: Social Security cards 2014 W-2 Forms & records of money earned & other taxable benefits 2014 Federal income tax form Records of untaxed income Current bank statements Business, farm, & other real estate records Records of stocks, bonds, & other investments 8

PIN Registration Website PIN (Person Identification Number) serves as the electronic signature on ED documents Both student & one parent need PINs to sign the FAFSA electronically May be used to: Check on FAFSA status Verify & correct data Add additional schools to receive FAFSA data Change home & address If an address is provided, PIN will be ed to the PIN applicant within minutes! 9

File your FAFSA Online Internet application used by students & parents to complete electronic FAFSA Quick on-line edits to reduce likelihood of errors/delays Easy on-line help available for each question 10

Questions on the FAFSA SECTION 1: Demographic information about the student & schools you are considering attending SECTION 2: Determination of student dependency status SECTION 3: Parental information for dependent students SECTION 4: Student finances & information about the independent student 11

Completing the FAFSA on the Web Worksheet A line-by-line discussion Traditional student emphasis (straight out of high school) Anyone can file a FAFSA Traditional students Non-traditional students Older returning students Graduate school students 12

Student Aid Report (SAR) SAR sent to student within 2 weeks Review it for accuracy Report any changes SAR sent to schools listed on FAFSA School will use EFC to determine your financial need School sends award letter to student or requests additional information 13

Finding Your EFC Expected Family Contribution Located in upper right hand corner of SAR 14

Other Forms Some schools require additional paperwork CSS Financial Aid PROFILE Not a federal requirement, check with your school to see if it’s necessary Campus scholarship application Ask what forms the college requires! 15

Award Letters Schools may send paper or electronic award letters Award letters show the amount of financial aid you will receive at the school Can include grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans Compare award letters at You have to act on the award letter – you can accept all or part of the award package, or decline it. 16

State Programs & Awards By filing the FAFSA, you’ve applied for your state grant and scholarship programs. Your initial award letter may not reference the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) and Alaska Education Grant (AEG), even if you do qualify. Sign up for an Alaska Student Aid Portal account at APS.alaska.gov to monitor your eligibility status, and take any required action. APS.alaska.gov 17

Verification Save copies of documents used for your FAFSA Be prepared to provide additional information Colleges verify 30% of all applicants’ information Colleges cannot certify many types of aid unless the student/family provides the necessary information by the verification deadline 18

GETTING STARTED Section 1 - Student Demographics and Schools 19

FAFSA Renewal 20

Establish a Password 21

Introduction Page 22

Full Name Social Security # Date of Birth Gender Mailing Address State of Residency Phone # Address Marital Status Driver’s license Student Demographic Info 23

Student Eligibility Screen 24

Selective Service Registration 25

Student Aid Eligibility and Education Status 26

Student Work-Study 27

28 Parent’s Education Indicate the highest level of school your father and mother completed. Some states and colleges offer aid based upon this. Use birth parents or adoptive parents, not step-parents or foster parents

29 Student Aid Eligibility and Drug Convictions

Student Eligibility (continued) 30

School Selection 31

32 School Housing Plans

DEPENDENCY STATUS Section 2 - Is parental information required? 33

Dependency Determination 34

35 Dependent or Independent? ANY “YES” answers = independent student You will not have to provide parent information ALL “NO” answers = dependent student You must provide parent information

36 Special Circumstance If dependent, and you submit without parental information… Your FAFSA is not complete No EFC calculated You must contact the financial aid office Their decision is final

PARENTAL INFORMATION Section 3 - Dependent students only 37

38 Parents Who is a parent? Biological parents Adoptive parents Step-parents Who is not a parent? Grandparents Foster parents Legal guardians Older siblings Aunts or uncles

39 Parents’ Marital Status

40 Parent Identifying Info If applicable, your parent’s month and year of marriage Father/stepfather’s SS#, name, DOB Mother/stepmother’s SS#, name, DOB address (for parents) State of residence

Parent Household Household size includes parents, the student, and other dependents For household college students: Always include the student even if he/she will attend college less than half time in Include other household members if they will attend at least half time in in a program that leads to a degree or certificate Never include the parents 41

Parent Tax Information 42

IRS Data Retrieval If your parents answer “Already completed,” they will be given the option to transfer their 2014 income tax information directly from IRS records If filing the FAFSA within 6-8 weeks of having filed your tax return, you should ignore this question and use your actual 2014 IRS tax return to complete the FAFSA so you do not miss any important financial aid deadlines. 43

Parent Financial Information 44

45 Parents’ Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) What type of income tax return will your parents file for 2014? What was your parents’ AGI for 2014? 1040 line A line EZ line 4 Only asked if your parents filed taxes.

46 Parents’ Earnings from Work Enter how much each of your parents earned from working in 2014 (wages, salaries, tips, etc.) W2 forms – box numbers line Box 14 of Schedule K-1 (form 1065), if applicable 1040A line EZ line 1

47 Dislocated Worker Is either of your parents a dislocated worker? A person may be considered a dislocated worker if he/she: is receiving unemployment benefits due to being laid off or losing a job and is unlikely to return to a previous occupation; has been laid off or received a lay-off notice from a job; was self-employed but is now unemployed due to economic conditions or natural disaster; is the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces and has experienced a loss of employment because of relocating due to permanent change in duty station; is the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces and is a displaced homemaker; or is a displaced homemaker.

48 Parents’ Household Benefits In 2013 or 2014, did anyone in your parents’ household receive any of these benefits? Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Free or Reduced Price Lunch Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Check all that apply

Parents’ U.S. Income Taxes and Tax Exemptions Enter the amount parents paid (or will pay) in U.S. income tax for 2014? Form 1040 – Line 56 Form 1040A – Line 37 Form 1040EZ – Line 10 Enter the parents’ tax exemptions for 2014 Form 1040 – Line 6d Form 1040A – Line 6d IRS Form 1040EZ and did not check either box on line 5, enter 01 if they are not married or 02 if they are married IRS Form 1040EZ and checked either the "you" or "spouse" box on line 5, use line F on EZ worksheet to determine number of exemptions ($3,950 equals one) 49

Additional Parent Financial Information Did your parents have any of the following in 2014? Check all that apply You will be asked to report amounts online 50

Asset Net Worth Question 51

Error Message on Asset Net Worth Question 52

STUDENT INFORMATION Section 4 - Student (and spouse) income 53

Student Information Questions in Section 4 are identical to the parent financial questions covered in Section 3 If the student is married, also report spouse’s income and assets The questions in Section 4 ask: For 2014, has the student completed their IRS income tax return For 2014, what is the studen’ts filing status Which 2014 federal tax return the student filed or will file The student’s 2014 Adjusted Gross Income, if filing a tax return The student’s earnings from work The student’s untaxed income and assets If the student is a dislocated worker The student’s total current assets as of the FAFSA filing date 54

Congratulations! You’re Done! After you have entered all your information online: use your PIN to sign and submit electronically Or print, sign and mail your signature page Remember – do not mail the worksheet Print your confirmation page You can go back to update your information any time after you file the FAFSA If you selected “will file” you will be required to do this after you complete your 2014 tax return. 55

For More Information Contact the school you plan to attend Contact Federal Student Aid at: FED-AID ( ) 56

Thank You! Your feedback is important! Please fill out the Student Survey at After completing the survey, you can enter to win a $700 scholarship donated by Bilan Chiropractic. Winners will be notified after the drawing takes place on April 30, (one entry per FAFSA filer) 57