The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has announced new changes for the 2017-18 school year.
Chief among these changes is that FAFSA registration will begin three months earlier than it had previously, starting Oct. 1. Now, students can begin the financial aid process the year before the upcoming school year, instead of Jan. 1.
The application will also collect income information from an earlier tax year instead of making students wait for their parents to finish their tax return.
FAFSA helps university students apply for scholarships, grants and loans based on parents’ income tax information. The application is mandatory for students who want to take advantage of monetary assistance.
For students this should be a bit of relief. Now, they can apply early in the year and do not have to wait for their parents to complete their taxes.
To make the process easier, FAFSA provides an IRS Data Retrieval Tool which allows applicants to access IRS tax return online and automatically input the information. Students can then make corrections or updates when finished.
The priority deadline for USF is Jan. 1 for full-time and part-time students. Applying by the priority date allows the best opportunity to be considered for the most aid types possible like grants, loans and work-study.
When applying for FAFSA students will need their social security numbers, a recent federal income tax return, a driver’s license; W-2s and records of money earned; bank statements and records of investments; and the FSA ID to sign electronically. Dependent students will need most of that information from their parents.
There are a number of factors that determine whether a student is dependent or independent. Living alone does not specifically make a student independent. A few factors that determine independence are as follows: that student was born before 1992, married or separated as of the date of application, be enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program, is a veteran of the U.S. Armed forces or has one or more children who receive more than half of their income.
The U.S. Department of Education uses a formula to determine the Expected Family Contribution based on data from FAFSA. The EFC formula for a dependent student consists in part by calculating the estimated amount of parents income that could be used towards a student’s cost of attendance.
Students with drug convictions on file may be deemed ineligible for federal student aid.
If a student is as degree seeking and has a FAFSA on file at USF 10 business days before classes begin automatically qualifies them for tuition deferment, which provides extension of tuition to avoid late payment fees.
FAFSA is free, and any websites that ask for any type of payment is not the correct site. Use fafsa.ed.gov to find the correct application.
If students have questions, they can find help at the Financial Aid office in Bay 105, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. The office can help with the step-by-step process of completing the application, and can call if there are extenuating circumstances delaying completion.
Photo Courtesy of CollegeDegrees360 | Flickr
Correction 10/10/2016: USFSP’s priority deadline is Jan. 1, not March 1 as previously reported.
