Funding Your Education 1997-98

Applying for Financial Aid (part 1 of 3)

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How do I apply for student aid?

What should I know before I apply?

Applying for federal student aid is easy; you don't have to fill out form after form. You can even apply before you've been accepted to a school.

How do I apply for student aid?

All you have to do is complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and mail it to the address indicated on the application. Or you may be able to apply electronically from your home computer or from a computer at a central location like your high school, your local public library, or your local educational opportunity center using FAFSA Express.

FAFSA Express is designed to be the easiest and fastest way to apply for federal student aid. It's a user-friendly program that allows you to apply for federal student aid from a personal computer equipped with the Windows operating system and a modem. You can complete the application and transmit it over a regular telephone line in just a few easy steps.

The screens on FAFSA Express resemble the paper FAFSA. FAFSA Express has extensive on-line instructions, pull-down menus with multiple choice questions to guide you through the program, and a convenient list of participating schools built in.

The FAFSA Express application process will be faster if you have a printer because you can print, sign, and send in the "Releases and Signatures" page of the application. Otherwise, you must wait to receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) asking for your signature. A SAR is what you receive in the mail as a result of your application. For more information on SARs, see "How will I know my application data have been processed?"

You might also be able to apply for aid at the school you plan to attend. Contact the school to find out if you can apply electronically through its financial aid office. If the school has electronic FAFSA capability, just fill out a paper FAFSA and bring it to the school. The school will then enter your information into a computer and transmit it to the Department's Central Processing System (CPS).

What should I know before I apply?

You'll need a valid Social Security Number (SSN) to apply for federal student aid. You have to put this number on your FAFSA or enter the number in FAFSA Express. We use your SSN to find your application in our records. If you don't put a valid SSN on your FAFSA or if you don't enter one in FAFSA Express, your application won't be processed. If you don't have an SSN yet, you should apply for one at your local Social Security office.

Most students who, like you, are entering college or a career school straight from high school are considered dependent students. If you are dependent, you have to report both your and your parents' financial information on the FAFSA. This information will be considered when your eligibility is determined. You are a dependent student if you do not meet the following definition of an independent student.

To be considered an independent student, at least one of the following criteria must apply to you:

• you were born before January 1, 1974,
  
• you're married,
  
• you're enrolled in a graduate or professional educational program,
  
• you have legal dependents other than a spouse,
  
• you're an orphan or ward of the court (or were a ward of the court until age 18), or
  
• you're a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.

If you're independent, you must report only your financial information (and your spouse's if you're married).

In special or unusual circumstances, a college's or career school's financial aid administrator may determine that an otherwise dependent student should be considered independent. (A parent's refusal to provide financial assistance or to provide the required FAFSA information is not a valid reason for such a determination.)

If you're dependent and your parents are divorced or separated, you'll need to complete the FAFSA using information about the parent you lived with more in the 12 months before the date of application. If you did not live with either parent, or if you lived with each parent an equal number of days, use information about the parent who provided the greater amount of support during the 12 months preceding the date of application.

If the parent you receive support from is divorced or widowed and has remarried, the financial information of your stepparent is required on the FAFSA. This does not mean that your stepparent is obligated to give financial assistance to you, but his or her income and assets represent significant information about the family's resources. Including this information on the FAFSA helps us form an accurate picture of your family's total financial strength.

On to Part 2 of Applying for Financial Aid

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