Please note that this transcript was auto-generated. We apologize for any minor errors in spelling or grammar.

Stephanie Wells: [00:00:00] All right. So good afternoon, everyone. My name is Stephanie Wells here at MEFA. We’re happy to have hundreds of folks registered for today’s webinar on how to fill out the FAFSA. I am going to turn it over right away to our colleague from Simmons College, Amy Staffier, and I’ll let her introduce herself and tell you a little bit more.

Amy Staffier: Thank you, Stephanie. Um, as it was noted, my name is Amy Staff year. I’m the assistant vice president enrollment student services and director of financial aid at Simmons here in Boston, and I love everything. FAFSA related and speaking about that and helping students and families. So that is what we are going to do today.

I think I will just note that, um, if you have questions just to use the Q and a box and to put those in. We do have some wonderful friends behind the scenes that will be answering questions as we go through the presentation. [00:01:00]

Stephanie Wells: Thanks, Amy. I forgot to mention that we have three helpers in addition to myself to handle the Q& A.

So I’ll turn it over to you. Thank you.

Amy Staffier: Yeah, of course. Um, and just about MEFA, if you don’t know them, um, they are a not for profit state authority, um, and they’ve been around a long time, as you can see, back in 1982, uh, helping families, um, plan, save, and pay for college. And one of the things personally that I love about them and why I always, um, help and volunteer with them is that they provide so much.

to our families, to our students, and also to, um, you know, financial aid staff as well as high school staff that are helping students navigate and families navigate through this process. So that’s a wonderful thing about them. So about the FAFSA, it is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Um, I always highlight that word free because, uh, there was a time, um, a number of years ago that there was actually a website out there that was charging people, uh, to complete the FAFSA.[00:02:00]

Uh, the Department of Education, uh, bought that site, but, um, but I, but I still always like to highlight that word that it is a free form, uh, to fill out. You fill it out at fafsa. gov. It is required by all colleges and universities, uh, for the awarding of any sort of federal or state aid. And some institutions will use this form, um, to complete or to, um, put together, uh, institutional funding as well.

Uh, it is really important, like this last bullet point here, that, you know, other financial aid applications might be required. I think there’s so much, um, out there. Because this is a form from the government and there’s so much information out there about the FAFSA form that it’s really important to always highlight the fact that you need to know, particularly if you’re a student or a parent of a student who is applying for the first time to perhaps a few schools.

Every school could be different in what they [00:03:00] require and there are some other forms potentially out there. So make sure that you know what at a particular institution they are requiring outside of the FAFSA. Right now, I work at a school that we’re only requiring the FAFSA form, and then it does need to be completed each year, um, if you are applying each year and looking to utilize some level of funding, uh, and unfortunately, you know, and I’m a parent of two, uh, college children, it’s two separate, uh, FAFSAs that, that need to be, uh, completed.

So when completing the FAFSA form, um, some of the verbiage that is used is, um, Uh, calling each person who is adding information to the FAFSA is a contributor. So think of the student as a contributor to the FAFSA and then a parent being another contributor to the FAFSA form, uh, and that each contributor actually has a their own section that they’re completing.[00:04:00]

If you happen to have completed a FAFSA in a past life, as they call it, um, you would remember that the FAFSA was actually just one form and you, perhaps as a parent or you as a student, could go in and be completing, you know, the entire form, um, but then requiring, um, you know, signatures, but The student is going in as their contributor and just filling out information about themselves specific to themselves.

And then the student, the parent contributor is is kind of filling out their own information isn’t able to see that information of the student. All income questions will be pulled from the IRS through a direct data exchange. And so I actually had a question come in. From someone I know in another state who was asking, saying, I had a friend reach out saying they completed their FAFSA.

They gave consent through the IRS and and they felt like they really didn’t answer much of anything. And, you know, is this really [00:05:00] true? And it can feel that way when that information is just pulled from the IRS that you’re not necessarily answering many questions. And that was really part of the FAFSA simplification.

You know, it was two part. To make it easier to apply, uh, and then to increase, uh, eligibility for, uh, financial aid funding. So, uh, that’s certainly, um, it can be a reality when completing the form, uh, you do need to provide consent. All contributors are required to provide consent in order for the IRS to, um, pull that data.

Uh, and if If a contributor does not provide consent, then the student is ineligible to receive federal financial aid. Uh, and so that’s something that’s important. I know when I have done presentations at local high schools, I’ve had someone ask, like, what if I click that wrong? Um, it, there, there’s a whole screen that comes up.

If you answer and say, no, I don’t give consent. You’re going to get one of those screens that pops [00:06:00] up, you know, making sure that that actually is how you want to answer the question. There is some online skip logic that removes questions that are not applicable, uh, to a student or parent, uh, questions do need to be completed in order.

Uh, and if, if an answer is zero, um, or doesn’t apply, make sure that you’re entering that zero, um, into, um, into that box rather than just leaving it, trying to leave it blank. Um, This last bullet point that incomplete FAFSAs are deleted after 45 days, um, that really is, let’s say, the student has completed their section, they’ve, um, kind of authorized, they’ve signed, uh, and now it’s sitting for a parent contributor to complete.

If that parent doesn’t go in and complete, meaning that they’ve fully given consent, uh, and signed that application, uh, it is not a complete application and it will not be sent on, uh, to an [00:07:00] institution, uh, and would be deleted after 45 days. Now, reminders are sent by email every seven days, reminding the student.

This FAFSA is still out here and has not been completed. So there’s certainly plenty of reminders before it would ever be deleted. So what information should you have on hand when you’re going to sit and complete that FAFSA form? Um, both student and parent, um, and this will already be through, um, creating their student account, need social security number, date of birth, bank statements, um, so really asset information, bank statements, current business, farm, um, investment records, and then some families, a real small percentage might need their 2023 federal income tax return.

Um, for the majority of families, they’re able to pull that directly from the IRS, um, but there, there are just some instances where that may not happen. [00:08:00] So, um, knowing where that information or having that available, um, is helpful. I think this is really important information to have. If you have questions, um, you can chat with the FAFSA customer service, uh, or call them.

I know that, um, you know, if, if you heard from anyone who might have gone through the process last year, um, or who had a, Been left on hold, um, because, uh, the call volume was just that great. That is not what I’m hearing is happening this year, so, um, it really can be helpful, uh, to kind of maybe take a screenshot of this so that you have, uh, that information, um, to ask for some help.

So, FSAID, the Federal Student Aid ID. This is kind of longstanding has been, um, uh, a way to access the FAFSA form. It is also the way that students, um, and parents, should they choose to [00:09:00] borrow a federal loan would log in and then sign for those loans. So that’s something that you want to kind of put somewhere.

Um, so that you have that and you can, um, access it again. It’s a username and password, uh, but it is associated with some personally identifiable information, social security number, date of birth, um, and it actually takes a little bit of time to kind of authenticate and be able to use that FSA ID or student account, uh, login.

It is needed to start the FAFSA. So if, um, you, uh, as the student or the parent goes in to begin the FAFSA, you’re not going to be able to start it without the FSA ID, although there is an option to go ahead and request that, um, at the point that you’re starting the FAFSA form. But you’ll need to wait about two to four days before you can actually then utilize that FSA ID.

Every student would need an FSA ID. [00:10:00] Um, the, uh, recommendation from the Department of Education is really every parent that’s listed on the FAFSA should also have an FSA ID. Now, in the case of, um, parents who are married and they file jointly, Truly only one parent needs an FSA ID, um, but it becomes kind of easier just to say, you know what, everyone just get that FSA ID so you have it, um, because it may be, there are certain cases where, uh, multiple parents may need an FSA ID and be reporting and pulling that information.

So let’s say parents who are married filing separately, they’re each going to need an FSA ID in order to be able to pull that information in from the IRS. Another important thing is that, um, must have an email address that’s distinct, right, so a parent and student couldn’t have a shared. I know that sometimes it’s recommended during that kind of admission, uh, process, uh, to get like a family, [00:11:00] uh, email address.

Uh, it does need to be a unique email address that is used, uh, to create that FSA ID. And then on the student side, always that reminder, it’s one that’s, that the student checks. Now, I can think of my younger daughter who, like, Never checks for email as opposed to my older one who does, but, um, but, but not, you know, a school, uh, email address, a high school email address that they’re not going to have access to nevermind be able to check.

You’re going to need to provide a little bit of personal information to set up challenge questions parents without an SSN. Um, are able to now get an FSA ID. That happened as of last year. So in the previous, uh, iteration of the FAFSA, that was not the case. Um, they will need to answer knowledge based questions based on credit report, uh, in order to get that.

Um, so if you have not yet done that, I would say that is step one, um, is make sure that you create, um, that FSA ID now, uh, and MEFA does have, [00:12:00] uh, a how to create your FSA ID webinar if you should want to watch that. So. Let’s assume now the student, um, because we’re going to kind of go at this at first, uh, as the student starting the process, student goes to, um, the FAFSA homepage, and then they’re going to click, um, log in to start, and they’re completing, if a student is a senior in high school right now, right, they’re completing a 2526 FAFSA form, You can tell that now that this is open, this is kind of the leading form.

There still is this 24 25 AFSA form, so our current academic year is still open. Every year I have a student or two who has completed, you know, the the current year form rather than the one that Is when they’re going to be starting their college time. So that’s the 2526 form,

the student puts in their FSA ID to log [00:13:00] in, as I stated, if you don’t have one, you can actually create by clicking the button down here, create an account. And then choosing what your role is. So as I noted in the last slide, we’re going to come at this first from the view of the student starting the application process, meaning they’re the ones that are starting first prior to a parent completing the FAFSA form.

There’s a couple of onboarding slides and little videos. Um. You know, it gives you a little bit of information. It’s not necessary that you wash, watch them, but you know, what is the FAFSA form is, um, the, the first video. Uh, if you’re sitting through this, uh, you know, um, a webinar, you probably don’t need to be, uh, watching that quick video.

Uh, the next one just talks through defining contributors and explains the concept of a contributor. Um, we will go through that, uh, as we look at, you know, who is a [00:14:00] parent, uh, and who then needs to contribute, um, to a student’s FAFSA form. Uh, and then just, um, explaining the consent process, um, which again, we’ll go through a little bit more, even though I’ve already kind of touched on that.

Uh, and then once you get to, um, after submitting the FAFSA form, um, you’re just, uh, going to click start FAFSA form and at that point you’re actually getting to, um, the meat of, of the form. So it’s going to, because the student, um, has put in their FSA ID, uh, it is going to first start with, Um, student identity information and, uh, the student is going to look this over and ensure that it is accurate.

Um, typically it should be, uh, particularly if they’ve just set up their FSA ID. You can see here, none of these fields look, um, as though you can update them because you cannot, uh, if a student does need to make a change or a parent does need to make a change to any of the [00:15:00] information that they have here, You know, one of those might be, say, like email address.

They actually have to log into their studentaid. gov account and go to account settings and make any sort of update.

The form asks for state of legal residence. Here in the state of Massachusetts, that’s a key for data actually to be sent to our Office of Student Financial Assistance to determine if the student is eligible for any state based funds. One thing here, you can see the note that There’s these little circles, um, you know, with, uh, a question mark in it.

And this has always been the case on the FAFSA. And I’ve always highlighted the fact of how helpful, uh, those are. If you click on that little box, it’ll actually open up and give a description, uh, and, and some helpful information for, uh, any of the questions. So, um, The student is then going to get to the point where [00:16:00] they are asked to provide consent.

So there’s a lot of information here to read through. What I will note is, um, the, uh, privacy laws with the IRS are very strict and that is what is requiring this consent. As I have noted. Every contributor must provide consent, um, to have that data pulled in and also for the student to then be eligible for, uh, federal aid.

So if, if If information can’t be pulled in, then we’re not able to assess what a student is eligible for. That’s that is what makes them ineligible, so the student would be selecting approve to provide their consent and then a screen will pop up just kind of letting them know we’re securely importing that information from the IRS.

Now. Once that is done, you will not see that information. In fact, [00:17:00] as, um, financial aid administrators here at, you know, universities, we were required not to provide consent, but to do something similar, we had to set up separate Bye. Electronic mailboxes in order to receive this tax data, and we have to yearly sign off on documentation.

Um, and you know that that we’re securing this data and not sharing it and it’s it’s increased. Data security than what has been in the past. So non tax filers will receive this message that no IRS tax data was found. I have seen instances, um, in this, this current year that we’re in, where, uh, something has come back from the IRS that says no tax data found, uh, and then I’ve had, uh, a student or a parent, um, hand enter information, [00:18:00] In one instance, a parent then ended up realizing that they had never submitted, um, their tax return, uh, and then in other instances, maybe something was late or, or, or something happened, but it’s fairly rare, um, for the most part, data just comes right in, um, into the FAFSA form, but if a, if a student is a non tax filer, which a lot of students coming out of high school, um, you know, can be, it will just say that no, uh, data was found.

Now we’re going to get into some questions that are really, um, to determine, uh, the student’s, uh, dependency status is what we call it. So is the student a dependent, right? And then we’re going to need to provide parent information on the form. Or, uh, is the student considered an independent student, and therefore there’s no parent information that the FAFSA form will ask for.[00:19:00]

Married students are always considered independent, um, so that’s where it will start by asking about marital status. I know that, you know, as a student coming out of high school, often that feels like a funny question to ask, but understand that this form goes for all kinds of students, including graduate students.

Uh, students who are separated, um, are not considered, uh, independent. It will next ask about college plans, um, and this is assessing, right, if a student is a graduate student, they’re automatically considered independent. But what we’re noting here is, because we actually see this, um, as a, sometimes as an error, a couple of these questions here, um, so a student entering college, um, should select first year.

So that’s what, what they’ll be in, uh, in their 25, 26 academic year. And then also this question at the [00:20:00] bottom, um, when the student begins. That 2526 year will they already have their first bachelor’s degree. Every once in a while I get a student who’s answered yes and perhaps they just didn’t understand the question but but that would be no if they’re entering and enrolling in college to earn a bachelor’s degree.

They have not yet earned one by The beginning of the 2526 year. Now we’re getting into the remaining kind of questions to determine dependency status. So is a student older than 23. So a student has to be 24 or older to automatically be considered independent, or if they have dependents who receive support from that student, or if they’re active duty military veteran, and then If, since the age of 13, they’re orphan, foster care, or ward of the court, or an emancipated minor, or an illegal guardianship.

So if any of those questions, [00:21:00] and they range right here, the student checks off, they’re automatically considered independent. In this scenario, we are having a student who is, um, Dependent, and I would say the vast majority of students, um, that are completing the form, you know, coming out of high school, uh, typically would say none of the, um, none of these apply.

Of course, we do often have special cases as well, um, and so in this instance, we’re going to say none of these apply and move on. And then it asks an additional question about whether or not the student, um, is homeless or self supporting and at risk. of being homeless. Um, they are also considered, uh, independent students.

There can be cases where a student doesn’t kind of in the normal, uh, way being deemed independent, um, but they have unusual [00:22:00] circumstances. Um, and it used to be in, uh, the old FAFSA before last year that A student who had these kind of unusual circumstances kind of got stuck in the process, um, because they couldn’t move on because they didn’t have a parent who was able to say complete information, um, and, and it was, and they had to kind of reach out to the school, uh, and now what the FAFSA form is doing is preemptively, uh, giving a, um, An independent status if the student verifies that they have these unusual circumstances, um, and I’m not sure if people can read here on the screen, but, um, the Department of Education is very clear, um, with us, um, and hear what circumstances, um, are defined as unusual, uh, and what are not.

So. Um, here you can see typically it’s issues with kind of abandonment, abuse, um, uh, someone who’s been incarcerated or, as they know [00:23:00] here, a victim of human trafficking, um, and so forth. If that is the case, uh, and the student answers, yes, I have unusual circumstances, they’re going to be able to proceed through the form.

Um, just know that the institution is going to be doing, we’re required to do some follow up on that. We’re required to, uh, collect documentation. Um, and most institutions are going to also, uh, be collecting some sort of narrative, uh, from that student, um, around those circumstances, um, so that we can kind of finalize information.

In this particular example, uh, our student is going to be deemed an independent, a dependent student, so that means that they’ll need to provide parent information. Um, when they are told that, um, what their dependency status is, if they’re a dependent student, there is this option, um, [00:24:00] and last year it was actually very confusing, kind of the wording and the Department of Education made some changes, um, asking, does the student want a direct unsubsidized loan only?

And last year we had a lot of students answering yes, because they were just confused by it, They’ve clarified, and you’re more so answering this question, are the student’s parents refusing to provide their information on the FAFSA form? So a student isn’t deemed, um, independent, but there are cases, and, um, from the information we’re provided, it, it does not, um, lead to being independent if a parent’s just refusing, right, to put information on a form.

Um, so in that case, right, a student could not be independent. Answer, um, yes. And then the only thing that they would be eligible for is the direct unsubsidized loan. Um, they have added some clarifying language, you know, you must report no, right, if the student [00:25:00] wants to be considered for any sort of need based, a Pell grant, um, a subsidized loan, uh, and typically also, Uh, to be eligible for any sort of need based funding at an institution, uh, itself.

So, uh, that’s certainly a question to call out and make sure is accurate. The student will then go through this, um, parent wizard to help determine whose information should be reported, um, on the FAFSA form.

So who are those parents? Biological or adoptive parents are included on the FAFSA form. You’re going to include both parents if parents are married or they’re not married and they live together. So all parents, biological, adoptive, if they’re living together, both parents information should be on the FAFSA form.

Married parents include [00:26:00] same sex couples. If separated, Right. So parents are separate, but they are still living together, then they should be selecting married and both parents information is on the form. In the case of divorce, um, and separated parents, and they are actually living separately. Um, the Department of Education has determined that use the parent that provided more financial support in the last 12 months.

And then if that parent is remarried. You’re including that step parents information on the form as well. If financial support is exactly equal, they have said, you know, include the parent with the higher income and assets. And then if no financial support was given to the student, select the parent who provided the most support in the year when the student last received support from a parent.

I know that this oftentimes gets, you [00:27:00] know, has a lot of questions that come up. There might be a parent who says, you know, I make less, but the other parent is providing no support at all. Well, in that scenario, then you are the parent that is providing more support. So you’re, you know, helping to determine the answer to that question and whose information should be on.

Uh, the form.

Once the student goes through that wizard, then they go through the process of inviting, uh, their parent contributors to enter information on, um, the FAFSA form, uh, the parent email address that the student enters does not have to be, um, you know, does not have to match what the parent used as their FSA ID email address if they’ve already set one up, um, but they are going to want to make sure they’re getting correct, you know, date of birth, et cetera.

Social Security number, uh, and, um, so perhaps, you know, everyone sitting together, um, is a, is a great way to kind of go through this [00:28:00] process. I also know and have worked with so many different, uh, family situations that that’s not always, um, possible. So, uh, knowing what needs to be provided is also helpful.

There’s two, um, questions after kind of sending information on to the parent that are completely Uh, and so just know that it is absolutely okay if the student, um, does not want to answer these questions. It’s only for research purposes. Uh, it does not affect aid eligibility, and furthermore, it is never shared with the institution.

It is just research purposes, um, through the Department of Education. So, uh, one is around gender, and then the second question is around race and ethnicity. Um, and just as I’ve said, right, it doesn’t affect, uh, eligibility for aid, [00:29:00] uh, not used in calculations, not shared with schools. That is noted right here, um, when the student is deciding, um, whether they want to answer those questions.

Citizenship status, so a student. It needs to be either a US citizen or an eligible non citizen in order to qualify for federal student aid. And so the question goes, you know, are you a US citizen eligible non citizen, or they can answer neither. Now if the student is answering neither, um, you know, Typically there’s not, there’s no reason that they should be completing that form because they’re not going to be eligible, uh, for, um, you know, federal student aid.

You can see the list of eligible non citizen statuses here. Uh, U. S. nationals are probably one of the most common is, is permanent residents, um, but there are a number of, um, categories that [00:30:00] exist, um, under that eligible non citizen. Um, uh, category. One thing to note is that, um, citizenship, uh, status is verified by two different departments.

So you can see here on the bottom, uh, if a student lists that they’re a U. S. citizen, this actually goes off and is verified by the Social Security Administration. If the student notes that they’re an eligible non citizen, that is going to go to the Department of Homeland Security and be verified there.

Um, if Either of those come back and and they’re not able to verify citizenship. Um, it’s a note on the FAFSA and then it becomes, uh, up to the institution to collect documentation. I will say this does happen quite a bit. Um, one thing that I would note that sometimes I see is that A student is an eligible non citizen, and they’ve answered the question that they’re a U.

S. citizen, and so, [00:31:00] because it goes to the Social Security Administration for that check, it comes back, um, and isn’t able to verify that, uh, and so you do need to be making sure that you’re answering that, uh, question correctly.

Next asks about parent, um, education status. This really isn’t, um, something that is affecting the student’s financial aid, but perhaps, uh, an institution wants to see that. Information. If the parent is killed in the line of duty, this, um, there is some level of funding through the federal government, um, related to, uh, parents who are killed in the line of duty.

It’s going to ask about student high school completion status, so What will the students high school completion status be at the beginning of the 2526 year? I know sometimes it can feel funny for a student who is still in high school to be answering. I have a high school diploma, but, [00:32:00] um, but it’s asking at the beginning of, you know, next year, what is it that you will have?

So, um, Answering that high school diploma, typically, um, unless you have one of these other homeschool, um, or, uh, like a GED. And if the student does select high school diploma, um, the student then just has to report, um, the high school. So they’re going to enter in the, the city and state, and then they can actually select, uh, the high school from, um, the dropdown list.

So. For for income information right everything is going to be coming in theory right from the IRS and it’s looking at 2023 federal tax return information for students who will be in college in the 2526 year that sometimes feels funny but I can tell you as someone who has done this a very long time, and it used to be that.

In the process you’re in, [00:33:00] you’re completing a FAFSA with income from the year that literally had just ended the day before, um, that was really stressful. So having this, uh, separation between, um, you know, the, uh, the, the form and when taxes would have been filed. Most everyone should already have had their 23 taxes, uh, filed and sitting there waiting to pull in from the IRS.

There’s these two questions that get asked about grant scholarship or AmeriCorps benefits that is reported as income to the IRS. I can say that in the 27 plus years of doing this, this typically the answer is zero. In the case of a student who is already in college. And has grant or scholarship aid that is actually taxable.

So it has to be above tuition fees, um, and, and such, um, they might end up having, uh, an amount that lists here. But for the most part, um, that answer is [00:34:00] no. And oftentimes I do see for some returning students that they answer this, uh, incorrectly. Uh, and then it asks about any sort of foreign earned income that the student may have.

I would say again, this is something that I rarely see. Um, on the student side. If the student, if assets are asked about the student, um, asset information is, you know, cash savings and checking account, and then it moves to the, the net value of any investments, right? And the net value of any business or farm that the student, uh, may be the owner of, I would say this scenario right here where there’s something in assets and then zeros here, um, is probably the most common, uh, that we see.

Moving on to the schools that will then get this FAFSA data, students can now select up to 20 schools. I, that number makes me feel, you [00:35:00] know, nervous because I That seems like a lot of schools, but it used to be a lot less that a student could add and then they’d have to remove schools and add schools so you can now add up to 20 schools just by, you know, similar to the high school you can enter the state and city, or you could enter the school name and you’re able to add that school to the list.

One thing that I do like to point out, particularly where we’re still kind of early in the process, a student might be applying early to one or two schools or more, but they may not have fully finalized their list of schools. And so it is absolutely okay to complete the FAFSA with just one school added.

Or two, you know, whatever those early schools are, if the student then a little bit later in the process decides that they want to apply to another school or they’re [00:36:00] applying regular action somewhere else, they can at any point in time after this, the FAFSA has been processed, which usually takes about two days, they can log back in and they can add schools on.

So that’s absolutely okay.

Students can reorder the school if their state actually requires it to be higher on the list. One thing that I would point out because a number of years ago, this was a question that, you know, colleges perhaps could see all of the different schools that a student is applying to and and kind of looking at the order.

We as institutions cannot see that information at all. All we know is that the student has completed the form and we have, we do not get that information about the other schools that they have applied to. So the student is now kind of done. They’re at a review page, um, before they then go and sign the form.

So they can expand all of these, you know, personal [00:37:00] identifiers, personal circumstances, uh, Just know that, um, as I have already noted, the financial information from the IRS is not going to show there, um, and so, uh, that’s just something to be aware of. Next, it will note, um, the contributors, so they’re kind of listed up over here.

So, in this instance, it’s one parent, um, but it could be that, uh, that a scenario that there’s more than one parent that is listed here, um, as a contributor.

Oh my goodness.

And now the student has to sign the form. So they’ve given consent to the IRS to just pull that data. And now the student is kind of agreeing to terms and conditions that they have provided and been as truthful as possible in providing information. Uh, [00:38:00] and, and then, and, and that’s their signature there.

But the FAFSA is not considered complete. Or processed until all sections or think all contributors. Right, have provided consent, um, and agreed to terms and basically signed the form.

The student can log in and they can see their FAFSA, um, status. So here, you know, you’re almost there now, we’re waiting for those parent contributors and they’re able to see this over here to see status, invitation was sent, right? So, um, once the parent has actually completed that, that state status would end up, uh, changing.

The parent is going to get an email invitation to go ahead and be a contributor to that student’s FAFSA form. Now, if you have more than one student in college, you’re going to get [00:39:00] email invitations from both those students to be a contributor to their FAFSA form. They can log in right from that email and This is kind of important here, this third bullet point that there is text that stresses completing the FAFSA does not make the parent financially responsible.

So I know that I have had incidents where Um, here’s the student contributor. And then we have kind of the parent of record the parent contributor, who’s the parent of this child, and this parent is remarried. Right. And perhaps they’re filing separately so they each need their own FSA ID, they each need to provide consent, and then kind of sign off and so I think in those scenarios that way, that’s where they’ve Added this additional, um, information of it does not make you [00:40:00] financially responsible because sometimes we hear that well, well, that person isn’t contributing to, you know, my child’s college, uh, you know, uh, college career, uh, and, and that’s fine.

This is the requirement of the Department of Education, uh, that If that parent is remarried, that information has to be on there. Uh, and so they added that additional information that’s not making the parent financially responsible.

So now the parent has received that email, they have clicked to go onto that login page, and now they go through the same process that the student just did, right? They’re putting in their FSA ID, If they do not have it, then they’re going to have to click, um, you know, create an account, uh, and then they’re going to actually have to wait in order to, uh, complete that FAFSA form.

After they log in, they’re brought into a, a My Activity page, uh, and, and they’ll [00:41:00] see, um, any of the invitations that they have. So if they have more than one child, they’re going to see, uh, multiple invitations, uh, and they can, um, Go ahead and accept that and move forward. Um, and they’ll see those same onboarding slides.

We won’t go through them here because you saw them on the student side. It’s the exact same. They also are going to look at their kind of identity information and just making sure it’s accurate. They’re also going to provide consent just as the student did. And again, I can’t stress it enough that if because because we did certainly see this come through because this was a change last year where someone didn’t provide consent.

And so we had we’ve had to reach out to say, Is this exactly how you wanted to answer the question? Because now you’re ineligible for funding. Again, same screen importing. It’s letting you know that it’s importing that data. Again, it doesn’t come into the [00:42:00] FAFSA itself. Um, it, it gets, uh, attached, but is being, um, uh, sent, uh, separately.

The parent is going to report their marital status. In this example, we’re saying that this parent is married and not separated. It asks about federal benefits received. So these are things like earned income credit, credit, um, federal housing, uh, free or reduced lunch. If like in this example, we’re saying none of the above apply, you would click that and then move forward.

It asks some verifying information about the parent tax filing status. So Did or will the parent file, uh, the tax return, uh, and then did or will the, the file parent file a joint return with their current spouse. So if they didn’t file a joint return with their current spouse, like that, that would end [00:43:00] up being an indicator that maybe there’s another, um, contributor that we’re looking for.

Um, and if they didn’t file a return, um, that may be an indicator that Additional information might need to be asked. So family size is actually pulled directly from the 1040 and parents may not actually see this number but just know that that is coming, you know, based on exemptions and who is filing that tax form, but this is something that you will be asked.

Did you need to update the family size. And I can think of a couple of examples of why that might be. Um, so I have worked with, with a lot of situations where perhaps in a divorce decree. Um, the claiming of a child has bumped, um, from parent to parent, uh, each year, but perhaps the parent who is the parent of record, um, in that [00:44:00] year 23 was not claiming, but that student actually does live, you know, in their, their household size, then they can update to include, uh, that student.

Or perhaps you’ve now had, um, you know, a grandparent who has moved into the household and that you’re supporting them, um, more than half of their support is being provided by you, um, you could update the family size, uh, for that. But if it remains as what your, uh, tax return is, there’s no, uh, need to, um, update that information.

It will ask about the number of people that are in college. For the upcoming, and it will be 2526 year, you’re not to include parents. It would only be students. And another thing is that it used to be that that the number of children in college kind of made a difference in the calculation [00:45:00] at the at the end point.

So it used to be called an expected family contributions now called the student aid index and And let’s say someone had two in college, it would cut that number in half or in thirds if there were three in college, and that does not exist anymore on the federal side. One thing I would like to clarify, though, because this is something that I’ve really dug in, you know, with my student population, particularly my returning students in awarding aid for this current term and looking back to see, did they have a number in college and what sort of change are they seeing and for a large majority of students, because the formula to determine financial aid.

You heard me say in the beginning, um, that, uh, it is, um, part of the reason for the change was to increase eligibility for financial aid. So I saw with a large majority of students that there really was not a change, um, even [00:46:00] though the number in college was not being taken into account. At higher income levels, I was seeing that there was, uh, that there was a change there.

What we can say is that, you know, colleges can choose To use that information or to hear from you to say, Gosh, I’m have these two large, you know, uh, figures of, uh, what I’m having to pay for college and I’m not getting any sort of funding. Are you able to make an adjustment that is going to be up to the, um, college or university themselves in awarding any of their own, uh, dollars.

Right. And so. It may be that they say yes, but it may also be that they say no, and I always kind of put out there to encourage to ask the question right because the worst that they can say is no, but you know the possibility exists that maybe they’re able to make an adjustment. So, um. If a parent, um, [00:47:00] you know, has doesn’t have a return on file, they’re going to see information for that.

They would have to fill in for the tax return. But similar to on the student side, what we saw is it’s asking really about things like. Uh, these grant scholarship and AmeriCorps benefits that might have been taxable, um, foreign earned, um, income exclusion as well as something that they’re going to have to report if they have that.

Again, that’s something that isn’t for the large majority of the population, but for some, uh, it is something that they might have to include. Very similar to on the student side. Uh, the parent assets that would be asked for is the balance of cash savings checking account. Um, we’ve kind of listed out here to give you a sense of, you know, what does investments mean real estate other than the primary home.

Right. And it’s the net value, mutual funds, stocks, bonds. Uh, if you [00:48:00] have a 529 savings, so a college saving account for the student, you would be including that as a parent asset. If you are the, um, owner of the asset, which is typically like a parent or an adult is the owner of the asset and the child is the beneficiary.

And because this is an income driven formula and that way is more heavily than assets, um, you know, it makes sense. Um, and, and also on the parent side. Um, uh, Assets get pulled in at a lower percentage than on the student side, but one thing that was changed is it used to be that if you had, let’s say, multiple 529 accounts for multiple students, you would have had to report the full value for all of those students in the current FAFSA form.

You’re just reporting the value for that child that you’re completing the FAFSA as a contributor for always include exclude. primary home value, life insurance, and any retirement accounts as well. It does ask about the net value of any business [00:49:00] or farm, and then if parent income is less than 60, 000, they’re not even actually going to see these asset questions.

So it’s going to ask about any other parent who is, you know, living together in the household, and so they would provide that In this particular, um, example, the parent noted, right, that they, um, file jointly, so it’s not asking that second parent for any sort of consent, but if they weren’t filing, um, jointly and were noting a second parent, it would then be asking that parent for their consent, uh, as well, uh, in, in a, in a separate iteration.

So the parent is now going to review just as the student did. IRS data is not going to show, but they can kind of expand those and make sure that they’ve answered questions [00:50:00] correctly. I always say that make sure you’re looking at things like assets, right? Because I’ve seen over the years instances where someone might have like hits a zero twice rather than just one time and you want to make sure that you’re providing accurate information.

Uh, the parent is going through the same kind of agreement, um, and signing the form. Uh, and again, FAFSA is not considered processed until all sections are complete. So if there is that, uh, second parent who doesn’t file jointly, this parent signs, we’re now waiting for that parent to go in and do their section and sign, and then the FAFSA is fully complete.

In this example, these parents are married, they file, uh, jointly, and so, um, you know, the FAFSA form is now going to be submitted because all parties have, uh, completed it, uh, and signed it, and so it gets submitted for processing. The [00:51:00] student is going to receive an email. Um, just letting them know that the FAFSA has been processed, which is great.

Now, we started with the student starting the process. The parent could start the process. That’s absolutely fine. So, very much like the student, they’re going to click start new form. Um, they’re going to put in their FSA ID, and then when it gets to the point of, um, you know, who am I, right, I’m the parent, right, rather than saying I’m the student starting the form.

It’s going to go through and you’ll actually have to enter in information about your student. One thing that I don’t think I mentioned in the beginning that is really critically important in, um, uh, whether it’s, setting up your FSA ID or here if you’re the parent starting and you’re then entering information about a social security number and date of birth.

Please ensure that you are putting that information in accurately. I have had situations in the [00:52:00] past trying to like detangle um, social security numbers that were entered wrongly. Uh, and so just make sure that, that you pull that, that social security card out. Uh, and double check that you’re putting the right, uh, one in.

So we’re not going to go through the whole FAFSA, uh, again, um, because it’s really just the same process, but it is okay if the student, if the parent does decide that they want to start first, they’re, they’re just going to have to, um, complete some information about the student. So when the, the FAFSA has been fully submitted and then processed, and it takes, you know, about two days, the student will then receive what’s called a FAFSA submission summary.

It’s just a listing of everything. It’s going to also tell them things like, um, like their name, but also, uh, when it was received, uh, and, um, as well as, uh, there’s about four pages of information. So we’ll kind of pop through and look at that. It’s [00:53:00] going to provide them with their student aid index. This is really the output.

Right of completing that FAFSA form and that index is a component of determining what a student is eligible for for financial aid from an institution, right? It also now is able to provide the student with an estimate of what they might be eligible for in federal aid. So for this student, um, it’s letting them know their, uh, their, looks like they’re eligible for up to 7, 395 in a federal Pell Grant.

Um, and then what they’re eligible for, uh, in direct loans. That 5, 500 figure, um, that’s the maximum that a first year student can actually borrow in the federal loan program. So that’s, uh, why that information is there. Depending on institutional cost. These items could change, right? So let’s say a student is attending a [00:54:00] private institution with a high cost.

They’re going to be eligible for that full amount of 7, 395, but if they are perhaps, um, at, uh, a school, a community college, or maybe they’re going part time, they’re going to see that amount be actually different because, um, there are other factors, uh, that fall in to determine what a student is eligible for.

One thing that I would also note, I think it’s really helpful that they’re now providing this information of what a student’s eligible for, but if a student is applying to, let’s say, some private institutions, it can be a little bit overwhelming to think, oh, is this all I’m eligible for? No. You’re going to receive information, an actual letter with, this is what you’re eligible for.

That’s federal, as well as institutional, and you’ll receive that directly from the institution. If we move on, um, in the process, uh, I’m actually going to get to, I think it’s the next slide, where there’s some additional information [00:55:00] that can be helpful, um, in understanding, perhaps, What a student might see at, um, at different institutions that they’ve applied to.

Um, students are going to see, um, answers provided on that FAFSA submission summary from, um, themselves as well as their contributors. Um, if a student needs to make a correction. Right. If something is actually wrong in the application, uh, they can, they can then make a correction. This is also where if they wanted to add additional schools, uh, they could do that.

Again, not going to see any IRS information on this FAFSA submission summary either. So here is where it’s providing school information. So it is listing the different schools that the students. Submitted their FAFSA to and it’s also pulling in information for about all of those schools. So graduation rate, retention rate at that school, the [00:56:00] transfer rate of that school default default means when you’re more than 270 days late on paying your student loans.

So looking at default rate, as well as what is the median debt upon completing at that institution. And then when I was talking about, um, you know, kind of the eligibility overview and seeing the Pell Grant and the loan and not having a sense at all schools of what else might be available. This gives you some bit of information, average annual cost.

We also kind of refer to this as net price, right, you may have heard of net price calculators where you can go onto an institution’s site and be putting information in and it’s letting you know. Um, Someone who’s a current first year student who looks like your student and family financially what they paid, and that would be using cost of attendance of the institution less any grant and scholarship aid, [00:57:00] you have to remember that this is.

Average, um, annual cost. So that’s including all students at the school. So students who are receiving funding and students who might not be receiving any funding or limited funding, you can also actually go right out to the college scorecard. That’s where this information is coming from. We as institutions are required to report annually information to the Department of Education, and that is what populates this college scorecard.

If you want to detail in a little bit more on the scorecard, you can actually detail in on the average cost by income bands of families that are at the institution. So next steps, this is going to let the student know if there’s anything else that they may need to do. So it may be that a student finds out here where I talked about, Oh, you weren’t able to verify your citizenship status.

You’re going to need to follow up at the institution, [00:58:00] or perhaps the student has been selected for verification. And, um, and they may need to provide documents. So after the student has submitted the FAFSA, it’s been processed, they’re looking at that FAFSA submission summary, the institutions as well as the state is going to receive that data electronically as well.

And as I noted, colleges may request additional documentation from a student. So there is a process called verification that has always existed within this process on the FAFSA, where we as colleges If a student has been selected for verification, we have to collect documentation. It has been in the past, uh, that we’ve had to verify things like AGI and taxes paid and certain untaxed income.

Well, all of that is coming through the FAFSA, uh, the IRS form. So I was actually pretty hopeful, um, that, uh, that verification wouldn’t [00:59:00] exist anymore, but, um, the Department of Ed said, well, it, it will still exist. It might look a little bit different. We had a bit of a reprieve in this current year because of everything that happened.

So, um, I still am, uh, seeing that it’s low numbers of students who are getting selected for verification. Uh, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re, um, particularly if you’re significantly changing the household size, you might get selected. Because household size and number in college was also something we were always required to verify if a student was selected for verification.

And then colleges are going to be sending out information. You know, we say typically March through April, anyone who works in financial aid knows that the real answer is it depends because every school is different. Um, and there’s many different, um, processes and, um, application timelines. So early action, early decision, regular action.

So it, it really is going to depend on the school when you receive that information. Um, but I, Um, you know, but kind [01:00:00] of the more typical timeline is in that March, uh, April, uh, band and then, uh, some free resources. We’re almost done with the presentation. So I appreciate people who have stayed on a few minutes late.

Um, we are really lucky here in, in the state of Massachusetts that we have, um, not only MEFA, who’s a fantastic resource, as I noted in the beginning, um, but we have something called FAFSA Day in Massachusetts where, Um, it used to be that we would be in person at, you know, high schools or colleges and utilizing those computer rooms, uh, and helping people, um, as they’re completing a FAFSA and asking questions, obviously, you know, when the pandemic hit, we went to virtual options, um, and have continued that because Zoom has been a great way to facilitate, um, in putting people in Zoom rooms and still, um, providing that personalized, um, learning experience.

Uh, you know, uh, interaction with a professional who’s volunteering their time to help, uh, people complete that FAFSA. So, uh, FAFSAday. org. And then [01:01:00] we also have MassEdCo here, uh, in the state that provides, uh, free financial aid help. As well, and then just going to leave you with, uh, you know what you can do now.

So there are other webinars. If you are needing to complete, say, a CSS profile, I would suggest checking out that webinar on, uh, MEFA’s, uh, you know, website. If you have not yet gotten FSA ID yourself as a parent or a student, please get that out of the way and done now because you’re going to need that in order to complete the FAFSA.

Absolutely. Researching deadlines and required applications. So I’ve worked at two schools, one where I’m now. Only the FAFSA is required at my other institution that I worked at FAFSA CSS profile, we would collect tax returns. So every school is different. And so really important to understand what is required and making [01:02:00] sure that you’re meeting any deadline that the school has and and just be in communication with the school if you have questions as well.

And then complete the FAFSA as soon as possible, uh, along with, uh, any other financial aid applications. So, with that, um, I think This is, you know, a way to connect with MIPHA, uh, various channels, um, but I don’t know if there are any kind of lingering questions or if the little elves in the background were able to, uh, you know, take care of everything.

Stephanie Wells: All the elves have answered almost 100 questions, so we did really good. Um, and I don’t think there’s anything lingering because we got to all of them. Um, So yeah, thank you so much Amy for joining us today. We did get a lot of feedback about how helpful it was and how great the webinar was and definitely everybody was enjoying it.

I will just reiterate just for everybody who’s wondering, we did record today’s webinar, [01:03:00] and we will send everybody who registered a link to the recording. As well as a link to a pdf of the powerpoint slides you can refer back Um, but as always, you know, call me if we’re here 95 monday through friday or email us All on MEFA.

org if you need help throughout this process, you know, we’ll also be having FAFSA festivals. And actually, I think we have one next week, um, helping people fill out the FAFSA where you can enter a zoom room and be put in a private room and share your screen with someone like everybody who’s on the screen right now.

Um, so lots of resources with MEFA beyond today, but thank you, Amy. Um, You know, and if anybody, I do see some folks asking if they have questions, just email them to college planning at MEFA. org and we can answer those or give us a call 800 449 MEFA and we can help you out with any other questions you have after the webinar.

But I think we’ve gotten all the questions. Um, I [01:04:00] think Meredith might be answer. We might be answering a couple. But, um, yeah, thanks everybody for joining us today. And thank you so much, Amy. You’re always so helpful on these webinars and, um, made a really good turnout today. So very excited. And good luck, everybody.

We will email you with. the link as well as the PowerPoint slide. So contact us if you need help after today. And with that, I think we will end the webinar. Um, and thank you everybody for joining us. I’m going to leave it open because I see Meredith typing in an answer and I don’t want to end the webinar, but for everybody else, thank you so much for joining us today.

Have a great [01:05:00] day.