001hello and thank you for joining me for applying for financial aid 2021 2022 walkthrough you may see the title of this presentation dated 2021 and 2022 and worry that you were in the wrong place rest assure any senior in the class of 2021 will need to complete the 2021-2022 fafsa since that is the academic year in which you will enroll in college the goal of this presentation is to take some of the mystery out of the financial aid process during this walk through we will be going through the process for a dependent student however the process for an independent student is very similar the major difference between the two is that a student who is considered independent will not be required to complete the parent portion of the fafsa my name is jordan exodus and
002i am the college and career counselor at the atlanta county institute of technology the intended audience for this video is any parent or student who is looking for information on completing the free application for federal student aid or fafsa if you have never completed a fafsa before these screenshots will give you a thorough understanding of what to expect on the application this is a lengthy presentation since we are going through each screen of the fafsa if you get stuck on a particular portion of the fafsa i would suggest that you skip ahead on the video i have put headings on each slide to correspond with where we are on the fafsa process so for example if you are stuck on the parent demographic portion of the fafsa skip ahead in this presentation to the slide
003that has para parent demographic listed as the title of the slide now for some more specific tips regarding the fafsa application portal the navigation tabs at the top of the page show you which section you are working on and whose information they are requesting for example student versus parent the fafsa does save itself often as noted in the green box the fafsa also reminds you that this is the student application so anytime that you see requests for information noted as you your or your name they are asking for the student information not the parent the help buttons at the end of each field are extremely important and help if you get stuck on a question [Music] fafsa uses skip logic which means that depending on how you answer a question it may trigger another question
004to appear or hide so you may not be asked all of the questions that appear on this walkthrough your fab experience may not be the same as another student [Music] before you start the fafsa you must create an fsa id for both you and your parent or guardian you can do so at fsaid.ed.gov or by clicking on the link on this page your fsa id is your personal legal signature do not create an fsa id for anyone else you and only you should create your fsa id parents should not create an fsa for their child and vice versa doing so could cause issues with you or your child's financial aid you will enter your name and social security number that match your social security card exactly enter your mobile number to make it easier to
005reset your account each mobile number can only be associated with one fsa id you will be asked to answer four challenge questions that can be used to retrieve your account make them easy to remember confirm that this information is correct and then accept the terms and continue you will need to verify your account if you provide a cell phone number you will be texted a secure code that will use to verify your account next you will follow the same process to verify your email address once you have an fsa id created you can get started on the application for free application for federal student aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov on the fabsa home page you will have the option to log in as a you new user or a returning user for the purpose of this presentation
006we will be logging in as a new user the next screen asks who is the person logging in is it a student parent or a preparer which is more rare for the purposes of this walk-through we will be choosing i am a [Music] student the student will then enter their fsa id username and password [Music] you will present with a disclaimer please read and click accept to move forward on the getting started page you will be asked to select which fafsa year you are applying for if you are planning to attend college in fall of 2021 or spring of 2022 then you will select the 2021 2022 fafsa application you will use your 2019 tax return and income information to complete this fafsa the student will be prompted to enter a save key use any
007combination of words or numbers as the save key the save key allows an applicant to save their fafsa form and return at a later time to save and submit the application is saved for 45 days unless the application is submitted for processing prior to that the save key also provides the applicant a way to share access to their fafsa form with their parent if they need to edit or change any information [Music] you will then be brought to an introduction screen with frequently asked questions each selection has accordion functionality that can be expanded or retracted to reveal or conceal the information before we dive in just a few general tips how can i get help completing the fafsa you can get help by clicking the help icon or by viewing the fafsa help page how
008many steps does it take to complete the fafsa consists of the following sections student demographics school selection dependency status parent demographics parent guardian financials sign and submit confirmation how long will it take to complete those sections the fafsa should take less than one hour to complete depending on your answers and whether or not you have the necessary information available can i save my fafsa if i cannot finish it in one sitting yes you do not have to complete the fafsa at one time you can save the application for up to 45 days using the save key mentioned previously if you start a fafsa and decide you do not want to submit it you will also have the option to delete the application but please remember that the federal government will not determine your eligibility for
009federal student aid without submitting a fafsa what documents will you need to complete the fafsa first you will need your social security number or your alien registration number if you are not a us citizen you will need your federal income tax returns your w-2s and any other records of money earned please note you may be able to transfer your federal tax return information into your fafsa using the irs data retrieval tool which we will discuss in further detail later in the presentation you will also need your bank statements and records of any investments if applicable you will also need a record of any untaxed income and finally you will need an fsa id for both the student and one parent in order to electronically sign your fafsa application signing the fafsa at the end of
010your application you and your parent will agree to the certification statement and sign your application the easiest and quickest way to sign your application is electronically using your fsa id you and your parent will both need your own individual fsa ids for your signature to be applied if you do not already have an fsa id you should create one now we will now begin with the first section of the fafsa student demographics the first student demographics screen asks for the student's social security name and date of birth the next screen asks for the student's email address and phone number while not mandatory it is beneficial for the applicant to enter their email address on the fafsa in order to receive important information about their financial aid the third student demographics screen asks for the student's
011permanent mailing address the next student demographics screen asks for the student's residency and eligibility information in the u.s citizen drop down if the u.s if the citizens if the student selects eligible non-citizen then they will be prompted to enter an alien registration number if the student is neither a citizen nor an eligible non-citizen students such as a daca student or an international student they are not eligible for federal student aid in that case we would suggest that they complete the new jersey alternate financial app aid application available at www.hisa.org please see the linked presentation on that new jersey alternative application for financial aid for the purposes of this presentation we will select yes i am a u.s citizen the next screen indicates if the student is eligible to transfer their financial information to the state
012new jersey financial aid application you will start your state application link on the fafsa confirmation page to transfer your information this is very important as it will begin the process of requesting financial aid from the state of new jersey if the student plans to attend school in state it will then ask if you have lived in new jersey for five years click yes or no the next screen asks what the student's high school completion status will be when they begin college in the 2021-2022 academic year such as high school diploma ged or homeschooled then answer what degree or certification the student will be working on such as a bachelor's degree associate's degree certification etc answer yes or no if the student will have their first bachelor's degree when this when they begin school in the
0132021-2022 academic year and then you will indicate what level of college the student will be in during the 2021-2022 academic year such as first year second year graduate student etc note that these are asking for the students level in college not in high school many students answer this question incorrectly finally you will be asked if you are interested in work study work study is a program where students can get a work or position at the college the next demographic screen asks if the student is male or female if male you will be prompted with additional questions about registering with a selective services system most male citizens and immigrants between the ages of 18 to 25 must register with the selective services in order to receive federal student aid this requirement applies to any person who
014was assigned the sex of mail at birth the next student demographic screen asks for the student's driver's license information the eighth and final student demographic screen asks if the student is a foster youth or was ever in the foster care system and then finally answer what the highest level of education of each of your parents if you are unsure there is an option in the drop down list that says unknown [Music] now you will notice that we have moved to the next section of the application the school selection on the first school selection page you will enter the name and mailing address of the high school that the student will receive their diploma from in june the mailing address for the atlanta county institute of technology is 5080 atlantic avenue maze landing new jersey zero
015eight three three zero then click search once you select search the second school selection page will appear prompting you to select the correct high school the third school selection page is where you can select up to 10 colleges where you can send your information to if your student is unsure of which colleges they will be applying to it is still a good idea to complete the fafsa you can always go back into your fafsa at a later date to add colleges to your list it is always a good idea to add your local community college for acit this would be atlantic cape community college it's a good idea to add acc to your fafsa just in case your plans unexpectedly change if you already know the college's federal school codes you will mark select yes
016here and enter the code if you do not know your college's federal student codes use the search function enter the state city and school name and click search the search results will appear select the correct school by clicking the box next to it if you want to add more schools click here on the bottom right of the screen and you will be redirected to the search page so that you can add more schools once the student has selected all the schools that they will want their fafsa information sent to they will be prompted to select a housing plan for each school select if the student will be living on campus with a parent or off campus you can also choose to add more schools from this screen notice that we have now moved on to
017the dependency status section of the application the fafsa uses this series of questions to determine if the student is considered a dependent or independent for the purposes of the fafsa use the drop down menu to select what the student's marital status is as of the day you are completing the fafsa for the purposes of this walk-through we are focusing on a dependent student so we will select that the student is single use the drop down menu to select what the student's marital status is as the day you are completing the fafsa the next page will ask you to determine whether the student has any children or qualifying other dependents note that both questions indicate that the student must provide more than half of the support for the child through the entire academic year in order
018to qualify for the purposes of this walkthrough we are focusing on a dependent student so we will select the student does not have any children or other qualifying dependents this page asks students to check mark if any of the situations apply or select none of the above don't forget to hit the help button if you ever want to read more about a question for the purposes of this walkthrough we are focusing on a dependent student so we will select that none of the above apply indicate here if the student is homeless or self-supporting or at risk of being homeless if yes is selected there will be a series of questions regarding the homeless status for the purpose of this walk through we will be selecting no in our scenario the student will be considered a
019dependent student and will need to enter their parents demographic and their parents financial information next had the student been determined to be independent based on the fafsa questions they would have been prompted to skip the parent section and move on to the student's financial section instead it is important to note that if you are self-sufficient and living on your own that does not automatically make you independent for the fafsa parental data is required for dependent students select here if the student will provide parental data if the student is unable to provide parental data due to special circumstances such as the parents are deceased incarcerated or the student no longer lives with them due to neglect abandonment or documented history of abuse then select that you are unable to provide information about the parent this will
020bring up a series of informational screens about what to do if you are submitting the fafsa without parental data you will need to contact your college's financial aid office for next steps for the purpose of this walk through we will be selecting i will be providing information about my parents notice that we have moved to the parent demographics tab of the application use the drop down menu to select what the marital status of the parents is as of the day that you are completing the fafsa depending on what is selected from the drop down menu additional questions will appear such as date of marriage or date of divorce this is a good screen to use to the help features and is often a point of confusion for students for the purpose of this walkthrough we
021will be selecting that the student's parents are married or remarried this screen will help you determine which parent information you should be entering on the fafsa if your parents are married you will be providing information about both parents if your parent is remarried then you will provide information on your parent and your step parent if your parent is widowed you will be providing information on your surviving parent if your legal parents are unmarried and living together you will be providing information on both parents if your parents were never married and do not live together you will be providing information on the parent with whom you have lived with the most over the last 12 months if your parents are divorced you will be providing information on the parent with whom you have lived with the
022most over the last 12 months you will notice the star on these last two items if you lived with both parents equally over the past 12 months provide information on the parent who provided more financial support during that time or during the most recent year you received support from a parent back into the parent demographic screen you will be prompted to enter the first parent's social security number name date of birth and email address it is important to note the immigration status of a dependent student's parents does not affect the student's financial aid of eligibility so if your parent does not have a social security number you will want to enter zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero do not enter their irs it itin number now you will be prompted to enter
023the second parent social security number name date of birth and email address remember depending on the answer to the marital status of your parents you may or may not be prompted to enter information for both parents you will answer the question about your parents state of legal residence and the last screen the parent demographic section will ask about the household size and the number of people in the household who will be attending college during the 2021-2022 academic year this is another screen that many students make mistakes on so please be sure to read each section carefully and use the help buttons provided some of these responses are pre-filled based on previous answers in the fafsa form other sections allow for you and your parent to edit [Music] so now we are moving into the parent
024financials section of the fafsa application the financial sections are another great place to use those help buttons if you are not sure what they are asking for or where you should find it on your tax forms and w-2s the first sec section questions ask whether your parents have completed their irs tax returns the second question asks what type of tax return they filed and the third question asks their filing status on their most recent tax return you will find these answers on their completed tax return pay close attention to which taxi or information they are asking for to be sure that you are looking at the correct tax documents if your parents are eligible to use the irs data retrieval tool you will see the link to irs button this is the easiest and most
025efficient way to import your parents tax information into the fafsa i highly recommend and encourage parents to use the irs data retrieval tool if they are eligible the process will take them to the irs site and ask some personal identifiers of them be sure to type in the information exactly as it appears on their most recent tax returns such as any abbreviations in their mailing address once complete they will be returned to the fafsa site and all of their tax data will be imported automatically if your parents are not eligible to use the data irs retrieval tool they will see a different message indicating that there are several reasons they may be ineligible to use the tool for example if they were recently married or if they filed their taxes with the status married filing
026separately if they are not eligible to use the data irs retrieval tool they will need to enter the tax information manually over the next few sections this view is displayed when a parent chooses not to use the irs data retrieval tool an additional opportunity is provided to the parent to determine if they would like to link to the irs or continue to enter their information manually for the purposes of this walkthrough we will not be using the data retrieval tool and will enter all information financial information manually over the next few screens this screen asks how much each of your parents earned from working please don't forget to look at the correct year they're asking about and the instructions here will tell you exactly which lines to add up from their tax returns your parent
027may or may not have some of these forms in their tax return for example not everyone is required to file a schedule one or a scheduled pay one so they may not have an amount to add in this portion if your parent did not earn anything from working the past year you will enter zero if your parents were able to use the data retrieval tool they will see the words transferred from irs in these fields you will not need to provide any additional information remember that the fafsa uses skip logic so if your parents indicated that they did not file taxes you may not see some of these financial questions the questions or instructional texts that you see in these sections may vary as they are based on your responses to previous questions you your
028parent may or may not see a question about filing their schedule one with their tax return your parent will be asked if they are a dislocated worker and if they've received any assistance from the listed federal benefits programs use the hyperlinks and the help buttons for definitions and additional information this screen asks how much your parents income tax is don't forget to look at the correct tax year that they are asking about and the instructions here tell exactly which lines to look at on their tax returns your parent may or may not have some of these forms in their tax returns for example not everyone is required to file a schedule 2 so they may not have an any amount to add for this portion if your parents were able to use the data retrieval
029tool they will see the words transfer from the irs in these fields and will not need to provide any additional information this screen asks for more additional information about your parents income and taxes again pay attention to what year they are asking for and refer to the instructions on each line for where to find this information on your tax returns if they do not have an amount for that item leave it zero if your parents were able to use the data retrieval tool they will see their words transferred the doc transferred from the irs in these fields and will not need to provide any additional information this screen asks for more information about your parents income and tax information again pay attention to what tax year they are asking for and refer to the help
030buttons on each field if needed if your parents do not have an amount for an item leave it as zero this screen asks for more information about your parents untaxed income again pay attention to what tax year they're asking for and refer to the help buttons as needed if your parents do not have an amount for an untaxed income leave it as zero and finally the last screen asks for information about your parents assets such as savings and checking account balances net worth of their investments and net worth of their business or farms note that these questions want you to answer as of today the day you were filling out the fafsa which is different from the previous financial screens which all asked about tax and income data from two years prior so now that
031you've completed the parent financial section you will be asked to provide the same type of information for the student's financials the first question asks whether or not the student has already completed their tax returns and it asks what types of tax returns the student has filed and what the student's filing status was in their returns you will find these answers on the student's completed tax return if the student worked and is eligible to use the data retrieval tool you will see a link to the irs button this is again the easiest and most efficient way to import your students tax return information to the fafsa i highly recommend and encourage students to use the irish data retrieval tool if they are eligible the process will take them to the irs site and ask some personal
032identifiers of them be sure to type in the information exactly as appears on the student's most recent tax return such as any abbreviations in their mailing address once complete they will be returned to the fafsa site and all of their tax data will be imported automatically if the student is not eligible to use the data irs retrieval tool they will see a different message indicating that they will be prompted to enter their information manually on the next few screens this view is displayed when a student chooses to not use the irs data retrieval tool on the previous page and additional opportunity is provided to the parent to determine if they would like to link to the irs or continue to enter their information manually for the purpose of this walkthrough we will not be using
033the data retrieval tool and will enter all student financial information manually over the next few screens [Music] so for the screen of the student's financials asks about the student's adjusted gross income or agi the instructions here show exactly which lines to look at on a student's tax return if the student was able to use the data retrieval tool you will see the words transferred from the irs in these fields and will not need to provide any additional information this screen asks for how much the students in tax income taxes the instructions here show exactly which lines to add up from the student's tax return the student may or may not have some of these forms in their tax return for example you may not file a schedule 2 so they may not have an amount
034to add in for that portion if the student was able to use the data retrieval tool you will see the words transferred from the irs in these fields and will not need to provide any additional information this screen asks for more information about the student's income and tax information again pay attention to what tax year they're asking for and refer to the instructions on each line if the student does not have an amount for an item leave it as zero this screen asks for more information about the student's untaxed income again pay attention to what tax year they are asking for and refer to the help buttons on each field if needed if the student does not have an amount for an item leave it as zero this screen asks for more information about the
035student's income and tax information pay attention to the tax year and refer to the help buttons as needed if the student does not have an amount please enter zero this screen asks for more additional information about the student's untaxed income pay attention to the year or further help unsaid as needed and if the student does not have an amount please enter zero and finally the last screen of the students financial section asks for more information about the students assets such as cash savings and checking account balances net worth of their investments and net worth of their businesses or farms please note that these questions want you to answer as of today the day you are filling out the fafsa which is different from the previous financial screens which all requested tax and income data from
036two years prior again this is the student's information i know these financial sections can be overwhelming but you made it through and now we are close to the end of the application on the first page of sign and submit steps you are asked if the person completing the fafsa is a preparer a preparer is anyone who gets paid to complete the fafsa these are rare click the hyperlink or the help info button if you need more information you will then be provided with a summary of all the information you have entered these two screenshots only show a portion of the information you will want to scroll through the summary and review the information thoroughly for accuracy if you find something that needs to be corrected click on the hyperlink next to the information and it
037will take you to the section you want to edit this is your last opportunity to check to make sure everything is entered correctly so hopefully avoid processing delays down the line once you get to the bottom of the summary page you will see a button to print this page if you so choose to do so the next screen starts the signature process because this is a dependent student's fafsa a signature from both the parent and the student is required you will see the status of each signature is unsigned fafsa gives some tips in the box at the top this is the process where the parent and student can each use their unique fsa id username and password to electronically sign the fafsa click provide student signature to get started the students terms and conditions will
038apply will appear please be sure to understand what you are signing because this is a federal application you will agree to the certification statement in order to move forward the student can now click and sign this fabs electronically you will be brought back to the signature status screen while you will see the status has been changed to signed electronically the parent will now have to go in and sign this screen allows you to choose which parent will sign electronically only one parent needs to sign if you cannot remember which parent you listed as parent one or two refer to the social security number and the date of birth to help this view will not display if you have only one parent demographic information for one parent earlier in the application the parent terms and conditions
039will appear read and understand what you are signing as this is a federal application the parent must agree to the certifications in order to move forward this screen will allow parents to enter their fsa id username and password to electronically sign click sign the fafsa if the parent was able to use the data retrieval tool early in the application they will not be required to enter their fsa id username and password signing electronically is the easiest and fastest way to sign the fafsa however if your parent was unable to create a fafsa you want to click on other options to sign and submit they will be presented with three options if the parent clicks on other options to sign and submit they will be presented with those three options you will select print a signature
040page you will need to print the signature page have your parents sign it and then mail it back to the new jersey department of education do this as soon as possible as there are sometimes delays with the manual signature process your fafsa is not valid without signatures so i do not recommend that you choose to submit without signatures the final step is to click the submit submit my fabza button do not forget to submit the fafsa even if your parent did not sign electronically and mail is mailing in the signature page and finally the confirmation page congratulations your fafsa has been submitted this is the final confirmation page and you will be able to confirm that your application has been submitted [Music] this screen gives you some general ideas about what happens next it is
041important to know that your colleges will not receive this information for several business days and even when they do you may be required to submit additional documentation to the college before you receive your financial aid awards so it was always important to apply early be sure to watch for communications from your colleges and universities regarding any additional documentation they may need this screen also gives you the student's expected family contribution or efc this is the amount that the department of education has calculated and determined that your family is expected to contribute to the student's education for that year this is the number that colleges must use to determine what other aid a student might be eligible for so now for some helpful tips now that you've completed your fafsa in the next few business days
042your fafsa information will be available to the colleges that you've listed if you haven't already make sure to complete an admissions application to each of the colleges that you listed the fafsa canon often is completed prior to the student completing their college applications however the college admissions application should follow closely behind the fafsa watch her financial communications from each school such as deadlines dates payment due dates and requests for additional information these communications are typically sent to your school email address or the college application portal if you filed your fafsa form using an incorrect social security number you can correct correct your social security number by doing one of the following you can submit a new fafsa online form in many cases is the easiest and fastest option please note that submitting a new fafsa
043form will change the date of your fafsa form submission be sure to check your state or school deadlines because your fabulous submission date must meet those deadlines in order to qualify for state or school aid you can find the financial aid office at one of the schools listed on your student aid report to change your social security number or you can change your social security number on paper sign it and mail it to the address provided on the student aid report this can take two to three weeks to process please note the social security number can't be changed through the paper sar anymore uh more updates on how to correct any changes to your fafsa if your situation has changed most information cannot be updated because it must be accurate as of the day you
044originally signed your fafsa form for example if you spent some of your savings after filing the fafsa form you may not update your information and show a change in that amount you should speak to the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend if there will be a significant change in you or your parents income from the present year or if your family has other circumstances can that cannot be reported on the fafsa forum you may update your mailing address email address and other confirmation information that has changed there are certain items that must be updated you must update anything that changes your dependency status for instance if you are pregnant or are now in a legal guardianship accept a change in your matter status if your matter of status changes you must
045speak to the financial aid office to determine whether you may update the fafsa form if and only if you are selected for verification you must update your fafsa form if there is a change in the number of family members in your parents household or in your household if the number of family members changes as a result of a change in your students marital status you must speak to the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend to determine whether you may update the fafsa forum if and only if you are selective verification you must update your fafsa form if there is a change in the number of people in your parents household who are in college or the number of people in your household who are in college if the number of people
046in college changes as a result of a change in your or the student's marital status you must speak to the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend to determine whether or not you may update the fafsa forum if you want to add or delete schools you may do so on the fafsa form after you have filed no more than 10 schools may be listed on your fafsa form at one time the fafsa pdf has a space for only four schools while the online fafsa form and the mobile app allows 10 schools if you add an 11th school the new school quote overwrites a previous school code you may choose which school to replace with the new school the school removed from the list will not have automatic access to any new information
047you provide after you have removed that school you can make changes in one of the following ways you can log on to fabst.gov select log in and enter your fsa id on the my fabza page you will select make fabs of corrections you will create a save key and then change your information and submit the new information write in the corrections or updates on your paper sar sign it and mail it in or check with your financial aid office of the school if you plan to attend the school might be able to make the changes for you electronically that concludes this lengthy presentation on the financial aid 2021-2020-22 walk-through if you have any questions or need further assistance please be sure to contact the acit college and career center thank you