It's that time again! Have you started to prepare your financial aid application for 2007-08. A Department of Education PIN number is available at http://www.pin.ed.gov/. Go there if you need to change your PIN or need to apply for one.
With your PIN number you can fill out a FAFSA online. If you completed and returned the form prior to January 1st, then go back and do it again as your application was probably rejected. If you will be filing Federal income taxes for 2006, then it is best to complete your tax return before filing your new FAFSA.
A new federal law went into effect on July 1, 2006 and it may effect some student's financial aid. Here are some points to look out for according to the government FAFSA site.
Active Duty Military
Under the new federal law, those who are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training, are considered to be "independent" students and will not need to provide parental information on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Soldiers who are on active duty and have already provided parental information when they completed a FAFSA can contact their financial aid office to see if the information should be adjusted.
Simplified Calculation
If a student (their spouse) or anyone in their household or the student, his parents, or anyone in the parent's household, received benefits in 2006 from certain federal benefit programs and have an income of $50,000 or less (their AGI in Q35 or their parent's AGI in Q79 if not filing a tax return) or (their earned income in Q38-39 or their parent's earned income in Q82-83 if not filing a tax return), the student applicant may qualify for an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) that does not count all of his income and assets.
The benefit programs that qualify applicants for this exemption are the:
- Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI)
- Food Stamp Program
- Free or Reduced Price School Lunch Program
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
If the student was a recipient of any of these benefit programs at any time during 2006 and has already completed his FAFSA, check with their financial aid office to find out if the information should be adjusted.
Asset Changes
College Savings Plans - are qualified educational benefit plans such as "529″ college savings plans, other prepaid tuition plans offered by a State, and Coverdell education savings accounts. The value of these plans is to be reported as an asset of either the student applicant or the parent, as follows:
- If the student is reporting parental information and his parents own a qualified educational benefit plan, or education savings accounts – including "529″ college savings plans and Coverdell savings accounts - report the current balance of the plan as a parent asset (Q88). The amount to be reported for a state prepaid tuition plan is the "refund value" of the plan.
- If the student is reporting parental information and he owns a qualified educational benefit plan – then do not report the value of those plans.
- If the student is not reporting parental information and he owns (or if married, his spouse owns) any of these qualified educational benefit plans – report the current balance of the plan as a student/spouse asset (Q44). The amount to be reported for a state prepaid tuition plan is the "refund value" of the plan.
Small Business - The net worth of a small business should not be reported if the family owns and controls the business and employs fewer than 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees (FTE) (Q45 or Q89).
If the student applicant thinks any of these changes will affect his eligibility for federal student aid, check with the financial aid office.
Drug Conviction Affecting Eligibility
Federal law now suspends federal student aid eligibility, for any student who has been convicted for the possession or sale of illegal drugs if the offense occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving federal student aid (grants, loans, and/or work-study). If a student has a previous drug conviction and is not sure about how to answer question 31, we encourage him to complete the new 2007-2008 Drug Conviction Worksheet.
The answer from the Drug Conviction Worksheet should be used to answer question 31 on your FAFSA, Renewal FAFSA, or Correction to a processed FAFSA.
New Grant Program
The law also created a new student aid grant program called the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG). Congress has provided funding and the grants are available for the 2007-2008 award year. First-year undergraduate students will be eligible to receive up to $750. Second-year undergraduate students will be eligible to receive up to $1,300. The ACG eligibility criteria are listed below:
To be eligible for an ACG each academic year, a student must:
- Be a U.S. citizen;
- Be Federal Pell Grant eligible;
- Be enrolled full-time in a degree program;
- Be enrolled in the first or second academic year of his or her program of study at a two-year or four-year degree-granting institution;
- Have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study (after January 1, 2006, if a first-year student, and after January 1, 2005, if a second year student);
- If a first-year student, not have been previously enrolled in an undergraduate program; and
- If a second-year student, have at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale for the first academic year.
If a student has not filed a FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA, at the time that he completed his application, FAFSA on the Web will predetermine if he is eligible to answer the ACG questions.
If a student has submitted a paper FAFSA and has received a Student Aid Report (SAR) indicating that he may be eligible to answer the ACG questions, please call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4FED-AID.
Students may also contact the financial aid office at their school for assistance regarding ACG.
A National SMART Grant will provide up to $4,000 for each of the third and fourth years of undergraduate study to full-time students who are U.S. citizens, eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, and majoring in physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, or engineering or in a foreign language determined critical to national security. The student must also have maintained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 in coursework required for the major. The National SMART Grant award is in addition to the student's Pell Grant award.
To be eligible to receive a National SMART Grant, you must be able to answer YES to all of the following questions:
- Are you a US citizen?
- Are you eligible to receive a Pell Grant?
- Are you enrolled as a full-time third or fourth year student in a baccalaureate degree program?
- Do you have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average?
- Are you currently enrolled in an eligible major in one of the following categories: Computer Science, Engineering, Critical Foreign Languages, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Technology, or Multidisciplinary Studies? (Please click below to view complete list of eligible majors).
Do you qualify?
If you could not answer YES to all of the above questions, you do not qualify to receive a National SMART Grant. However, you may still qualify to receive other types of federal student financial aid. If you have not completed a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), please go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ and apply today.
If you answered YES to all of the above questions and you have already submitted a FAFSA form, please contact the Financial Aid Office at your school to identify yourself as a potentially eligible student.
Click Here For a Complete List Of Eligible Majors
