WHO SHOULD COMPLETE FAFSA / CADAA? ALL SENIORS SHOULD!

By filling out FAFSA/CADAA, students may be eligible for Grants, scholarships Work Study, or Interest Free Loans!

In addition, many colleges require the application to be submitted before they can receive grants or scholarships from the institution.

Even if the family's income is too high for need-based aid, the student may qualify for scholarships, work study, or low interest loans. Other factors are considered when determining financial aid, including the number of children enrolled in college and age of parents. For community college, all students are eligible for first year free regardless of family income - student must submit FAFSA/CADAA.

WHEN SHOULD YOU SUBMIT FAFSA / CADAA?

The Cal Grant eligibility deadline is March 2. Submit by this date!

What do you need to submit FAFSA/CADAA?

Checklist of important documents you need to help complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA)

Track your log in information for financial aid applications! Here is a tracking sheet you can use.

Review your Financial Aid Award Letter

Compare the financial aid award letters from each school. If you have questions or concerns, contact the financial aid office at the college(s).

Apply for Scholarships!

Check the financial aid office website for each school you applied to. Do they have additional scholarships you can apply to?

Apply for CVEF Scholarships.

Check the Scholarships page.

Confirm your Cal Grant (Once you know what school you will be attending):

1. Confirm your graduation date and school of attendance and submit the information to CSAC.

2. Log-into your WebGrants 4 Students at https://mygrantinfo.csac.ca.gov/.

3. Once you are logged into the WG4S account, scroll down to the “Cal Grant” section.

4. Select the school of attendance card and click on the “School Change” Button.

5. Once you have selected your California Cal Grant eligible school, submit it to receive a confirmation message.

1. Scams: Be aware of scam copies – A company purchased this website àcom they will charge you for the FAFSA – it is a FREE application. http://www.FAFSA.ed.gov

2. ID: Get you FAFSA ID ahead of time. You get a username and a password. If you are considered a dependent student, you need your separate ID. It can take a few weeks to get your ID. There can be a backlog at the last minute. Do not share your ID with others. This information you are putting on your FAFSA is sensitive information. Store it in Lastpass.com (you can get a free account) or a paid account is $20 per year and it keeps you ID safe.

3. Date October 1 on your senior year. Many states will run out of money early. You can put in ten colleges when you are filling out your FAFSA. You use your prior-prior taxes or two years before you apply for the loan. You need pull that out and bring out the information. If you have had a decrease in income from 2015 to now – that can be adjusted as well – addendum needs to be filled out with each college.

4. Deadlines: To maximize your scholarship opportunities fill it out by October 1 – Each school and state will set their deadlines. October 1 is the FIRST day you can apply – deadlines are months later, but why wait?

5. Which ID? Do not use your ID (parents) when you start our your FAFSA – they will give you an option to enter the student information. USE the student ID – it will automatically add your personal information.

6. Knowing the lingo on the FAFSA helps – certain questions that you automatically know, but you may make mistakes –

   1. Legal guardianship – Students will answer yes here. You are not considered a legal guardian of yourself! So the answer is NO

7. NUMBER: The number of family household members – specific definition. Many students put the wrong number down. It has no bearing on who claims the parents in a divorce situation. How many are in your household – that is in your entire family. Siblings. Read instructions carefully.

   1. The number of family members who are in college and private school. If you are thinking about just your siblings. Don’t forget to include yourself. You are also going to college.

8. Common Mistakes:

• • If it says You or YOUR – it means the student.

  • Put in your full name as it appears on your social security card – no nicknames. It will bring you delays if you are not accurate.

  • Double check your social security number.’

9. Income Information:

• • How much income tax – not your AGI (adjusted gross income) – IRS data retrieval tool that will tell you how to fill it out.

  • Be sure to see if they are asking for your income vs. your parent’s income. Do not get them confused.

10. Parent section is color coded – you can fill out the parent information. (Even if you live on your own. It still can help you.)

11. Add More Colleges: Students may only be considering only one or two colleges. You have up to ten schools you can list. Take advantage of this tool and the other colleges cannot see the schools you are sending this to. You can always remove and add more schools.

12. Sign It! Don’t forget to sign your FAFSA this will cause an incomplete FAFSA. You sign it with your ID number. You can mail a signature page if you want. It is not necessary. You can check the status of your application at any time.

Resources

https://studentaid.gov/resources - FAFSA resources

https://www.collegecovered.com/paying-for-college/fafsa-101-your-financial-aid-faqs-answered/ - FAFSA 101 from College Covered

https://www.goingmerry.com/blog/how-to-apply-for-fafsa/ - How to Apply for FAFSA from Going Merry

https://www.goingmerry.com/blog/fafsa-questions/ - The 7 Trickiest Questions and How to Approach Them from Going Merry