Financial Aid

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is a form used to determine the amount of money a family is expected to contribute to the price of attending a 2 or 4 year college or university. The results of the FAFSA are used in determining student grants, work study, and loan amounts that the student may receive to pay for college. In order to receive federal Pell Grants, institutional grants, work study, or federal loans for community college or a 4-year institution, you MUST fill out a FAFSA. 

The FAFSA can result in 3 things: Grants, Loans, and Work Study 

Grants: Money you don't have to pay back 

• A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid and can be awarded for as much as $5800 

• NC Need-Based Grant / UNC System Grant : Can be as much as $4000 

• Institutional Grants : Awarded with funds from a particular college / university 

Loans: Money you do have to pay back with interest 

If you decide to take out a loan, make sure you understand who is making the loan and the terms and conditions of the loan. Student loans can come from the federal government or from private sources such as a bank or financial institution. Loans made by the federal government, called federal student loans, usually offer borrowers lower interest rates and have more flexible repayment options than loans from banks or other private sources.  The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program is the largest federal student loan program. Under this program, the U.S. Department of Education is your lender. There are four types of Direct Loans available:      

• Direct Subsidized Loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need to help cover the costs of higher education at a college or career school.  

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, but in this case, the student does not have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible for the loan. 

• Direct Plus Loans are loans made to graduate or professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid. 

• The Federal Perkins Loan Program is a school-based loan program for undergraduates and graduate students with exceptional financial need. Under this program, the school is lender.                               

Work Study: A job on campus 

• Work Study provides part-time jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses. The program encourages community service work and work related to the student’s course of study. 

• After you have created your FSA – ID, go to https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa and begin the FAFSA. The student should log in and invite their parent(s) as a contributor. This step is required for your parents to be able to add information. The FAFSA should be filled out through the student’s account. You will begin by providing student demographic, parent demographic, and dependency information. 

• Students are able to list up to 20 schools on the FAFSA. List any school that you might attend, even if you have not received an admissions decision yet! 

• When asked to provide financial information, you may either manually enter your information, or you have the option to use the IRS-Direct Data Exchange. This feature pulls the IRS tax return information needed to complete the FAFSA from your most recent tax return and transfers the data directly from the IRS Web site. It is highly recommended that you use this tool if possible, as it is the easiest way to provide your tax data and ensure that your FAFSA has correct tax information.  

• You must allow at least three weeks if filing your tax returns electronically, and at least eleven weeks if filing by mail, before using IRS Data Retrieval tool. If this time has not passed, you may enter your information manually or wait until the data retrieval tool becomes available to you. If you are eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, then click Link To IRS to transfer your tax return information from the IRS Web site into your FAFSA. 

• After providing all the student, parent, and financial information, the student will electronically sign the FAFSA. The parent must sign in using their own FSA-ID and electronically sign the FAFSA as well. After this is done, the FAFSA is able to be fully submitted. 

• In about 30% of cases, a student may be selected for verification. If this happens, the student will need to provide additional tax return information. This usually entails ordering a tax transcript. If you receive an email in the weeks following your FAFSA submission alerting you that you have been selected for verification, do not ignore it! You must complete this process to receive financial aid. 

I am an undocumented/DACA student. Can I file FAFSA?

• Unfortunately, undocumented and DACA students are not eligible for federal student aid. You may still be eligible for state or college financial aid. There are also scholarships you can apply to. Please contact Ms. Castillo for more specific information.

My parent/guardian(s) does not have a social security number. Can I still do FAFSA?

• Yes! Your parent/guardian does not have to have a social security number (SSN) for you to complete FAFSA.

• When FAFSA asks for your parents/guardians' SSN, they must enter 000-00-0000. They will be unable to create a FSA ID or sign the FAFSA application electronically. Instead, you will print out the signature page before submitting the FAFSA application. Then you will mail in that page.

• If you can not print it at home please see a counselor for help, she can also mail it for you!!

• Click here for more information and answers to common questions.

  • Haga clic aquí para más información.

Helpful links:

• Creating and Using the FSA ID

  • Cómo crear y utilizar la credencial FSA ID

    • • FAFSA and Homeless Youth