Susan asks…
Is it ok to fill out and send in a FAFSA aid form before being accepted to a university?
I’m going to enter a university in the Spring 2010 semester. Is it ok to send in my FAFSA financial aid request before being accepted for the Spring semester? Any help would be apprectiated. Thanks.
Michelle answers:
Yes, you should file your FAFSA as soon as possible once you have decided you are going back to school. You can include up to 10 schools on your FAFSA, so you may want to consider including a “back up” school(s) as well. This just means that those schools that you list will receive your FAFSA information. If you end up not attending that school after all, there are absolutely no negative consequences to having included them on your FAFSA.
Mark asks…
Why is the Fafsa still considering me dependent at age 24?
Everything on the Fafsa websites say that you qualify as an independent if you are at least 24 years old, however, when I go to actually fill the application it asks if I was born before 1988? I was not, so it classifies me as dependent. However I am most certainly 24 years old, what the hell is going on here? Totally screwing me.
Michelle answers:
You must be using/looking at the FAFSA for the 2011-2012 school year. If you are hoping to be awarded Federal student aid for this current school year, it may be too late – past deadline.
If you wish to be considered for Federal student aid for the next school year (Fall 2012-Spring 2013), then you need to use the 2012-2013 school year FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov ). For that FAFSA, to be considered Independent from including information from your parents (age 24), you need to answer “yes” to the question “Where you born before January 1, 1989?”
Sources:
* PDF version – FAFSA 2012-2013 – Page 5
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1213/pdf/PdfFafsa12-13.pdf
* Am I Dependent or Independent? (2012-2013 FAFSA information)
http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/DependentorIndependent.pdf
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Best wishes
James asks…
Is Job Corps considered transitional living to the FAFSA people?
My cousin is filling out her FAFSA, and she is independent, and currently attends a job corps in Utah. My question is, is Job corps considered a transitional living situation, and if so, what would she need to do to prove that she attends JC, or to tell the Finanacial aide people?
Michelle answers:
I found this explanation/definition of the phrase “transitional living program” regarding the FAFSA:
[Quote]
. . . Living in shelters, hotels, cars, or couchsurfing anywhere you can.
[End quote]
Source: FAFSAOnline.com – FAFSA Dependency Questions
* http://www.fafsaonline.com/fafsa-form/dependent-status-for-fafsa-5.php
“Transitional” has synonyms (words that mean the same) of “temporary,” “changable,” or “inconsistent.”
Sources:
Roget’s International Thesaurus
and
Thesaurus.com
* http://thesaurus.com/browse/transitional?s=t
The residence of a Jobs Corps participant, whether at the Jobs Corps living center or elsewhere will be considered a “permanent or long-term residence” and not transitional/temporary.
If, before your cousin started with Job Corps, she lived temporarily in a homeless shelter, a hotel or motel, temporarily stayed with a friend or non-parent relative, etc., and if that situation of a lack of a permanent residence for a while is documented (records from the homeless shelter, hotel/motel room bill, notarized signed and dated statement from the friend or non-parent relative with whom she lived temporarily, etc.) that is what she would need to prove she was in a “transitional living program.”
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Best wishes
Chris asks…
How many years will fafsa cover for a full time student? Like, is there a certain year per student limit?
I have heard that fafsa only gives aid to full time students for four years. Is this true? And let’s just say there is a student who has been in a community college for 4 years finally was able to trasfer a four year institution. Thus, fafsa only covered the first four years in community college and the rest is up to the student to pay. Is that true? I live in california and I need to know because I don’t want to waste my time taking classes that I don’t need. Thanks!!!
Michelle answers:
FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is used by the Financial Aid office at your university to determine financial aid eligibility. There are several aid programs available including grants, loans, and scholarships.
The basis of federal financial aid is the Pell Grant. The length of time requirement has to do with the length of the student’s program, not necessarily the length of time the student has been in school. The Pell grant is only available to undergraduate students whose program is 4 years in length.
A typical requirement for completion of program is within 150% of published course requirements. For example, if your bachelor’s program is 128 credit hours, you will be eligible for Pell Grant up to 192 credit hours.
You should also be eligible for Student Loans following the above guidelines. The advantage of the Pell grant is that it does not have to paid back, while loans do.
Your courses at the community college should transfer to your four-year college. They may not count towards your degree, depending on your program or they may count as general electives. Developmental/remedial courses generally do not count towards graduation requirements but do form the basis of necessary skills to be successful.
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