Financial assistance

Financial Aid Fundamentals (Webinar)

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• published: 14 Jan 2015
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WSU's Student Financial Services representatives explain some important pieces of the Financial Aid Process. Below you can find the Questions & Answers that were addressed in this webinar: What is Census Date, and how will your aid be affected by full-time student vs. part-time student status? A: Census date is 10 days into the school semester; it a snapshot of your enrollment status. If you are enrolled less than full-time at census date, your aid could be affected by that and will not automatically be disbursed. It will be prorated to reflect the number of credits you are enrolled in. Where do I complete the FAFSA, and do I have to do it every year? A: You can complete the application at: www.fafsa.gov. You do need to complete a new one every single year (due on February 15th), based on your financial information from the previous calendar year. What is an EFC? A: Expected Family Contribution. This is what FAFSA uses to determine what kind of aid you are eligible for. Schools use the EFC to subtract from the cost of attendance for that institution to determine how much need-based aid you are eligible for. Is it true that students who are not enrolled full time don’t qualify for scholarships? A: There are some scholarships that are designated to full-time students, but you can still submit the WSU general scholarship application. There are over 700 scholarships available and each one has its own criteria. I don’t believe I was awarded enough aid. Is there a way to petition this? A: It depends on the circumstance – we can re-evaluate your financial aid package, and sometimes you can appeal. We forgot to put the GET (Guaranteed Education Tuition) balance on my son’s submitted FAFSA. When we update with our 2014 tax information, can we add that balance? A: FAFSA doesn’t care about GET. GET funds don’t go through the SFS office, they go directly through Student Accounts office. SFS does not factor GET funds into a student’s Financial Aid package. How does FAFSA apply when our son will be going abroad this summer for a credited summer session? A: If your son is going this summer, the FAFSA has already been filled out for the current academic year. He must stay in touch with the Global Learning office, and they will get in touch with us. Since it’s the tail-end of the academic year there may not be as much available. A question on the FAFSA application asked if I had gotten any scholarships and grants, and if I am going to report them to the IRS. I don’t work, so does my mom have to report it? A: It would go on your tax return. If you aren’t filing a tax return, you don’t have to report them. We have 2 kids in college. Do you consider allotment differently? A: Yes, the FAFSA does take into consideration other family members attending college. The application asked if I am going to live on or off campus-what are campus apartments considered? A: Apartment living, regardless of whether it’s on campus or off campus, is considered off-campus. 11. I’m paying a student loan from undergraduate study – can I defer the payments based on the fact that I will be in school again? A: Yes, your student loan will go into deferment if you enroll back in school. With lifetime loan limits, if I were to return for a Master’s degree, is the lifetime loan affected? Or is it only for my current degree (Bachelor’s)? A: There are different lifetime limits for graduate students. Our website has these limits listed at www.finaid.wsu.edu Are the scholarship applications on the WSU page and the WSU Global page the same thing? A: No, they are two different applications because there are two different deadlines. The general scholarship application is here: www.finaid.wsu.edu. The Global Campus scholarship application is here: http://online.wsu.edu/currentStudent/finances/financialAid.aspx If we applied for a parent plus loan for 2014-2015 year, do we continue to do so every year? Is that loan subject to the FAFSA deadline? A: Yes, even though you may have a Master Promissory Note on file with the Federal Government, they will want to do a credit check each year so you need to fill out the WSU application each year. The FAFSA deadline is connected to priority grant funding. Students and parent loans are awarded regardless of the FAFSA priority deadline. The loans that were offered to me in the Fall have disappeared from my financial aid page. Are they no longer available to me? A: They are still available. Often times, if student haven’t accepted their loans they will be cancelled off. You can have the loan back – you must go to the Form section under our website and select “Loan Action Request”: http://finaid.wsu.edu/forms/ What is the form 1098-T? A: That is something that the WSU Business Services office sends to all students who receives any grants. It summarizes your financial aid based on the calendar year for tax purposes.