Financial Aid

By Susan Pierce, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.

Feb. 11–Senior year of high school is marked by rites of passage for students and their parents: college visits and applications, prom, graduation… and filing their first FAFSA.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as FAFSA, is the U.S. Department of Education’s federal student aid form. It is a comprehensive overview of parent and student income and other assets by which a college student’s eligibility for financial aid, including loans and grants, is determined.

All seniors’ parents should file a FAFSA whether the student is planning to go to college or not, according to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. There is no obligation to attend college by completing the FAFSA, but should a student decide to apply to a university later in the school year, he will not have missed important financial-aid deadlines.

March 1 is the deadline for a Tennessee Student Assistance Award. A FAFSA must be submitted by then for a student to be eligible for this state aid.

To help FAFSA novices file their first forms, colleges and universities are offering workshops in the coming weeks for free assistance. (See accompanying boxes.) Parents Terry and Lisa Blake, whose daughter, Kyndall, is graduating from Grace Academy this spring, attended a FAFSA workshop in January. Mrs. Blake said they had been forewarned about the stress of filing their first FAFSA by parents of the class of 2006. “A good friend of mine told me her horror stories, and I was a little scared about it,” Mrs. Blake said. “But I just set aside an afternoon to work only on it. I filled it out online based on last year’s tax forms, so I’ll have to go back and update it after our taxes are done this year.”

Requesting a PIN: Both student and parent must apply for a PIN number from the U.S. Department of Education in order to file a FAFSA. This may be done online at www.pin.ed.gov.

Mrs. Blake said she was unaware that both she and Kyndall needed PINs, so applying for the second pin caused a threeday delay before she could begin the FAFSA.

Once having registered PINs and passwords, parents reuse these when updating their FAFSA each year their child is a college student. If the pin is lost, reapplying results in another three to five-day wait.

Both pins are used to electronically sign the FAFSA before it is submitted.

“The PINs act as their signatures, and both have to enter their PINs,” said Rexann Bumpus, UTC director of financial aid. “A common mistake we see is either student or parent not signing their PIN, so the FAFSA’s rejected. There is nothing we can do (in terms of financial aid) until it is accepted.”

Preparing to file: Parents will need to gather adult and child Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, W-2s and income tax return for parent and student, records of untaxed income (welfare, Social Security benefits, veterans benefits) and investment records.

Ms. Bumpus suggests making copies of pins, passwords and all tax forms and keeping this information in a file by the computer.

“If you don’t remember your PINs or know where they are the following year, it’s an extra three days to reapply,” she said.

Log on the right site: “Two mistakes parents make that cost money are going to the wrong Web site and/or paying someone to help file the FAFSA, which usually costs about $1,000,” said Rick Taphorn, Bryan College assistant financial-aid director.

He said the FAFSA should be filed online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. But parents will mistakenly log onto www.fafsa.com, which charges a $79.99 fee.

“Parents should know there are a number of scams out there,” said Baylor School counselor Brian Smith. “FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and we need to emphasize the FREE. Do not pay money to complete this form.”

“Any financial-aid professional would be happy to help a family file the FAFSA for free,” agreed Mr. Taphorn.

When to file: March 1 is the FAFSA deadline for a Tennessee Student Assistance Award.

Each school has its own priority deadline for scholarships and campus-based funds like the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, Federal Work-Study or Perkins Loan, according to Mr. Taphorn.

“Earlier is better when filing,” said Brenda Rapier, financial-aid director at Covenant College.

She suggests using last year’s tax report as an entry point for information, then updating the FAFSA when this year’s federal tax return is completed.

Tricky questions: “The data elements we correct the most involve untaxed income,” said David Gelinas, director of financial aid at the University of the South.

“FAFSA filers really have to read the worksheet for untaxed income to be certain they don’t miss something.

“Also, a key factor for ministers is reporting the value of ‘housing, food and other living allowances paid to members of the military, clergy and others (including cash payments and cash value of benefits). This is one of the data items on Worksheet B of the FAFSA and can be overlooked if the worksheet is not carefully reviewed, item by item,” said Mr. Gelinas.

Stumped by a question: Marc Grundy, an associate vice president at Southern Adventist University, said if parents get stuck on an answer, first reference the online instructions for that particular question.

“If you are still stuck, then call the Department of Education FAFSA help line at (800) 4 FEDAID.

“A lot of people give up before trying because they think it’s too complicated. While it’s not the easiest form you’ll ever fill out, it’s definitely worth an hour. It could be the most profitable hour of work you’ve ever done,” Mr. Grundy said.

FREE WORKSHOPS UTC: Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., University Center gallery and computer lab.

Office of Financial Aid staff will answer questions and help students complete the FAFSA. Bring completed 2006 tax returns and W-2, along with any other incomerelated documentation.

Parents are welcome, but student must be present for privacy reasons. Door prizes.

425-4677 or e-mail Laura Bass at Laura-Bass@utc. edu.

Rhea County High School: Tuesday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m., open to the public.

Make a reservation by calling 775-7339. Covenant College: March 23, 2 p.m., Sanderson Hall 215. Workshop is part of a three-day campus preview for prospective students and their parents to learn about Covenant. Call (888) 451-2683 to register.

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