FINANCIAL AID
Please follow the checklist below, which will guide you through each step required to measure your financial need & determine your eligibility.
1. Determine if you are a dependent or independent student
If you are 24 or older, you are an INDEPENDENT student.
If you are under 24 years of age, you are a DEPENDENT student. Your parents MUST sign your application electronically online, sign your forms, disclose their income, & provide a signed copy of their tax return
Students under 24 who feel they qualify for a “dependency override” must contact our office to discuss whether or not you can be considered independent. *Applicants will be required to provide documentation to justify their request for dependency override.
2. Paperwork – You need all income information, for all household members
Complete the verification worksheet, student contract & certification statement. You will need all of your income information for 2011 to apply for 2012-2013 school year funding.
Forms of income documentation are: federal tax return; all W2’s and/or 1099’s; social security statement; child support – received or paid; any bills paid on your behalf by others.
If you are submitting an application & you have low or no income, you must document how you are able to live on reduced or no income. Extra forms will be required for this purpose.
If you do not have a copy of your tax return, you may call (800) 829-1040 to have it faxed to you.
If you are/were a single parent, you will be required to provide us with a statement from the Dept. of Revenue, showing your payment history for each child. If you claim you do not receive child support, you must give us a letter from the DOR verifying this. All statements must have the name and telephone number of the person providing this information.
Make your appointment approximately one week after completing your online application. Please be sure to bring your completed forms, income documents, identification & Social Security card with you. Make sure all tax returns and forms are signed.
FINANCIAL AID STUDENTS
Once students have made it known that they will be pursuing the financial aid route they will be given a “Timetable for Pell Grant Process” letter informing them of the deadlines they will be dealing with during the process.
All paperwork must be completed and turned in to the financial aid office three weeks before the start of class. If you are chosen for “Verification” , process is below, you will go through that process before you receive your award letter. If you are not chosen for “Verification” you will receive your award letter as stated in your timetable letter.
VERIFICATION PROCESS FOR FINANCIAL AID STUDENTS
Errors are sometimes made when processing applications. The school will go through to verify those applications that are selected by the Central Processing System.
If chosen for verification, you will need to make an appointment with the financial aid office. You will need to bring in any and all documents that were used to complete your FAFSA.
During your appointment you will review along with the financial aid officer your student aid report (SAR) , the documents that you brought along, and your ISIR report to see if there are any discrepancies.