The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2015-2016 academic year opened Jan. 1 for students to apply for state and federal financial aid.
Financial aid counselor Samuel Reasee II said that the earlier the FAFSA is completed, the better. NSU’s priority deadline for the FAFSA is April 15.
“One of the things we do is look at when you completed your FAFSA. If you complete your FAFSA in July, the odds of you getting some additional money are very slim because most of that money runs out in March, at the latest,” Reasee said.
Financial aid counselor Katie Credle agreed.
“A lot of its first come, first serve. Even if you got it in before the priority deadline, we’ve had a waitlist that started in the middle of January,” she said.
Credle said the FAFSA is the main way to receive financial aid, and it’s the only way to get federal money, the main source of financial aid. To complete the FAFSA, Credle recommends students have last year’s W-2 forms ready and that the students coordinate with their parents to complete the application.
“I always tell students that if they haven’t filed their taxes yet, or if they’re parents haven’t filed, that’s OK. Just use estimated information, and then go back and update it, once you’ve filed,” she said. “I don’t advocate for students to try to guess because, legally, the student cannot input the parents’ PIN to sign; so I think the parents and students should [try to] sit together and make sure all the information is accurate. It leads to fewer errors, and you don’t have to update quite as much when you go back in.”
Credle said after finishing the FAFSA, students should keep checking SharkMail for updates and alerts about their financial aid status.
“We primarily communicate using SharkMail, and students need to keep checking because any documents that are missing, we’re going to tell you [about them through SharkMail]. There could be verification issues where we might require some tax or citizenship documents,” she said. “We’re not going to call you, you’re going to need to check your account.”
An application specific to NSU students is the State Aid application, which both Credle and Reasee said is the only way to get certain grants, specifically the Florida Student Access Grant (FSAG) and Florida Resident Access Grant (FRAG).
“When people hear financial aid, they just think loans, and that’s not true,” Credle said. “There is the Florida Student Access Grant and Florida Resident Access Grant; for those, we need the State Aid application [along with a valid FAFSA].”
Credle said the only difference in award amount for students with an independent financial status is that a higher loan limit is allowed. They must also file their own taxes, if they are required to do so.
“As an independent student, you are eligible for a higher loan limit per year; freshman independents can get about two grand more per year,” she said. “The FAFSA will only look at the student’s income, as opposed to the parent and the student’s combined.”
Reasee said graduate students only receive loans after completing a bachelor’s degree.
“For a grad student, you’re not going to get any Pell grants, freebies, anything like that. Once you have your bachelor’s degree, you’re considered a graduate or professional student, so most of the things you’re going to get are loans, up to $138,500,” Reasee said. “If you are a health professions student, it’ll be up to $224,000 that you can receive for your entire education, including undergraduate studies.”
Reasee also said while the FAFSA and State Aid application are the main sources of financial aid, there are other outside resources for receiving help.
“Your local church, your local social services, boys and girls clubs and places like that — you can actually go to and apply for financial aid,” he said. “But the FAFSA is your main way to get your federal monies to have at the university to pay for tuition, books and fees.”
For more outside scholarships, both counselors suggest visiting NSU’s financial aid webpage and going to the library and Barnes and Noble, as well as visiting free online resources.
The FAFSA can be completed by visiting www.fafsa.gov.
