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[00:00:00] Right. Well, good morning everyone. My name is Julie Shields Rutyna, and I am the director of college Planning education and training at MEFA. And this is one of our MEFA Institute webinars, um, which is gonna be a deep dive into the fafsa. And we are so lucky to have Amy staffer from Simmons University with us this morning to go through all the details.

Um, and the nice, the nice thing is compared to last year, um, this is gonna be a happy, a happy talk today. Uh, things, things are going much better and, um, let’s just. Go to the next slide and I’ll give you some logistics. So just so you know, if you have questions, um, and I’m sure you do have some, you can put them in the q and a section and I may be able to answer some behind the scenes and we’ll ask some out loud to Amy at some point.

Um, and if you need to leave this webinar, of [00:01:00] course, I, I know you have busy days, you can do that. And we are, we will be sending you the slides and a copy of, uh, a link to the recording, um, tomorrow. And also if you know some of your colleagues who weren’t able to attend and you wanna share that with them, this is great ’cause this will be, um, uh, chock chockfull of good information.

So with that, I think, let’s see, maybe there’s one more slide just to remind you, um, about MEFA, that we are here for you with whatever you need. And I hope you know, to reach out to us, to email us, call us at the end. You’ll see, um, that information. But we’ve been around for a long time, uh, and. We still have the the same mission of helping families plan, save, and pay for college.

And that means that we wanna help you do your jobs as well. And this, because this is a Mefa Institute webinar, you can also get professional development points for it. So when you see the follow up, you’ll see how easy that is to do for yourself. So with [00:02:00] that, Amy, I’m going to turn it over to you. Great. I just wanna make sure, is this being recorded?

Usually I get like an indication. It is. Okay. Thank you. I know, I see it there though. Great. Perfect. Okay, great. The new Zoom. I don’t know, everything’s different. Thank you though for checking. Yeah, of course. Uh, so, uh, about the fafsa, uh, if you don’t know, right, it’s the free application for Federal student aid, uh, and, uh, it’s [email protected].

I honestly can think back for so many years where there actually was this kind of paid version out there of some company, um, you know, taking advantage, is that how I would see it? Of, um, you know, charging people. But that no longer exists. The Department of Education a number of years ago bought out that site, but we, but we still always like to say it’s that free form.

Uh, it is required by all colleges and universities for any sort of federal, um, and state aid. And it may be, um, that a college will use it to determine their [00:03:00] institutional aid as well. Uh, and one of the things I also like to point out, you know, here in the state, um, we now have that free community college.

Um, but a student, even though that is free, the students still need to complete the FAFSA form. So that’s, uh, an important point. Uh, as well, it does need to complete, be completed each year, uh, one for every child. Um, but the parent as a contributor, um, you know, needs to kind of contribute to each of those, uh, FAFSA forms.

Um, and then always important reminder, even though this is about the FAFSA form itself, and I feel like there’s so much, because this is through the government and there’s all kinds of campaigns that it’s really important to remind, uh, students and parents that. Each institution may require other forms or, uh, other data to be received in order to assess, um, you know, for any sort of institutional aid.

Uh, so that’s that last bullet point there [00:04:00] in completing the FAFSA form. Um, there’s newer terminology, you know, with the big changes that happened last year, we’ve been through, you know, the kind of growing pains, I’ll, I’ll try to use a nice term, um, of what last year was. Uh, and as Julie was mentioning, um, things are really a lot, a lot more smooth, uh, in this current year, but some wording changes.

So, um, if you’re not familiar, uh, each person who is providing information on a FAFSA form, uh, they’re, they’re called a contributor. So the student is a contributor, a parent, uh, is a contributor. Um, it could be a parent’s spouse who may not be the parent of the student is a contributor as well. Um, and very different from old, uh, FAFSA forms where honestly, a student or a parent could go in and, and kind of complete information on everyone.

Each contributor is just completing a section about themselves. Um, so it’s [00:05:00] really, um, all of these multiple sections that kind of get grouped into to one, uh, FAFSA that get sent to institutions. All of the income questions. In fact, this was part of a law change, uh, that the Department of Education can’t ask income questions that aren’t pulled off of the tax return.

Uh, so when consent is provided, all of that information comes, um, uh, right from the IRS and, and in a different way, um, than in, in old iterations of the FAFSA form. Um, and so, uh, consent is something that must be provided. Excuse me, there is online Skip Logic. So removing questions that aren’t applicable, um, to a particular student or parent.

In fact, I did get an email just yesterday from, uh, from a woman in another part of the country who just said, you know, I had a, a, a friend who completed it and felt [00:06:00] like they, they put in information, gave consent, but didn’t really answer any other questions like, did they do something wrong? But yet the FAFSA said it was processing.

And I said, you know what? And, and I completed it for my, uh, at the time, senior in high school last year. Uh, it can almost feel like really there’s nothing more to it. Um, and, and the woman also had completed a CSS profile form. And you know, when you ki kind of compare those two, uh, it really can feel like, oh my goodness, it was so quick.

Um, and I didn’t really answer information. ’cause so much of the information is just pulled right from the IRS. Um, you need to answer the questions in order. Uh, if an answer is zero or the question does not apply, just, and students should be entering or parents entering zero. Um, if FAFSAs are incomplete, so that could be a student has completed and signed their section, but a parent has not done theirs.

If after 45 [00:07:00] days, um, it’s still not complete, it actually is, um, uh, deleted altogether. But reminders are sent every seven days. Um, so it really shouldn’t get to a point that, um, that a, a FAFSA is, uh, deleted. As long as, you know, and, and I know with my own children sometimes as long as they’re, you know, monitoring, uh, email.

So what is needed to complete, uh, the FAFSA form? Everyone is going to need, you know, their social security number. This is something I can think back over time where I’ve had issues with social security number and it really is what is attached to that FAFSA form. So particularly students coming out of high school where they haven’t yet perhaps memorized their social security number, or maybe they think they know it, have them really kind of pull out that social security card, right?

And, and know what that number is and make sure they’re getting that correct. Um, date of birth, um, bank statements, um, any [00:08:00] current business farm investment records, right? Those are the things that everyone’s really going to need. Now, certain families may need, um, their 2023 federal income tax, um, information for a student and or parent.

You heard me say the IRS, it’s, it’s pulling the information directly. Um, there have been instances I can tell you for, for one, where we have a student where the parent has now realized they never completed their, uh, they never submitted, uh, their tax return. Uh, and so they, they ended up hand entering information, uh, and now they’re in the process of filing.

This is for the, for the, uh, 20, 22 year. Um, but it’s always good to just have it on hand just in case. But for the majority of people, they’re going to be able to complete without needing to have that, uh, tax information. I think this is really helpful of just having, um, the FAFSA customer, uh, service information.

Um, so, you [00:09:00] know, perhaps taking a screenshot of this, uh, having this available, um. Sometimes it’s just knowing that you can get in touch. Um, and anyone who went through last year, um, I, I can say for myself with phone numbers for, um, uh, certain, uh, equipment that I use, uh, with, uh, pulling in FAFSA information, I was on hold for probably 10 hours over the span of two days.

Um, but I also know, and I sat with families trying to call this number last year where, um, the call volume was so high because of everything going on that’s not happening this year. So I, I think, um, uh, you know, having this in information and passing it on to students is helpful. But I do know that last year and I sat with a family trying to.

Uh, get some, um, closure on an F-S-A-I-D issue and they would just get hung up on, um, you know, they didn’t even have the ability to just, [00:10:00] uh, stay on hold. But, uh, as, uh, as we said in the beginning, this is a whole new year. This is, uh, very different. And, um, these are really helpful and, and people are able to get through.

So here’s a, just a little bit of flow chart about the F-S-A-I-D and I will say that the Department of Education really has been kind of, you can still find the word F-S-A-I-D, but they really call it your, you know, account login. Your student account login. So. And that’s what it is. It’s a login. Um, and this is used, uh, to complete the fafsa.

It is also used, um, by the student or the parent should they choose to borrow any sort of student or parent loans. Um, they would be using that same F-S-A-I-D or student account, um, federal student account, uh, to sign, uh, for those. So it’s something that, um, uh, you know, is important to then kind of save, um, put away somewhere.

So [00:11:00] it’s a login. It’s, it’s a username and password. Um, and it, it a hundred percent is needed in order to start the fafsa. Um, and in fact, if a family goes right, right in to start a FAFSA and they don’t yet have their student account login, their F-S-A-I-D, um. They’re not gonna be able to complete the FAFSA right there, uh, in that moment because, um, it is something that, uh, very different than say your Gmail login username and password, right?

It goes through an authentication process. So it takes about anywhere from two to four days for them, that person to be able to use that F-S-A-I-D, meaning before they can go ahead and complete that FAFSA form. So who needs the F-S-A-I-D? Obviously the student needs their own F-S-A-I-D and then really the suggestion is that every parent that is listed on the fafsa, um, should get an F-S-A-I-D and it doesn’t cost [00:12:00] anything.

Uh, and if you don’t use it right, that is fine. Um, in the case of parents who are married and they file jointly their tax returns, uh. Technically only one parent in that situation needs an F-S-A-I-D, right? So if just one parent gets it and they’re giving consent, that is fine. Um, but in situations where parents are married and filing separately or, um, or they went through, uh, a divorce or a separation during the 2023 year where those taxes are being used, right?

Those are the scenarios where every parent really does need their own F-S-A-I-D. So in some ways it really is the easier message. Every parent who’s listed on the FAFSA should have an F-S-A-I-D. You must have an email address in order to, um. Create the F-S-A-I-D and it needs to be unique. Um, so I know [00:13:00] sometimes, uh, the suggestion is, um, you know, to create during the college process to create kind of this family, uh, email address.

Um, make sure that’s not what is used, um, it won’t be able to be used for everyone. Uh, and creating that F-S-A-I-D and, and then also the suggestion here that, um, you know, make sure it’s, uh, it’s an email that students will have access to out of high school, right? As well as one that students are checking, uh, parents who don’t have a social security number.

Prior to last year, they were not able to get an F-S-A-I-D because they didn’t have a social security number, and that’s part of the process. Uh, now those parents are able to get that F-S-A-I-D by answering, uh, knowledge based questions, really based on credit history. If they kind of fail being able to do that, there is a second level, um, so that they’re able to get that F-S-A-I-D.[00:14:00]

Uh, and so honestly, when I’ve been doing presentations through the fall, um, I’m really, the suggestion is get that completed right away. Uh, so that once, um, you’re going to sit down and complete that FAFSA form, there’s no, uh, delay. And MEFA does have, um, a recorded create your F-S-A-I-D webinar. So, uh, if that’s something that you might find helpful, particularly with, uh, perhaps the parents, um, who might not have an SSN in that process, uh, that’s something that can be watched.

So now that we’re getting to the homepage, uh, and it’s nice that the, the kind of main thing you see is 25, 26 fafsa, excuse me, and that that’s available. Um, I feel like in past years, you know, there, there was kind of the two options. You still see it down here, need the 24 25 FAFSA because we still have students who are completing forms, um, for the current [00:15:00] year and it still is open.

Um, but this hopefully makes it a lot easier ’cause every year I usually have, um, a students who, you know, thinks that they have completed the fafsa and that’s because they are completing the current year. But it’s, it’s the year that they will be a first year student rate, so that 25, 26 fafsa. So if they’re completing it for the first time, they’re clicking login to start.

Um, or, um, and we can talk about this later as, as we, we look at that, if they’re, um, kind of, uh, accepting an invitation, they can log in there. So the student would log in with that F-S-A-I-D again, if they need to, um, create an account, um, they don’t yet have it. This is where they would, um, do that. Uh.

Before actually being able to complete the fafsa, but assuming that this student has their F-S-A-I-D, it’s all verified, they’ll move on to that next, uh, section. And [00:16:00] they’re noting, um, what their role is, right? So we’re walking through this first as, uh, the student who is starting the FAFSA form, and there’s a set of kind of onboarding slides.

Um, you know, it, it’s some level of information. Um, is it absolutely necessary to kind of go through them and watch every video? Not necessarily. Um, but, uh, but we’ll just kind of walk through what those are. We’re not gonna watch the videos, but, you know, just an explanation of what, uh, the FAFSA form is.

It’s a, it is a very short video. I have gone through and, and watched these, uh, it walks through defining, um, contributors, right? And who these contributors are. And you know, you’ll see as we talk about contributors and particularly, um, you know, when we start to talk about, say, a non, um, uh, a parent who is, you know, a parent who’s remarried, right?

And, and so they have this spouse and [00:17:00] sometimes or parent saying, you know, but, but this person isn’t, um, uh, you know, required to pay, let’s say for, you know, this child. There is information, um, that is noted in here that by providing, say, consent with the IRS, that does not mean that you are required to, um, you know, provide, um, you know, money for that, that student.

So this is just an overview of those contributors in explaining consent as well. Um, and then after that, uh, your, you know, goes through, after submitting the FAFSA form. And then right here at the bottom, uh, it’s uh, start the FAFSA form. There’s a little blue box, uh, at the bottom. So. Next, it’s going to be information that the student is just reviewing, right?

This is information that they have already provided in which to get their F-S-A-I-D. Um, you can kind of see from the screen. There’s no real option, um, except perhaps in country [00:18:00] to update information. So if there is something that was incorrect, let’s say the student used an email address, right? That they decided, oh, this probably it was my school and, uh, email address, and I need to change that.

They actually would need to go into their student aid.gov, uh, rather than just in the FAFSA and go to account settings to make any sort of change. So this is just a review only, but you’re not able to make, uh, changes or the student is not able to make changes. Um. They’re noting their state of legal residence, uh, as well as that date that they became a legal resident.

Um, because, um, oftentimes for, uh, state-based aid, uh, that date matters. And obviously when a student notes that they are, um, a resident of the state of Massachusetts, that’s the trigger. Once the FAFSA is, um, fully processed, that the state is also going to get that information. And then just noting here, um, this has always been a helpful tool within the FAFSA [00:19:00] for many years, and I’m glad they didn’t get it away, but, um, just this little, um, question mark and it’s next to, uh, almost all of the questions and it a little popup with some additional information, um, you can find.

So the, the providing consent, um, the. The IRS has very strict, uh, data privacy rules. And so, um, the new direct data exchange, which is how, uh, data is being pulled directly from the IRS and being, um, pulled into that FAFSA form, uh, really requires that this consent, um, uh, is provided by each contributor. And if a contributor does not provide consent, that student becomes ineligible for any sort of need-based, um, federal aid.

So it’s really important, um, that, that people understand [00:20:00] that now. I remember in a presentation a parents said like, what if I, you know, hit the wrong button? Right. It does come back up, you know, with one of those kind of like, are you sure that’s how you want to answer this? So, so it really does help guide, um, you know, students and parents to, um, to, to hopefully answer that, that question.

Yes. I’m providing, uh, this consent to have that, um, FAFSA kind of pull that tax data directly from the IRS

and once that consent is given, you know, there’s this screen where, um, you know, okay, we’re kind of pulling that information. Um, once that is done, um, the data does not actually populate right. Visibly for a student or a parent to see it. Um, but either it, you know, it, it kind of imports and for the vast majority of students and parents, it does.

Or let’s say if someone was a non-tax [00:21:00] filer. Or I have had situations, um, you know, we kind of, the hope is, is that all the tax data comes in. But as I, as I noted, I’ve found people who didn’t realize they didn’t actually submit their tax return, or people who may have been late, um, or in cases where a parent is now, uh, divorced or separated, and that two year prior information is no longer wholly accurate.

Um, there is an opportunity, um, where a family can then actually hand and enter, um, their 2023, uh, tax data

once we’re done with that. Um, kind of the income information, right? So that’s, you see right there. If the data comes through right from the IRS, you’re just moving right on. So you’re not, the student is, uh, is not being asked any other income questions. They’re moving now on to determining, um. If they’re [00:22:00] dependent, right?

And then parent information needs to be provided or if they are independent, um, in which it does not need parent information.

So married students. Um, so at first, this is the kind of first question to ask. What is the student’s marital status? So, uh, married students are independent, um, but separated students are not, uh, considered independent. And I, I realize for most, you know, students coming out of high school, um, this seems like perhaps like a silly question, but, um, you know what, there’s all kinds of different situations out there, and then it asks about, um, you know, what the students’, um, college experience, what their kind of first year is going to be like for, for most, uh, students coming out of high school, they’re selecting first year freshmen, um, which is that first top, uh, option here.

Um, and, [00:23:00] uh, undergraduate students, um, most often are considered independent graduate students, um, are independent. They are seen as independent students. Um, it also asks about, um, when the student begins that 25, 26, right? So that’s that the, in theory, the first year, uh, in college, will they already have their first, first bachelor’s degree?

Um, this is one of those ones where sometimes I see that a student has entered it wrong. They may just don’t not understand, uh, the question. Um, so students coming out of high school, um, should typically always be answering no, um, because they do not yet have, uh, a bachelor’s degree, but it is one that does seem to kind of trip people up here and there.

So now moving on to. A set of other potential, um, circumstances. Right? So these would really be the other factors. Uh, it used to be kind of, you’re answering yes or [00:24:00] no to, to a set of questions. But these are really the other kind of factors that, uh, could qualify a student as being independent. A student who typically was, uh, you know, dependent based on, you know, their, their age and, and marital status.

So if they’re older than 23, um, then they’re usually considered independent. Um, if they have dependents who actually receive support from them. Um, active duty military if since 13 or they were an orphan in foster care or ward of the court. Um, right. And that’s one of these check boxes. So there’s simply just checking that off.

Uh, or if they were an emancipated minor or in a legal guardianship. I will say that, um, there are some times that I think these questions can become confusing for a student. Uh, and on our side, um, as a financial aid administrator, sometimes we’re, have having to [00:25:00] follow up with a student, um, and perhaps ask additional questions or perhaps provide documentation.

Um, more so, you know, on these last, um, three bullet points. But, uh, I never like to speak for every college. Um, you know, uh, people and, and, and, uh, the financially prof profession will often say, you know, it depends, uh, what an institution, um, may, um, ask for, for documentation or if they’re actually asking for that.

So if, if they’ve really answered any of these questions as, as, yes. Right. Then they’re gonna be considered independent. Um, otherwise they say none of the, the of these apply, they’re continuing on. Uh, and we’re moving on to, um, students who are homeless, uh, or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.

Uh, they are considered independent. Um, and so, um, so this question, um, you know, exists on its own[00:26:00]

and then we get into a section that, um, so a student who doesn’t fit in right, perhaps to these kind of general categories of automatically being determined, independent, they may have unusual circumstances. I. And, uh, they have made a change on the FAFSA as of this current year, right? And so continuing where, um, if they say Yes, I have some level of unusual circumstances.

So I’m, I’m not considered independent, um, based on the typical criteria, but I have some other unusual circumstances. You can see them listed here, right? Uh, left home to an abusive or threatening environment, um, abandoned or estranged. Uh, they’re victim of human trafficking. All these kind of really unusual special circumstances, uh, the [00:27:00] FAFSA will actually let them proceed.

If they say yes, it will let them proceed, um, and be able to submit their FAFSA without the parent information in kind of the old world prior to this current year. Um, this was really kind of a block in the process. The student could, could I self-identify? But then it really, um, you know, stopped them in the process from the FAFSA being fully processed and they had to kind of work with, uh, the, uh, colleges and universities.

Now, what I will say, um, is that not every student that answers yes, I have unusual circumstances may become or deemed independent. Uh, and, and I feel like there was a little bit of an uptick that we saw in students answering. Yes. Um, it’s really challenging and I’m sure that you, um, as uh, professionals in your field, um, seeing all of [00:28:00] the different, uh, circumstances that we see some of our, our young people, um, live in, uh.

On our side, we have very particular rules that we have to follow that the Department of Education has set out. Um, and, you know, and we have to collect documentation, and it has, it has to fit into what they’ve defined as unusual circumstances. Uh, and so, uh, so that can be kind of just a challenging thing that we have to work through.

Um, but sometimes it turns out that it really is more just the parent refusing. Um, and it doesn’t quite fit into that unusual circumstances. Um, and those can be really, uh, challenging and hopefully, um, you know, all of us right, working together, um, can really help those students, uh, on the margins in the best possible way to kind of work through that.

But, but anyone who’s saying yes here, the college is going to for sure be following up and they’re gonna need [00:29:00] documentation. So that’s something that on your side can be helpful, um, to, uh, to note to students that there’s going to be some level of, uh, request for documentation. Some schools that might be requiring, um, two letters along with, you know, uh, a narrative, uh, from the student.

So once we’ve kind of got through those, uh, steps, the student then is, uh, kind of noted whether or not they’re actually a dependent or an independent student. Uh, and so if they are a dependent student, there is, and if anyone remembers last year, there was a bit of a debacle with this direct unsubsidized only question.

It was very confusing. Uh, students were answering it incorrectly. Um. But additionally, the, the FAFSA form at that time didn’t have the ability to for students to go right in and make corrections. So, um, there was some change in the wording. So you can see here, right, it’s, it’s answering this question, are the students’ parents refusing to [00:30:00] provide their information on the FAFSA form, right?

And so if that answer is yes, um, then the student is, is applying for that direct unsubsidized loan only. Um, it also has clarifying language. You know, the response must be no, for the student to be considered for any sort of federal Pell Grant, um, and subsidized loan funding. So if a parent refuses, there’s not unusual circumstances.

These are very challenging. I will say far and few between that, that we see this as an actual answer, that they say yes, and then they’re getting just that unsubsidized loan. Um, most students, um, either. Parents are providing information or, um, there’s some sort of independent, uh, situation, uh, going on.

Again, we’re working with a student who was determined to be dependent. Uh, and so next they go through a parent wizard, [00:31:00] right? So whose parent information is required, uh, to be on the fafsa? Starting with, are your parents married to each other? So if parents are biological or adoptive parents, right? Both of those parent information is to be on the fafsa.

Um, if parents are, are married, um, and are not married, but they live together, right? So you might have these two biological parents, um, that had just have never gotten married. Um. Their, both, their information is to be on that FAFSA form. Uh, it also includes same sex couples, um, if separated, but they are living together.

They should select married, right? Because both their information should be on the FAFSA form, um, in the case of divorce separated, and they are living separately. And I have seen everything from people who are separated, people who even divorced, who are still living [00:32:00] together in those situations. Um, they, they should be, um, providing both parents information on the form.

But in the case of divorce, separated, living separately, um, the requirement on the FAFSA form is to use the parent that provided more financial support in the last 12 months. And then if that parent is remarried. Then that stepparent information, uh, is to be included as well. So it’s always been the case that if the parent who kind of as the old term custodial parent, um, if that parent is remarried, that that, um, step parent’s information is on the FAFSA form.

Uh, they have over the past now two years, um, made that more clear by using that word stepparent. Um, they’ve also said, but the, but the, the financial support it used to be, right. Who, um, who did the student live with more? Right. But that has really been taken out of, of determining, uh, [00:33:00] who is, let’s call it the parent of record on the FAFSA form if financial support was equal.

What the federal government has determined is select the parent with the higher income and assets. Um, if no financial support was given to the student in the past 12 months, select the parent who provided the most support in the year when the student last received support. Uh, from a parent,

this is a question that comes up in presentations from parents. You know, what if, you know, the student lives with me, I’m providing, and this other parent has more money, but they’re really not providing anything. Um, it is really up to, in that situation, then the parent that the student is living in is the one that’s providing more financial support, no matter if this other parent has more, um, financial means, right?

And so it really is determined by, uh, the student and parent to, to look at who’s providing more [00:34:00] support. I’ve been asked, you know, um, will, you know, does, does the government somehow know? And, and they’re not able to do that. The only thing I will say is that in a situation where a, um, student is applying to a group of schools and maybe a school requires the CSS profile, um, and in that form, a lot more information is asked and information about all parents.

Uh, and so a, a student may just need to be prepared or parent, um, to, to answer questions of perhaps what may appear as conflicting information in that scenario.

So now the student, right, determining who is a parent now goes through the process of inviting parent contributors. So, um, they’re going to enter the, the parent’s personal information, uh, and send that parent an invitation to [00:35:00] be a contributor to their FAFSA form. Um, just noting here that the parent email address that the student uses does not have to match what the parent’s FSA ID email address is, but they’re going to need to know the date of birth, uh, and social security number.

So, you know, the student should have that information, uh, as they’re, they’re kind of going through this invitation process or, you know, hopefully maybe they can, they’re all sitting together. But again, we know that we have and work with students and families that have very, um, challenging, uh, you know, dynamics or, uh, reasons that they can’t always be sitting together.

So knowing that the student is gonna need, uh, those data points at least ahead of time, can be helpful. There’s a couple of questions here where it is completely optional. Um, and if the student does answer, um, it’s important that this is not shared with the colleges does not affect their eligibility [00:36:00] at all.

Um, it’s really for research purposes only. So by answering the question, um, there’s nothing that would happen to the student, but they can also opt to answer, prefer not to answer. So the first, uh, is a question on gender. Uh, the next is on race and ethnicity. Uh, again, you know, in the, uh, kind of post, um, crazy world that we’ve been living, not shared, uh, with colleges at all, and students can absolutely answer, prefer not to answer.

Now we’re getting to the citizenship status, um, and students who are, uh. US citizens or eligible non-citizens are able to receive federal, um, and state aid, those eligible non citizenship statuses. Um, probably most common that we [00:37:00] see are permanent residents. Right. Um, but there’s a whole host, um, of statuses and quite honestly, sometimes, um, I know at Simmons I’ve had a number of, um, you know, student situations where I’m having to really dig in to figure out is this student eligible?

Uh, I had a refugee, um, you know, at one point, um, that I was working with and, you know, great to be able to determine that she was eligible for, um, the federal and and state aid. Um, I will also note, you know, citizenship status. Um. Through the fafsa. If a student notes, I’m a US citizen, right? That’s actually being sent to the Social Security administration for verification.

If the student notes, I’m an eligible non-citizen, that is being sent to a separate, the Department of Homeland Security to kind of verify that answer. So sometimes there are situations where a student is an eligible non-citizen, but they’ve answered, I’m a citizen. And when it goes [00:38:00] over here, it’s gonna get a bump back.

You know, when, when the fastest processing, we’re not able to verify your citizenship status, right? And then that is when our institution, the institution is going to have to actually collect documentation from the student, um, of their citizenship status. And sometimes it means we’re changing, um, to correct, to be eligible non-citizen and perhaps adding in an A number.

Um, but what I, um, and I’ve had to clarify this with my staff as well, a social security card, um, does not verify citizenship. Right? Um, and I worked with a counselor, um, at a school last year who was trying to help a student, uh, with the FAFSA form. Now, of course, as we all know, we were in the midst of just such a mess with the form and the delays and problems, and this counselor, um, at, at a local high school is trying to help this student.

Um, and as I was talking with her, I [00:39:00] said, I’m kind of thinking that perhaps this student isn’t actually, uh, you know, an eligible non-citizen and. It, it turned out that actually she was not, and the student was just finding this out, uh, in that moment of trying to go through this process. So, um, those are again, really challenging, uh, situations.

But, um, but just that reminder that, you know, a, a social security card is, is not, um, verification of, um, being a citizen or an eligible non-citizen because students can get, um, and, and, you know, people can get, uh, a, uh, a social security number, right? And it’s for work purposes only. Uh, and so I just wanted to note that.

Next is gonna ask about parent education status. Pretty easy, uh, question there. And whether or not a parent was killed in the line of duty. There’s specific, uh, funding available, uh, there on the federal side. And then the student high school completion status, if the student [00:40:00] is answering that they’re, they’ve received, um, their high school diploma, like, like as, as they’re starting their college career, this can sometimes be confusing ’cause the student is filling this out and they haven’t yet received right.

Their high school diploma. But as long as they’re reading the questions, it’s at the start of the 25, 26 year. What is it that you, uh, have? So as long as the student answers high school diploma, it’s there, it will then be asked, um, to, uh, to note, uh, the high school. Um, so the student can enter in their city, uh, and state and then be able to select, uh, their high school, uh, from a list.

Two questions. Um. For most students coming out of high school, they’re, they’re, they’re not going to be answering these questions. They’re just gonna leave them as zero. Um, but amount of college grant scholarships, AmeriCorps, um, that was reported to the IRS, uh, even with my, I, I see this sometimes as, [00:41:00] as an error because students who are in college sometimes think that, oh, a merit scholarship or a, a need-based scholarship that I received in this, in this particular year, I’m supposed to report, um, on this form.

But it’s, it’s only if it’s a taxable scholarship. Uh, and the requirement to be taxable is that it has to exceed the amount of tuition fees, um, and if a student’s living on campus that, that housing. And so most often students are not receiving or, um, being taxed on any portion of scholarship. But typically students coming out of high school, uh, that’s gonna be a zero there.

Foreign income exclusion. I think for most students, that, uh, is usually zero. Perhaps a parent may, uh, have that. But again, all other information is pulling directly, uh, from the i, the tax return on the IRS itself. And then if a student is required to report assets, they’re going to get a question, um, the [00:42:00] set of questions about assets.

So it’s current balance of cash savings or checking accounts, um, and then any net, uh, value of any investments. Right? Uh, and then net value of any business, uh, or farm. You know, oftentimes we don’t see those, um, uh, for a student and maybe you see that on a parent side, but that, um, you know, those questions are asked there.

And then the student is going to be entering and they can select up to 20 schools, which I often say, and that is too many, but we know, we live in, in, in a, a world where, where students are really kind of, um, bumping up. They were bumping up to what it used to be, which was a lot less. And now, um, they can put up to the 20 schools, um, searching, you know, um, entering the state, city or the school name directly.

And then, um, populating, uh, that, uh, institution. I always say that, um, in order to kind of process that FAFSA form, a student only needs to [00:43:00] put one school on. Uh, so you may have a student who they know and they’re applying to a school or a couple of schools early, but they’re not fully set with their list.

They should go ahead and, um, complete the form with that 1, 2, 3 schools. They can always add, um, schools on. The only thing I would suggest is that they’re making sure that if they are adding additional schools, that they’re meeting whatever deadline that school, um, has, students can reorder schools. Um, if a state requires it to be higher on the list for, for us as institutions, I know, uh, what feels like many years ago now, there was some level of like, we could actually see the different colleges, um, that students were applying to.

We cannot anymore because there was some, um, uh, kind of let’s, let’s call it rumors, um, that, you know, that some schools were perhaps, you know, prioritizing by where they stood, um, in a list from a student. [00:44:00] But as institutions we cannot see, um, the colleges that, uh, that a student is applying to. We can just see, um, uh, that we’ve received their information directly.

And then this is kind of just the review page, which has always existed. Um, the student can expand if they would like to. Um, but again, the financial information, it’s, it’s just going to say that it was transferred, but it’s not going to display any information here. Um, it actually gets, um, attached separately.

We have a, we’ve had to actually create separate mailboxes in order to, um, uh, pull this information in and we have to sign off basically providing our own consent, um, you know, so that there’s really strict, uh, data privacy, um, that, that is attached to, uh, pulling that IRS information. And then the student can actually see the contributor information here.

So who has been invited and [00:45:00] then what the status is? Right, so in this scenario, the student just completed, um, their portion there of the FAFSA form and an invitation has been sent, um, to the contributor. The student then has to sign, um, and they’re kind of, um, agreeing to the terms and conditions and that they have provided, um, uh, the information, you know, a as true and accurate, uh, as possible.

Uh, this does not mean that the FAFSA is processed or complete, right? It’s just the student completing their section. So it will not be fully submitted until all contributors, um, have, uh, signed.

So when the student, um, you know, the student’s all done, they can, um, they can log into their student aid doc of account and they can kind of see, um, where things sit, right? Actions still needed. Contributors still need to, um, contribute to, [00:46:00] uh, the fafsa. So the student is now done with their section. And what has happened is because as we went through, as the student.

Starting the process, which kind of is the preferred way through through the government. Um, the parent contributors now get an email invitation, right, to contribute to, um, the student’s fafsa. So when the parent gets that, um, email, they can just log in, right? And, um, and, and begin completing and contributing right to that student’s FAFSA form.

So the parent’s going to enter their F-S-A-I-D again, ideally they’ve already gotten their F-S-A-I-D, um, but if not, they can still, um, you know, go ahead and create an account. Um, they’ll have to then wait to complete the fafsa. After logging in, they’re going to go to this, um. Kind of [00:47:00] activity page, right?

Uh, and, uh, and on that it’s gonna say, you know, this your child, but here, Jenny, uh, wants you to help, um, contribute to the FAFSA form. So, uh, the parent can then accept the invitation. Um, there is an option to decline the invitation. Hopefully that, uh, is not something that happens, but, um, that they can go ahead and accept the invitation and begin filling out, um, and contributing, um, their section of information similar to the student.

So, things that I’ve already kind of covered, I’ll try to move a little more quickly. But again, just reviewing the information that has come through from the F-S-A-I-D. They’re going to have to provide consent, um, as well. It’s the same information that the student has provided their own consent on. And again, the reminder, if a parent does not provide consent, and that could be a stepparent.

So let’s say a parent who’s determined to be the parent is remarried, and that stepparent, let’s say, [00:48:00] you know, um, does not, uh, file jointly or did not file jointly on 23. Like with that parent, they’re going to have to provide, have their own F-S-A-I-D and provide consent themselves along with, uh, that parent.

Again, it will note that data is being kind of pulled in from the IRS. Uh, it will ask about parent, uh, marital status. It will ask about, um. Any federal benefits that have been received, um, in either 2023 or 24. This is specific to the the 25 26 fafsa. Uh, and so those dates will change, but it’s like the current year or the year that we’re pulling data from the FAFSA for, right?

And so these are earned income credit, uh, housing assistance, um, you know, free or reduced lunch. Uh, and this really then hits [00:49:00] on whether or not, uh, asset information, uh, is required. It asks about tax filing status and whether or not, um, they, they file with, uh, jointly right, with their current spouse. So this is going to determine whether or not.

The, um, parent might need to be able to actually provide hand enter information, let’s say if they don’t, uh, file jointly or it’s looking for another contributor, right. Um, in the case where, um, let’s say the student has invited two contributors and, and one is going into complete it and they’re saying, I file jointly with my spouse, it’s not going to then look for that other parent to also provide consent and also, um, you know, complete their own section because they’ve pulled in all that information.

Family size is pulled in from the FAFSA form [00:50:00] itself. Uh, so it, it is automatically based on, uh, the data from the tax return with exemptions, um, uh, that, that are on that. And it’s for, for a student who’s a senior, it’s that 2023 form. Um. Parents will be asked whether or not, um, that needs to be updated. So there is the opportunity to update.

Um, to give an example, what I typically, um, have seen is that perhaps, um, sometimes in a divorce, um, agreement, right, the claiming of a child bounces from year to year between families, um, and per perhaps, but perhaps really that child, um, you know, is, is, is really living with that family. They can, um, go in and update that family size.

I. Might a, a student get selected and we, and we have to, um, uh, on our side collect documentation, you know, [00:51:00] uh, uh, of family size that might happen, but the family has the opportunity to, um, correct. Right. If it is incorrect, what is on the FAFSA form or, um, if there were dependents, um, who are going to be living with the parent and receiving more than half of their financial support from the parents, um, within the household.

So let’s say a, um, a grandparent right, has now moved into the household and is receiving support from the family. That’s another situation where the family might be updating that family size. The kind of thing that’s contentious right, is the whole number in college. So the FAFSA is still asking how many students will be in college.

So you’re not ever including parent in this question. Um, but even though they’re asking that question, it’s not used in the field. Calculation to determine, um, federal aid. So it used to be that kind of at the [00:52:00] bottom line, uh, that the determining that what used to be called the Expected Family Contribution, that, you know, based on the number in college, like it might be, you know, divided in half and thirds, um, that no longer exists.

Um, what I will say though is I, I like to provide this information and I have really zoned in and looked at our students, um, who had number in college when I was dealing with our returning students. And for a large majority of students, um, it, it didn’t matter because there’s more generous, um, allowances within the formula.

It was really on the higher income end where I was seeing, you know, the, what was an EFC last year to an SAI that really was kind of doubling. Right? And then for, for myself, I was doing kind of some additional work to help those students. Um, but. That’s just the thing. Colleges can choose to use this information in awarding institutional college funds.

Uh, and so, um, [00:53:00] that’s something that, you know, as I always say to students and families, you know, ask if you feel like, um, you know, that is a factor and, and in, um, uh, you know, what maybe has been received or not, you know, provided to the student, they can always ask, Hey, we have an another child or two, uh, children already in college and we’re paying X, are you able to provide anything additional?

’cause the worst that the college can say is no, but the best they could say is yes. You know, we’re able to, um, provide something additional. So if, if a, if a parent is actually having to provide tax information, right? So there’s very small scenarios where they may be providing that information. They’ll see a screen like this, but they are.

Similar to the student, they’re reporting earned income, credit grants or scholarships, um, or AmeriCorps that’s reported as income. I never, I basically never see, you know, an [00:54:00] answer there for parents. But, um, maybe once, uh, in a, in a blue moon and then foreign income, uh, exclusion, they’re, um, asked to report that.

And that’s something that, um, is not all that common.

And then if parent asset information is required, um, child support is now being considered an asset, which actually is a benefit to the, um, uh, to the student because, uh, it used to be reported as income, and this is an income driven formula. So it’s actually helpful that it, that it gets assessed. Um, and it’s asked for, um, under the, the assets.

Just like the student current balance of cash savings, checking accounts, net value of investments real estate other than the family’s primary home residence, right? Any sort of mutual funds, stocks, bonds, um, something that’s different. The 5 [00:55:00] 29, uh, account only for the student that they are, um, completing, you know, and contributing to that, uh, form.

It used to be that you’re, uh, if a family had a, had 5 29, let’s say they had four children, right, and they’re completing this with one child, they would be providing the value of all four of those 5 29 accounts. They’re only providing the value right now for, for the student that they’re completing the FAFSA form.

Primary home life insurance retirement is completely excluded. Um, and then net value of any business farm. Um, in the past, this, this wasn’t actually in the way past, it was included in the more recent past. It has been excluded, um, and now it has come back, um, to be included as, as parent assets. Um, and if parent income is less than 60,000, no, uh, asset questions are actually going to be asked.

So that would be bypassed.

Um, [00:56:00] parent is, is kind of providing that information if of a, a second parent, um, that would be included on the form. Uh, and then similar to the students, um, there’s just kind of this review, um, before you sign the form. So, uh, the, the parent can kind of expand each of those pages. Again, that IRS information is not going to show.

It will just show that has been, um, that has been uploaded. Then the parent, um, you know, agrees right to the terms again, just like the student has, um, and can submit the parent section. Um, once again, it’s not fully complete until all sections. So in this scenario, if the parent right is, is um, you know, married and files jointly them submitting this and the student has already kind of signed their section, it’s going to be processed.

But if, let’s say in this scenario [00:57:00] there’s a parent who’s divorced and they’re remarried and they’re filing separately, it’s gonna be waiting for now this other parent, right? The, um, to be completing their section as a contributor. And so in that scenario, it’s three contributors, or let’s say parents who are, you know, married and, and they just happen to file separately, right?

Um, it’s, it. Student and, and parent one has have submitted and signed, uh, and given consent, but it’s still waiting for this other one. So it has to be all contributors who the FAFSA’s looking for need to, uh, have providing consent, um, and then signed for it to be fully, uh, processed. And the student eligible,

as I was noting, if the parent completed. Uh, the last section, uh, the FAFSA is sent on, it’s submitted for processing. Thankfully, um, in this current year, uh, families are, are hearing in what I would call like the normal timeline. So it usually takes, uh, one to three [00:58:00] days to be fully processed, uh, and then sent on to the state, uh, to the institutions listed on the fafsa.

So we’re not having that significant delay that we had, uh, previously. Uh, and the student is going to receive an email, like you can see here with, um, you know, detailed confirmation, uh, that it’s been, uh, submitted. Now if the parent starts wants to or just decides they’re going to start the FAFSA first, sometimes as a parent, right, we have to take action first.

Um, and so that is fine. Um, the parent, um, would go in, click, uh, new form on the FAFSA homepage. Uh, they would then log in with their F-S-A-I-D, um, and then when they get to this page, they’re noting that they’re the parent and that’s how they’re going to start. Uh, and then they’re going to have to provide information about the student.

Um, and since the student hasn’t actually started, [00:59:00] uh, a FAFSA yet, uh, the student can then log in, um, and be able to, you know, go through, provide their information, consent sign, et cetera.

What is called a FAFSA submission summary is kind of the output that the student gets. Once the FAFSA has been, you know, signed, fully processed, uh, you know, has been sent onto schools. This is just a listing of data, right? Here’s the student when it was received and when it was processed. Uh, and then this data release number.

That’s really something that on our side sometimes, uh, we need that if we weren’t able to get, uh, a FAFSA form. But then, um, there’s about four tabs that, um, are included in this, uh, fafsa, uh, summary. So there’s an eligibility and overview. Um, this lists. The federal aid that it looks like the student is going to be eligible for.

These are [01:00:00] only estimates. Um, and this isn’t necessarily the only, uh, amount that a student is going to receive. Um, and I think that’s something that’s really important to know. Particularly a student who may be doing this on their own, maybe they don’t really have the support right in their home, um, of a parent, um, who’s available or who went through this process before.

And particularly I think when a student is, you know, applying to, let’s say a private institution, right, where that cost of attendance is really high and they see something like this that only shows that federal aid that can be, um, potentially anxiety inducing. So, um, these are estimates and it’s not giving the full picture, but it is helpful that it’s something, right?

They’re getting some level of information. It is also providing their student aid index, um, that is. The new term. It used to be called Expected Family Contribution. I really feel like this is a better, um, term. It really describes what it is. Um, it’s an index to help [01:01:00] determine what a student’s financial aid eligibility is and what they’re, uh, then, uh, eligible to receive.

Uh, the student can see, um, the answers from all the contributors, again, won’t see IRS data. It’s gonna see school information. Uh, and now it provides a whole lot more. It doesn’t just say, oh, these are the schools you provided information to. It’s giving some data points, graduation rate, retention, transfer default, and, and debt, and then average annual cost.

Um, so this can be helpful, right? To get a better sense of, oh, okay. So there’s that federal aid, but, but the overall cost that someone, um, you know, provi, uh, paid at this school is listed here. What I will say is that’s average, right? And so particularly when we look at our low income students, if they’re seeing that data point, um, it, it may be that that school is actually able to provide a whole lot more, but when you’re looking at the average of [01:02:00] all students, right?

It, it’s a lot higher. So even though that’s helpful when you can look a little deeper into say, um, a net price calculator, um, or going to the college scorecard, which you can do right up here itself in detail into income bands, that gets a little closer to, okay, someone who looks like me financially and what they received, um, or paid, uh, and then it’s gonna provide next steps for, for the student, right?

So is there anything that’s going to be, um, uh, required, right? Like verification, which I believe is the next slide. Um. Yeah. Uh, so the colleges and state are receiving this data, um, along with the student. And then colleges may request additional documentation if a student was selected for verification.

So the student is gonna find that out on the FAFSA submission submission summary. It’s a tongue twister if they were selected for verification, but then it’s the institutions, not the government that is collecting [01:03:00] information. Uh, and so every school can be a little bit different in how they do that.

They may do that right up front before, um, providing any sort of financial aid estimate. They may provide a financial aid estimate and then, um, do verification afterwards. Um, but the student will need to, um, find out directly from each institution what, uh, is required. And then, you know, the colleges are sending out those financial aid offers, you know, typically March through April.

We know that some institutions, um, can provide information earlier, uh, depending on what forms they collect. Um, and you know, I know at, at my institution, even, even though we only collect the fafsa, we would always try to get information to students. Um, you know, like ear early, uh, applicants who are finding out, they’re admitted in December.

We would try to align and, and provide information in December. We’re, we haven’t been able to do that now for a second year, but trying to get information out in January. So, uh, that reminder, as I said, you know, it depends, every institution, uh, is different. [01:04:00] I truly believe having, um, friends in various parts of the country that we have, um, some great resources here, uh, in the state of Massachusetts.

Not only, uh, MEFA, which provides, uh, this, this great information, information and resources, uh, for your community, but also for our students and families. But we have FAFSA Day, Massachusetts, that has been continuing to find ways to provide support, um, with helping complete the fafsa. I know having helped families, sometimes actually just having someone who does this day-to-day standing behind them, you know, as they were completing a form or be, or, or, or being able to jump into a Zoom room and just ask a question, a clarifying question is, um, you know, is a huge, uh, help.

Uh, we also have mass edco, um, that provides free financial aid, uh, help here, uh, in the state. So we are just about at the end here. Uh. There’s other resources and [01:05:00] webinars, um, that you can register for, uh, at MEFA.org. Um, ensuring that students and, and parents are getting that F-S-A-I-D, um, and having that so that they’re able to just get that FAFSA completed.

Um, very important is, um, researching, uh, deadlines and required applications. I sometimes feel like there’s just so much that goes out about the fafsa, the fafsa, the fafsa, that it can get lost, that there are, um, other requirements at schools, not every school too, and where it is so different that make sure the students are understanding.

Look at each school that you’re applying to, what is required and what is the deadline. Um, and then having them, um, you know, complete the, the FAFSA as soon as possible, right? And, and we know that, that we have a spectrum of students, right? And that there are students who are gonna do this a little bit later in the process.

And for them that, you know, is fine. But as soon as they are, are able to, and depending [01:06:00] on, um, where they’re looking to go to school. And again, that, that reminder that if a student is looking to, um, you know, go to community college and access that free community college, they still need to complete a fafsa, uh, in order to do that.

This is how you can connect with MEFA. Yeah. I’ll let you go ahead. Thank you. Yeah. So much for, um, you, you fit a lot of content into a, a really short period of time. So I, I do have one question. Um, that’s just, just hanging out here at the end. Yeah. So I thought I’d just ask you and then we can, we can just move into, um, the rest of our days probably.

Can you please clarify the independent status of a student who has lost both parents, um, but prior, say, prior to re to turning 13, maybe living with other family members. So, um, if they’re an orphan, which that student would be than they would be independent. What matters though is whether or not [01:07:00] someone, I think then.

Let’s say someone fully adopted a child after having lost parents, then that person would be, you know, ’cause it’s, it’s adoptive or biological, right? But if a student prior, you know, after 13 has, if they’ve lost both parents and so they’re an orphan, that is a category that they are independent. Thank you.

And one more, ’cause I think people, I’ve heard this question too. How early can a student or parent create an F-S-A-I-D? Can they do it as a junior? They can do it as a junior. Yeah. Um, the only thing that I would just suggest is just that they then put that somewhere, they write it down, they remember what it is because, um.

You can retrieve it, right? Like, and you can get a new one. But I also know that it can, sometimes that can pose a challenge for people. I worked with someone last year who had a very significant, um, difference in age between two children, very significant, and they really [01:08:00] had a hard time trying to get and remember their F-S-A-I-D and it was probably through an old process, but combined with the madness of last year and trying to get through that was challenging, um, to, to try and get it so just they can get it early, that’s totally fine.

Just have it put somewhere in a password manager or whatever. That’s great. So sorry to interrupt you. No. Yeah. But a any last, any last words of wisdom for the crowd or I would just say, you know what, um, you’ve got this, uh, and, um, always lead with hope is always my kind of, uh, message because Right. It can be, uh, for ourselves and grace, um, but.

Great resource here in MEFA. So if you have questions, make sure you reach out. It’s the same thing that we say to students always right. Reach out, ask us questions. Um, there’s no, sometimes even my own staff, oh, I have a, a stupid question. There’s no stupid questions. If something’s confusing, ask and we’ve got great resources, you know, to institutions or [01:09:00] MEFA.

Um, we’re here for you. Thank you, Amy, and thank you everyone for joining and, um, I hope everyone has a, has a great day. Thanks.