How To Apply, Step-By-Step

You must complete and submit a Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to apply for federal student aid and for most state and institutional aid. The quickest way to apply is online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Follow these steps to apply for 2013-2014 Financial Aid. Contact us afterwards if you have any questions.

1. Obtain Federal PIN (Personal Identification Number).

• This will act as electronic signatures on the FAFSA. The student obtains a PIN at pin.ed.gov.
• If you are a dependent student, your parents must also obtain a PIN.

2. Complete the FAFSA.

• As soon as possible after January 1, 2013, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. 
• We encourage students and parents to file federal tax returns earlier than they may have in the past. For more about this see below and item #5. 
• Consider using IRS Data Retrieval when completing your FAFSA. Beginning in February some students can use the FAFSA’s IRS Data Retrieval option to link to the IRS and transfer tax return data to their FAFSA. While this can be an easy way to provide accurate tax information on the FAFSA it is not available to everyone, and students and parents who use it may still be required to submit tax return transcripts to the Alice Lloyd College Financial Aid Office. To use this option it must be at least 2 weeks since you filed your 2012 federal tax return electronically, or at least 6-8 weeks if you filed a paper return. IRS Data Retrieval is not available if a person is married but filed separately or married but filed as head of household, or if an amended tax return was filed, or to those who file Puerto Rican or foreign tax returns. 
• For help prior to filing online, see 2013-2014 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet. 
• Alice Lloyd College’s school code is 001951. 
• “The Five Minute FAFSA”

3. Receive a Student Aid Report (SAR).

• The SAR will arrive either by email or by U.S. mail. The SAR summarizes the information you provided on the FAFSA, and indicates the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).The EFC is the amount of money your family will be expected to contribute to your education. Note that financial aid offices sometimes change the EFC based on additional information. The EFC is subtracted from the Alice Lloyd College Cost of Attendance (COA) to arrive at your financial need. 
• If you have not received the SAR within a few weeks from the date of filing or if you would like to check the status of your FAFSA, you may use any of the following options: go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and select ‘Check Status of submitted FAFSA’, call 1-800-433-3243 toll-free for an automated response or 319-337-5665 to speak with a person (toll), or for the hearing imparied, call the TTY line at 1-800-730-8913.

4. Review the SAR.

• If any corrections are necessary, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and select ‘Make Corrections to a processed FAFSA’.

5. Schools receive the student’s data.

• Once we receive your FAFSA, we will contact you, if we need any other forms. DO NOT submit tax documents unless we specifically request them. 
• If we request tax documents be aware that we will need tax return transcripts from the IRS instead of tax returns (IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ). For details on how to obtain these see “Order a Tax Return or Account Transcript” at www.irs.gov. Be aware that tax return transcripts may be needed even if you use the FAFSA’s IRS Data Retrieval option. Other documents such as W-2 forms or Verification Documents may be requested as well.

6. Aid is awarded.

• Beginning in May the Financial Aid office will send out award packages.

7. Respond to the award.

• Accept or decline offered aid by signing award letter.

8. Aid is disbursed.

• After enrollment is verified in August, the Financial Aid Office will begin disbursing funds to student’s accounts. Please note that all paperwork requested must be returned to the FAO.

Note:

Financial Aid is given on an annual basis. A student must reapply each year.

Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress