STEP 1: GATHER NECESSARY FAFSA DOCUMENTS

• Tip: Review our FAFSA Documents Checklist for help

STEP 2: CREATE YOUR STUDENTAID.GOV ACCOUNT (FSA ID)

• Tip: Watch our Creating Your StudentAid.gov Account tutorial for help
• Tip: If you already have a StudentAid.gov Account but can’t access it, watch our Troubleshooting Your StudentAid.gov Account tutorial for help

STEP 3: ACCEPT YOUR STUDENT’S INVITATION AND COMPLETE YOUR SECTION OF THE FAFSA

• Tip: Watch our FAFSA Line-by-Line tutorial for help
• Tip: Make an appointment with our Success Center Staff for help
• Tip: Join our weekly, virtual FAFSA Wednesdays for help

Dependency Status
Dependency status refers to whether a student is considered a dependent, independent, or provisionally independent when they fill out the FAFSA. An independent or provisionally independent student reports only their own information (and their spouse’s information if they’re married). A dependent student reports their own and their parents’ information.

Dependent Student
A student is considered dependent on the FAFSA if they do not meet any of the criteria for an independent student (please refer to ACPE’s FAFSA Dependency Status guide). If a student is considered dependent, they report their information and their parents’ information on the FAFSA. In most cases, a parent is identified as a required contributor on the student’s FAFSA.

FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, is a form prospective and current college/career training students complete to be eligible for federal student aid, such as federal grants, work-study funds, and loans. In addition, states and institutions use FAFSA information to determine student’s eligibility for state and institutional aid (grants and scholarships). Some private aid providers may use FAFSA information to determine if a student qualifies for their aid as well.

FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS)
The FAFSA Submission Summary is an electronic or paper document that summarizes the information a student reported on the FAFSA. It may also include student’s estimated eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant and federal student loans, Student Aid Index (SAI), and whether a student has been selected for verification. Once the FAFSA is submitted and processed, a student receives an email with instructions on how they can access an online copy of their FAFSA Submission Summary. NOTE: FSS is not a financial aid offer. A financial aid offer comes directly from any school a student listed on their FAFSA after they are admitted.

Family Size
The FAFSA has requirements for how a student’s family size is determined. If a student is dependent, their family size includes the student and may include student’s parent, parent’s spouse, and parent’s children and other dependents. If a student is independent, their family size includes the student and may include their spouse (if they’re married), student’s dependent children, and other dependents.

Financial Aid Offer
A financial aid offer (sometimes called an award letter) tells a student what aid they can receive at a particular college or career school. It includes the types and amounts of federal, state, private, and institutional aid offered, including grants, scholarships, Federal Work-Study funds, and loans. A financial aid offer comes from the school(s) a student listed on their FAFSA after they’ve been accepted for admission. Schools usually send aid offers via email.

Grant
A grant is a form of financial aid that provides funds to help pay for college or career school. Grants are usually awarded to students based on their financial need. Unlike student loans, grants generally don’t need to be repaid. Grants can be offered by the federal government, state government, institutions, or private or nonprofit organizations.

Independent Student
A student is considered independent on the FAFSA if they meet at least one of the criteria for an independent student (please refer to ACPE’s FAFSA Dependency Status guide). If a student is considered independent, they report their information and their spouse’s information (if married) on the FAFSA.

Interest Rate
Interest refers to the additional money a student must pay to borrow loan funds. The interest rate is set as a percentage of the unpaid principal amount a student borrowed. Interest rates vary depending on the loan type and the date the loan was paid out. An interest rate may be fixed, meaning the rate will not change for the life of the loan, or variable, meaning the rate can fluctuate – up or down – over the course of the repayment period.

Loan
Student or education loan is a type of financial aid designed to help students pay for their college or career school-related expenses, such as tuition, fees, books, school supplies, food, and housing. Student loans must eventually be repaid with interest over a set period of time. Student loans may come from the federal government, state government, or from private, for-profit lenders, such as banks, credit unions, or other non-government organizations. Please refer to ACPE’s Education Loans At-A-Glance guide for a comparison of different loans.

Net Price
Net price (sometimes called net cost) is an estimate of the out-of-pocket costs a student needs to pay each year to attend a particular college or career school. To find the net price for a school, a student should subtract the grant and scholarship amounts on their financial aid offer from their cost of attendance.

Parent
For the FAFSA purposes, a legal parent includes a biological parent, an adoptive parent, or a person that the state has determined to be student’s parent (for example, when a state allows another person’s name to be listed as a parent on a birth certificate). Grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older brothers or sisters, widowed stepparents, and aunts and uncles aren’t considered parents unless they’ve legally adopted a student.

Pell Grant
A Federal Pell Grant provides grant funds to undergraduate students from low-income households. Unlike student loans, Pell Grants usually don’t need to be repaid. To determine Pell Grant eligibility, a student must complete the FAFSA every year they are in school. Eligible students may receive Pell Grant funding for the equivalent of 12 semesters, or roughly six years.

Provisionally Independent Student
In some situations, a student may be granted a status of “provisionally independent” on the FAFSA. Students who indicate they have unusual family circumstances on their FAFSA are considered provisionally independent and can submit the FAFSA without parental information. The same scenario applies to students who indicate they are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Please refer to ACPE’s Student Unusual Circumstances on the FAFSA and Student Homelessness on the FAFSA guides for support in the FAFSA process.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Satisfactory academic progress is a process schools use to determine if a student is meeting their requirements while working toward a degree or certificate. Every school has its own satisfactory academic progress policy, which students must follow to stay eligible to receive federal student aid. Students should check their school’s website or contact their school’s financial aid office to learn about its satisfactory academic progress policy.

Scholarship
A scholarship is a monetary gift that can help a student pay for college or career school. Unlike student loans, a scholarship does not need to be paid back. Scholarships can be merit-based, specific to particular groups of people, or based on financial need. They can be offered by schools, individuals, employers, private companies, nonprofits, professional and social organizations, and community and religious groups. Completing the FAFSA may be one of the requirements in the scholarship application process.

Special Financial Circumstances
Special financial circumstances refer to situations in which a student and/or their family have experienced significant changes to their finances between now and the time a student and/or their parents filed taxes two years prior. Examples of special financial circumstances may include a pay cut or loss of employment, tuition expenses at an elementary or secondary school, or high amounts of medical or dental expenses not covered by insurance. Please refer to ACPE’s Student Special Financial Circumstances on the FAFSA guide for help navigating the FAFSA process in this situation.

StudentAid.gov Account
A StudentAid.gov account (formerly FSA ID) allows a student to access resources and forms on StudentAid.gov site. When a student applies for financial aid, they create an account to use throughout the federal student aid process. This process includes:

• completing and submitting the FAFSA
• checking the status of the FAFSA
• reviewing Federal Pell Grant and student loan amounts and limits
• accessing account records
• tracking student loan payments
• accessing repayment tools and forms
• signing forms electronically

Each FAFSA contributor is required to have their own StudentAid.gov account to complete and sign their sections of the FAFSA.

Student Aid Index (SAI)
Student Aid Index is a number calculated using the information provided on the student’s FAFSA. It’s not the amount of money a student or their family will have to pay for school. A school determines a student’s financial need by subtracting their SAI from their cost of attendance. In most cases, a student can find their SAI on the FAFSA Submission Summary after their FAFSA has been processed. The SAI ranges from -1500 to 999999. The lower number indicates higher financial need and higher likelihood a student qualifies for the maximum Federal Pell Grant award.

Unusual Circumstances
Unusual family circumstances refer to situations that may prevent a dependent student from obtaining parental information on their FAFSA. Examples of unusual circumstances include leaving home due to an abusive or threatening environment, being estranged from or abandoned by parents, not being able to locate or contact parents, or if contacting parents would pose a risk to a student. Please refer to ACPE’s Student Unusual Circumstances on the FAFSA guide for support in the FAFSA process.

Verification
Verification is a federal financial aid process that ensures the information submitted on the FAFSA is correct. Being selected for verification does not mean a student made a mistake, it is a routine part of the financial aid process. The verification process involves submitting documents such as tax transcripts and W-2 forms so a school’s financial aid office can see if the information on these documents matches the FAFSA’s. Providing requested documentation by a school’s deadline ensures a student receives federal student aid they’ve been awarded.

Work Study
Federal Work-Study Program provides part-time jobs to students with financial need. Students can gain valuable work experience while earning money to help pay for college or career school-related expenses. To find out if a school participates in the Federal Work-Study Program, students should check with their school’s financial aid office.

Year-Round Pell
If a student attends an additional school term in an award year, they may be able to receive up to 150% of their yearly Federal Pell Grant award amount. For example, if a student was awarded a $3,000 Pell Grant, they’d likely receive $1,500 in both their fall and spring semesters. However, they may qualify for another Pell Grant of up to $1,500 if they enroll at least half time during the summer semester.