US Department of Education



PSC-ED-FSA-TISD

Moderator: Christal Simms

December 15, 2016

3:37 pm CT

Coordinator: Welcome and thank you for standing by. At this time all participants will be on a listen-only mode throughout the duration of today’s conference. And today’s call is being recorded. If you have any objections you may disconnect at this time. And now I would like to turn the call over to (Joann Himiss). You may now begin.

(Joann Himiss): Thank you. Good afternoon everyone. Thank you very much for joining me for tonight’s Webinar. We will be talking about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA. We’re going to do a line by line demonstration. My name is (Joann Himiss) with Federal Student Aid. And we’re going to go ahead and start.

For this Webinar we do have people from Federal Student Aid assisting and answering your questions so if at any time you have questions during the Webinar please feel free to ask them in the Q&A section and we will try to get to them as soon as possible. So here’s an overview of what we will be discussing today. Why it’s important to go to college, what is financial aid, when do I apply, how do I apply? We’re going to do the line by line FAFSA on the demonstration Web site and we’re going to share some resources on where you can get more information about federal student aid.

So as we see here it’s important to go to college in order to get a better job with a better income. This information we got from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And you can find more information on our Web site or on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site.

So what is financial aid? At Federal Student Aid we have three types of different financial aid. We have grants which are free money. We have loans, which is borrowed money, and we have work study. Every year there is over $150 billion available from the government to help students pay for college in forms of grants, loans and work-study programs.

So for this year the FAFSA opened on October 1. So when do I apply for aid? If you are attending college for the 2017, 2018 school year you can have started applying as early as October 1. So if you are a current senior that will be graduating high school in May you can apply for the FAFSA now.

On our Web site on we do have this table available that will give you the dates when you can apply for college and it will also give you the tax information that you will need to use for each of the FAFSAs. So for the ‘17, ‘18 FAFSA we will be using the tax and income information from 2015. So now we will go ahead and share my screen and go directly to the demo site so if you can hang on just a second.

All right so here is what the real FAFSA Web site looks like. This - what I am using right now is a demonstration site. So it is not a real transmission to federal student aid but it does have normal errors that will pop up when you are doing a FAFSA. So the FAFSA Web site is , so F-A-F-S-A.G-O-V. That is the Web site where you go to apply for the FAFSA. You could also Google that or go directly from student .

So now I will go and start as if I am filling out a new FAFSA. So I go here. I am pretending that I am a senior in high school that is filling out a new FAFSA for the first time. I will be attending college in August 2017. So I click on Start a New FAFSA and since this is only a demonstration site I will not be using an FSA ID but when you are doing a live FAFSA you will need an FSA ID. So if you already have one you will have the opportunity to just enter your FSA ID here or you will also get an opportunity to create an FSA ID while you are applying for the FAFSA or filling out the FAFSA.

In this case we will go to enter student’s information. My name will be (Janie Jones). This information that I’m using is just fake made up information. I’m entering my Social Security number. It’s very important that we check and double check our Social Security number when we enter it because those are the - one of the things that we cannot change on the FAFSA. And since this is a high school senior she was born in 1998.

So if you see over here on the right-hand side health and hints it gives you information specifically on where your cursor is located. So if you’re located right - your cursor is located where the student’s date of birth is. So over here on the right-hand side it gives you information about that specific field in the FAFSA so let’s continue. So it gives us a welcome, welcome (Janie). It’s very important. Sometimes it’s basic, it sounds basic but it’s very important to read the instructions carefully.

Sometimes we feel that the application may be difficult but in actuality it’s - it is - it’s not difficult. We just need to read the instructions and we could probably file a FAFSA in about 30 minutes if we have all the information that we need. So over here it asks us to make sure that the information that we have entered is accurate before clicking Next. It also says if you believe that you have already submitted a FAFSA and that the information provided on this page is correct contact us for assistance. So it gives you the phone numbers of where you can contact federal student aid for assistance. So we checked that the information that we entered for name and Social Security is correct and we click Next. Remember that it is necessary for you to have a Social Security number so that - to in order to apply for the FAFSA.

Okay so because this is a high school senior and I am going to attend college on of August 2017 I will be applying for the ‘17, ‘18 FAFSA. So I click here. The Save key is the Save key allows you to save your FAFSA and return at a later time if you cannot complete the application in one sitting. The application will be saved for 45 days or until you submit it for processing.

So over here on the right-hand side it has Help and Hints on how to create a save key. My save key is going to be application - no not application. My save key is going to be college with a Capital C. But it doesn’t matter because I’m going to finish the FAFSA right now. I will not have to come backwards. But just so you know for when you are filing your own FAFSA.

All right on here on the introduction page it gives you basic information and instructions on how to navigate through the FAFSA application. If you do use the Back button on your browser you may lose some data so it’s important that instead of using the Back button on the browser that you actually use the Next or the Previous button that will be here on the actual FAFSA Web site. Also it will give you on the hyperlinks here it will give you additional information about the FAFSA on the Web. So it will give you information on how to get help for completing the FAFSA, how long does it take, what information you need and all that information you can find on here.

So let’s go ahead and click Next. And pay attention that over here on the left-hand side it says Student and it’s blue. And we are filling out information for the student. Right now on the top it still says Student Demographics so we are filling out the student demographic information. It will give us again the last name, the first name, middle initial if the student has one, the Social Security Number. If you notice here it’s grayed out because we cannot change the Social Security Number anymore.

So this student is a female. Right here it asked for the permanent mailing address and this means that the address for where you will be attending college. So this will be your permanent mailing address. In the case of this student who is a dependent student that is still in high school we’re putting her parents mailing address. So this is the address of where the parents live.

All right and it asks about have you lived in the District of Columbia for at least five years? Yes. Now it asks for the telephone number. And it’s important to not put any parentheses and dashes when you are entering the telephone number. So then it asks for an email address. So again I’m going to make up an email address. The email address is important because this is where you will receive the confirmation page and the student aid report or any status of what - how the FAFSA is going.

So this student is single. And she will not be providing her driver’s license information. This is optional. So over here it’ll tell you, it’ll explain to you if you want to provide the information for your driver’s license.

So this here on student eligibility it’ll ask about the citizenship status of the student. So in order to be eligible to file the FAFSA they either need to be a US citizen and or an eligible noncitizen. And on here on the right-hand side it will give you more specification of what each of the statuses is. So if you have any question on your status when you are filing your FAFSA you can go here to help and hints and it will open up links and give you more descriptions. In case your status is not US citizen you can ask about that there are.

So in the case of (Janie) she is a US citizen. And right here on Question 26 it asks what will your high school completion status be when you begin college in ‘17, ‘18? So that means right now (Janie) is still in college - or excuse me in high school but when she goes to college she will have completed her high school diploma. She will have obtained her high school diploma. So that’s what I check.

What will your college grade level be? So over here again on the right-hand side Help and Hints it gives you information on what your grade level in college will be from seven - from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. So in the case of (Janie) she has never attended college. This will be her first year and she will be working on her first bachelor’s degree. On this question, Question 31 are you interested in being considered for work-study?

We always recommend that they check yes. This does not commit them to work when they’re in school but it may provide for opportunities that the student may not have been aware that existed. So I always recommend to students that they answer yes to this question.

Will you have your first bachelor’s degree by ‘17, ‘18? In the case of (Janie) know she will not. This question right here, are you of foster youth or were you at any time in the foster care system? In the case of (Janie) know she was not but if you have questions about that for a student of yours or for your specific application you can look on here and it will give you more help with that question. It will also give you a link to your state child welfare agency.

It asks about the highest school complete - highest school grade completed by parent one. In the case of (Janie) we’re just going to put other for parent one and other for parent two because we don’t know what our parent’s education level is. So we’re going to go to next. On here we’re still in the student demographic and it asks about the name of a high school.

So in the case of (Janie) we’re going to put this high school that is in Washington DC. And it’s going to search for it. If you know where the city is located that’s important to answer that. In big cities where there may be different school districts it’s very important to find out with your counselor the school code if you can. If not you can probably try to search with the exact name of the high school because it’s important that you do not get the high school switched in case you’re in another school district. So we are going to select this high school. This is (Janie)’s high school.

Then we hit next. So it says the application has been saved successfully. And if you see over here on the top we are now in the second section of the FAFSA. When you’re filing the FAFSA this is going to go a lot faster but because I’m talking through this it’s taking a little longer. Based on the information that you provided we have determined that you may qualify for federal student aid. So then we continue filling out.

On this section is where we can select up to ten different colleges to add to the FAFSA. If we know the college or university code we can enter that. If you don’t then you can look for it by using the search key. So this student is going to go to a school in Florida and it is in Tampa but I don’t know the school name so we’re going to keep looking.

Here we scroll down and we look for the university and I am looking for this one, University of South Florida System in Tampa. Oh it didn’t add. So that’s one of the errors that can occur when you’re doing a live FAFSA. So we’re going to add it here. And then we’re also going to add a university in Texas.

Okay we can choose up to ten colleges and universities so it’s important to remember that. So we’re just going to add two. If you think that you are going to apply to another school you come back later to the FAFSA even after you’ve completed it to add more schools. You can add up to ten total and they will all receive your FAFSA information once you apply to those schools.

So on this section here it asks you about the housing plan for each school. So for each school we’re going to put on campus because our mom still lives in DC. Now it’s asking all about dependency determination. So the application is saved when you click Next. Remember not to use the Back button on the browser. So were you born before January 1, 1994? No (Janie) was not born before ‘94.

As of today are you married? No (Janie) is not married. At the beginning of ‘17, ‘18 will you be working on a Masters? No (Janie) is working on her first bachelors. Do you now have or will you have children who will receive more than half of their support from you between July 1 and June 30. In the case of (Janie) no she does not.

You have any dependents other than your children who live with you? (Janie) does not. (Janie) does not serve in active duty or US Armed Forces for training and she is not a veteran. She’s always lived with her parents - oh, no she has never been in foster care or been dependent or - of the court. But if you look over here it’s on Question 53 if you have any questions on that specific circumstance again it will tell you over here more information about that question and how to answer it. And it also gives you the note that the financial aid administrator at your college will help you in determining what documents you might need in case you are in foster care or considered a dependent or a ward of the court.

As determined by a court in your state of legal residence are you or were you an emancipated minor? In the case of (Janie), no. And if you have a question about what emancipated minor means you can go here on the right-hand side and look at the Help and Hints. Does someone other than your parent or stepparent have legal guardianship? In the case of (Janie) no.

On or after July 1 were you homeless or were you self-supporting and at risk of being homeless? No (Janie) has not. So then after we answer all of these questions we click Next and it asks based on your answers to the dependency status question you are considered a dependent student. So this means that we must provide parental information. Select I Will, select Provide Parental Information.

There may be the case where there is a special circumstance and you are unable to provide information. So let me show you what it would do in case you cannot provide unable - parental information.

So we click unable only to show you the special circumstances that may waive you from - that may allow you to not provide parental information. So it says here it explain special circumstances. Important, you told us that you think you have a special circumstance and are unable to provide parental information. Before we allow you to proceed and skip this section we must advise you of the following.

So it asks some of the special circumstances or some of the examples of some special circumstances are that your parents are incarcerated or you have left home due to an abusive family environment or you do not know where your parents are and are unable to contact them. So these would be some examples of when you may submit your FAFSA without providing parental information. But not all situations would be considered a special circumstance. For example the following would not be considered special circumstances. Your parents do not want to provide your information - their information on the FAFSA, they refused to contribute to help you pay for college, they do not claim you as dependent on their taxes or you do not live with your parents.

So let’s say that your mom just doesn’t want to let you borrow the FAFSA or the tax return, sorry. Then you click on I do not have a special circumstance but I am unable to provide the parental information. So you click Next and it says you can continue filing the FAFSA but students that do not have a special circumstance and are unable to provide parental information normally do not qualify for federal student aid. But if their parent refuses to provide their information then they may qualify for unsubsidized loans only. So it’s important for the parents and the students to understand that.

In the case of (Janie) yes we are providing parental information. So I was just showing you what some special circumstances could be. So now it takes us as you see over here on the top it went over to the fourth section of the FAFSA parent demographics and it also changed color. And on the left over here it says Parents. Now it’s asking about information for the parent.

In the case of (Janie) it asks as of today was the marital status of your legal parent? So (Janie)’s mom is divorced and she got a divorce in February of 1999. We will be providing the information of (Janie)’s mother. We will be providing the information of (Janie)’s mother. We will be entering the Social Security number again for the mother. Remember this is the parent section.

Now in case the parent of the student does not have a Social Security number then they can enter all zeros. And it says that over here on the right-hand side. You can enter all zeros. And also that parent will not have an FSA ID so then at the end to sign they print out the last page and mail it in instead of using the FSA ID.

So the case of (Janie)’s mother that’s her social. And (Janie)’s mother does not have an email address. It only asks if they do have an email address. Then it asks has your mother lived in their home state for at least five years? Yes she has. Then it asks on Question 73 what the number of family members is.

In the case of (Janie) it is three because (Janie) has a sister and her mom so it’s a total of three. But if you have any questions on that I again over here on the right-hand side Help and Hints will help you determine how many are in the household site and also over here that you can use a worksheet that will help you count.

But this is how many are in the households for (Janie). And then how many people in the household will be attending college. So in this case it’s going to be two because (Janie) and her mom will both be attending college during the school year July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018. Oh it says do not include your parents. I hadn’t read that correctly so it’s only one.

All right then we go next and it asks it - we’re now in the financial information. So, on the fifth and almost last section of the FAFSA it asks for the parent tax information. And it’s Question 80 and it asks for 2015 had your mother completed her IRS income tax return or another tax return? So in the case of (Janie) yes she already completed her tax return and she did a head of household. So on here it will pop up this after Question 82 it will pop up this box that will allow you to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool is an electronic tool that will connect the FAFSA to the information from the Internal Revenue Service. And after you enter the FSA ID and other identifying information it will transfer over the tax return information to the FAFSA. So it will bring it from the tax return to the FAFSA. This will make the FAFSA go a lot faster because you will not have to manually enter all of those numbers. And it will also make it more precise because there’s less chance of a mistake.

So to determine if you - if the mother qualifies to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool answer the following questions. Did the mother file a 1040 amended return? No she did not. Did the mother file a Puerto Rican or foreign tax return? No she did not. So then if gives you the option of linking to the IRS. So you would click link to the IRS if it were the real FAFSA and it will take it would take you to the IRS.

In the case of this application because it’s only a demonstration we’re only going to click Next. So again when you are doing the real FAFSA that will give you another opportunity to use the IRS data retrieval tool. If you do not want to use the IRS data retrieval tool you will have to choose no thanks. So in this case because it’s only a demonstration that’s what we’re going to do, no thanks.

Okay so what type of income tax return did your mother file in 2015? So this is Question 81. So if you have - if you don’t know what the answer would be it will explain over here on the right-hand side. And it will give you links in case you have other questions in case this is not sufficient information for you.

In the case of (Janie)’s mom she filed an IRS 1040 Form. And then over here it asks about the parent’s adjusted gross income from 2015. So on here this is Question 85 and it will tell you where the IRS 1040 what line to look at or what line to use to bring it over to the FAFSA. In the case of (Janie)’s mom her income was $42,560. That is what was on her Form 1040 in Line 37.

Then it asks how much did your mother earn from working? So this would be wages, salaries and tips. If you don’t know that information that over here on the helpful hints, Help and Hints it will tell you how to calculate those numbers. So in the case of (Janie)’s mother this is how much was in her W-2 form. So this is how much she obtained from wages which was the same amount.

As of today is your mother a dislocated worker? Over here on Help and Hints it will give you the definition of what a dislocated worker means. A person may be considered a dislocated worker if she is receiving unemployment, has been laid off, was self-employed but is no longer employed. So it will give you more definitions over here and then it will also link you to more information. So in the case of (Janie)’s mom no, she is not a dislocated worker.

So then we go on. And then the application asks in 2015, ‘16 did you or your mother or anyone in your mother’s household receive benefits from any of the federal benefits programs listed below? So you look at the programs that are listed here and you answer the questions if they pertain to your household.

In the case of (Janie) and her mom they received Medicaid and they received free and reduced lunch. So on here it will give you more information about that. Also answering this question will not reduce your eligibility for Federal student aid or your eligibility for these federal benefits.

So then you click Next and then we are still under the fifth tab of the FAFSA financial information and it asks about the amount of your mother’s income tax for 2015. So it tells you again how to calculate this information by using the information on the tax return. So in the case of (Janie)’s mom her taxes was this - we got this by - from getting this information from the tax return. And it explains to us over here in the Help and Hints how to calculate. So subtract Line 46 from Line 56 and this is what we got. And this is just again a made up number. We are just inventing this information about (Janie) and her mom.

Enter your mother’s exemptions for 2015. This amount is found on the IRS Form 1040 Line 60. Since we answered that we are using that she filed Form 1040 it will tell us where on the 1040 to find this information. So this is three because that’s three that she has in her household. And then it asks about additional financial information. So it asks if the parent has received any of this information. So check the box if you’re parents pay child support in 2015 or receive the American Opportunity Tax Credit or any of these. It also asks if there is any untaxed income that that was not reported on the tax return on this box over here.

Since that is not the case neither of those are the case of (Janie)’s mom. Then it asks how much is the total current balance of cash, savings and checking account? So checking and savings together she has $3000. And then it asks as of today what is the net worth of your mother’s investment including real estate? This real estate does not include the principal residence where they live.

So over year in Question 91 on the right-hand side on the Help and Hints it will explain further how to get the net worth of parent’s investments. So it explains to you what is considered an investment and how to calculate that. So if you have questions about that you can go over here to the right-hand side.

So in the case of (Janie)’s mother she doesn’t have any investments and she doesn’t have net worth in a business. But on Question 92 on the Help and Hints it will give them more information on how to determine if there is any interest in any business or family farms.

So then we click Next. Then it asked about we are still in the financial information but now if you notice it change colors and we are talking about the student. So the FAFSA is now asking about the student tax information. Attention you must provide financial information from your 2015 tax return.

So then it asks for 2015 have you completed your IRS income tax return? (Janie) worked but did not get a lot of money so her accountant told her that she didn’t need to file. So she did not file a tax return but over here it explains to you what you - how to answer the question.

Then it asked how much did you earn? Well she earned $700. She worked part-time for a few months. Then it is still talking about the student and it asked if they have any of the following items? Again it says check all that apply and provide the amounts. So she would check if she had any of these items but she didn’t. So then she entered how much money she has in her checking and savings accounts.

It asks about again about the student’s net worth in investments and it asks about businesses. So in the case of (Janie) she has zero worth in investments and businesses. So then we are at the last page, sign and submit. So on here it tells you application was successfully saved and it’ll give you an opportunity to view or print the FAFSA in case you want to print it before filing it.

And on here the first question for the Sign and Submit section asks are you a preparer? Now as we know the FAFSA is a free application for Federal student aid. So that means that you don’t have to pay to file the FAFSA but there may be some people that charge to help you fill out the FAFSA. That would be considered a preparer. On the right-hand side it tells you a preparer is anyone who charges a fee for helping you fill out your FAFSA.

So if a fee was paid then that person who was filling it out would check yes. In most cases it’s always no. You are not a preparer. It’s either the student or you are getting help from your parents or maybe a college access professional or a counselor.

Then on here it tells you to read the conditions before signing. So you certify that everything that - all of the information that you entered is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and you can also sign electronically if you have a Social Security number. And that would be by using your FSA ID.

In the case of this demonstration we are not using an FSA ID so we still do agree. And then if we - if the student has an FSA ID they would enter it here and then sign it. And let’s say the student - the student’s parent does not have an FSA ID because they don’t have a Social Security Number this would be the place to sign. Other options to sign right here on the bottom this would be a place to print out the signature page for the parent that does not have a Social Security Number to sign the paper and mail it in for processing to federal student aid.

But in the case of (Janie)’s mother we are pretending that they are both using an FSA ID. So they agree and then sign electronically. For purposes of this demonstration we are going to pretend that we signed and then we’re going to submit. So then it process it. Oh, it says that we need to - we’re going to proceed without signing. Let me find that section.

So we open here for both of them. And you’re going to submit without signatures. But in the case where we needed to print the signature page this is where we would do it. So for this situation we’re going to submit without signatures. And this is where it will give you the confirmation page. So there it is. You can print this page and will - it will give you information as to what will happen next. It will tell you congratulations (Janie) your FAFSA was successfully submitted to Federal Student Aid.

On here something that is very recent or recently added is this where if you have a sibling that will also be attending college you can click here and it will transfer your parent’s information into a new FAFSA. So this will save again a lot of time. Then over here it tells you what is happening after today. So it explains to you that within seven to ten business days we will mail you a student aid report that will be notifying you that the FAFSA was processed. The FAFSA information will be made available to your schools and they will use it to determine the aid you may be eligible to receive.

If your schools need more information they will be contacting you. So it is important to pay close attention to the mail also to your email and see if you receive any information from the school, if they need any documentation to continue processing your financial aid package. If you have any questions after this about your financial aid package after you file the FAFSA you can contact your school directly. Then on here it will tell you the schools that were listed and the schools that will be receiving your information. It will give you information about graduation, retention and transfer rates for those specific schools. Remember you can enter up to ten colleges and universities.

On the bottom it will give you eligibility information. Because this is only a pretend application on the demo site the expected family contribution is only online. This is where your expected family contribution where the estimate will be. And then on the right-hand side it will tell you based on the eligibility criteria you may be eligible for the following. So it will give you information on if you qualify. It will estimate any Pell grants, loans and any other information.

Some states will also have a link over here as to connect you to the state higher education financial aid Web site. So this is it. This is what the confirmation page looks like. Once you click here and are directed here if you have entered a student’s email address you will probably be getting an email simultaneously from Federal Student Aid.

So then we exit and we’re done with the FAFSA. So let’s go back and I’m going to share some resources that might be helpful for you to get more information. So again after you complete the FAFSA you will wait for your schools. If you have already applied for admission at the universities they will start processing your financial aid information.

They may ask you for documents such as tax returns anything like that from the school’s Financial Aid Office. So be paying attention to your email or the post office. Then you will receive an award letter where the school tells you if you qualify for any financial aid and it will tell you how much and it will tell you how to accept or deny the assistance that they are offering.

So again dependent students are only eligible for unsubsidized loans if they do not provide the parents’ information on the FAFSA and they do not have a special circumstance. Remember the FAFSA is used for more than just federal aid. The FAFSA is also used for some scholarship that may request the information.

So let’s go over some scenarios here. I am a student and my parents are divorced. Do both of my parents need to complete the FAFSA? So if your parents are divorced or separated and they don’t live together the parent with whom you lived more during the past 12 months should complete the FAFSA. So that’s the information that you use on the FAFSA.

Another scenario. I am a student and I split my time living equally between my divorced parents. The FAFSA requires information from which of the parent? If you live the same amount of time with each divorced or separated the parent who provided the more financial support during the past 12 months should complete the FAFSA. So that’s the information that you use. Whoever provided the most financial support if you lived with them the same amount.

So here are some resources that you can use when you are shopping for colleges or universities you can use the College Scorecard. The College Scorecard can also be used on a smart phone or a tablet. And it will help you get information and find colleges that best meet your needs.

is our Web site where you will find more resources for students and parents. is available in English and Spanish and the FAFSA can also be filed in English or in Spanish. We also have college Navigator. College Navigator is very similar to the college scorecard but it will give you more statistics and even more numbers to help you compare the colleges and universities that you might be interested in.

You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. You can always contact us by phone. Here is our information and times of when you can contact us so you can email us, you can chat with us or you can call us. You could find our contact information on studentaidhelp.. Also on that page you will find our hours of operation.

Do we have any more questions? Does anybody have any questions that we can answer? We’re going to wait and see if we get any more questions and we’re going to try to answer them. Also we have the following Webinars coming up very soon. The next one we have is for financial knowledge for college January 10. That’s from 4:00, to 4:30. That’s for students, parents and college access professionals.

Then we have another one the week after that Financial Aid 101 Getting Ready for College. Then we have an open forum that we will have to - for any general questions that you might have about federal student aid. That one will be on Tuesday, January 24.

We will have a Webinar that will cover information on homeless foster youth and financial aid on January 31. All of these Webinars are free and open to the public. You can find this information on where we - you can find resources and then look for Webinars or events and it will pull up our upcoming events.

If you have any more questions we do have a few minutes left that we can answer them for you. I greatly appreciate the time that you spent listening and we hope - we really hope this helps. Really the FAFSA doesn’t take this long to file. It normally will take about 30 minutes but because we will - because we were doing the demo it took a little longer.

Right after we end the session right after I stop talking there will be a link that will come up. You may have to look for it in case your browser has a pop-up blocker but there will be a survey in order to - for you to help us serve you better we would like - we would really like for you to give us your feedback on what you thought about today’s Webinar.

We again we will have more Webinars coming up and I would just like to remind you that most of our resources are available in English and Spanish. And the best way to contact us if you’ve already looked everywhere for your answer is 1-800-4-Fedaid. If you do not find the answer on or if it’s something personal about your own FAFSA before you filed it you can contact 1-800-4FEDAID. If it’s after the FAFSA has been filed and you have a question about when you’re going to receive your aid then you can contact the school.

There was a question about are DACA students or Deferred Action Childhood Arrival students required to fill out the FAFSA? Because they have a Social Security Number they may think that they have to file a FAFSA but it’s very important to check with the school, with a college or university that they will be attending to see if they should file an electronic FAFSA.

DACA students do not qualify for federal Pell grants but there are many other aids like scholarships that may use information from the FAFSA. But as to how to fill out the FAFSA it’s important to check with the university because more than likely they will ask the DACA student to fill out a paper FAFSA and submit it directly to their office in order to determine if they qualify for that scholarship. So check with your Financial Aid Office at your school or university and look for the scholarship directly. If the scholarship asked for a FAFSA then ask the school how you submit it.

There’s another questionnaire. What if the parent does not file a tax return but receives disability payments? Then they just answer the questions and on the FAFSA on the Help and Hints it well give information on the untaxed income. So that’s where they file that information or that’s where they fill out that information from the Social Security benefits. Are there any other questions that I can help you answer? If not, stay tuned for the survey. Thank you very much for being here this afternoon and we are signing off. Thank you.

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