Call Us! - UTEP...2020/05/15 · Tips! • Use your valid personal email address. • Do not use an assigned email address that was provided to you by your school district or employer

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Call Us!915-747-5204

The Office of

Student Financial Aid

financialaid.utep.edu

[email protected]

The Office of

Scholarships

utep.edu/scholarships

[email protected]

Diana Valle (Presenter)

Outreach Manager

[email protected]

Welcome to today’s virtual session!

We are so happy you are here. We will begin promptly at 11:00AM.

SESSION GUIDELINES

• Please remain on mute until Open Forum

• Please submit your questions to the chat box

- Financial aid advisors will be answering questions

- Do NOT post sensitive information

- For example, your UTEP ID, SSN, Visa numbers, etc.

• Feel free to take screenshots!

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STEP-BY-STEP

VIRTUAL GUIDE TO THE

FREE APPLICATION FOR

FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA)

Office of Student Financial Aid

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What is Financial Aid?

Financial aid is money that helps the student pay for

college and educational expenses.

Financial aid can come from federal, state, school, and

private sources.

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Free Application for

Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Who can complete a FAFSA?

Only U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with a

Social Security Number may apply. Foreign students

or noncitizens residing in Texas may complete a

TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid). Visit the Office of Student Financial Aid for more information.

What is a FAFSA?

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a

free application to be completed by current and

prospective college students in the United States to

determine their eligibility for student financial aid.

Where can it be completed?

A FAFSA can be completed online by visiting www.fafsa.gov or through

the mobile app myStudentAid.

When can it be completed?

A FAFSA must be completed every year for the upcoming school year.

The FAFSA is available starting October 1st for the upcoming school year.

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Did You Know?

Some schools won’t consider you for merit scholarships

(scholarships based on academic achievement or other

talents or skills) until you’ve submitted a FAFSA, so

complete one even if you think you won’t qualify for free

federal aid.

Preparing for the FAFSA• Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID

• Documents Needed

you’ve submitted

Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID

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fsaid.ed.gov


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Username:

• The username must be 6 to 30 characters

long.

• You can use any combination of numbers

and/or letters.

• The username is not case-sensitive.

• You cannot choose a username that has 10

numbers and no letters.

• Choose a username that you can remember

but that would be hard for others to guess.

Avoid using personal identifiers (for example,

first name, last name, or date of birth.)

Password:

• The password must be 8 to 30

characters long and contain the

following types of characters:

• number(s)

• uppercase letter(s)

• lowercase letter(s)

• Your password is case-sensitive. For

example, “Student2!” and

“sTuDeNt2!” are not the same

password.

fsaid.ed.gov


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fsaid.ed.gov


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Tips!

• Use your valid personal email address.

• Do not use an assigned email address that was provided

to you by your school district or employer.

• Use your personal mobile phone number.

• Mobile phone numbers must be a U.S. phone number. If

you do not have one, uncheck the box.

• If your mailing address is in Canada, Mexico, a U.S.

territory or a military installation, select one of the

following options in response to the state question:

fsaid.ed.gov

American Samoa

Canada

Federated States of Micronesia

Guam

Marshall Islands

Mexico

Northern Mariana Islands

Palau

U.S. Virgin Islands

Military


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fsaid.ed.gov


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fsaid.ed.gov


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fsaid.ed.gov


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fsaid.ed.gov


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fsaid.ed.gov

Once complete, click on the

fafsa.gov link to being your FAFSA!

Students can also download the

myStudentAid mobile phone app and

complete it on the go!


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fsaid.ed.gov

Tip: If any of the information you entered is incorrect, you can return to the main page to make

those changes. Please do not attempt to create a second FSA ID. Click on the Manage My FSA ID

to make those changes.

If you are not able to make changes online, request assistance by calling the U.S. Department of

Education's office of Federal Student Aid at 1-800-433-3243.

Gather this Information

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The FAFSA asks questions about you and your finances, so have the information below handy.

If you are a dependent student, you will need this information from your parent(s).

If you are an independent student, you will need this information from your husband/wife (spouse).

(2018)

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While filling out the FAFSA, you will be asked these questions to determine if you are a dependent or independent student.

For financial aid purposes, the federal definition of an independent student is one who meets at least one of the following criteria:

• You are working on a degree beyond a bachelor’s, such as a master’s or doctorate

• You have a child or children, or other legal dependents, who receive more than half their financial support from you

• You are married (or separated but not divorced)

• You are at least 24 years old

• You are a veteran of the United States Armed Forces

• You are currently serving on active duty in the Armed Forces for other than training purposes

• If, at any time since you turned 13, both your parents were deceased, your were in foster care, or were a ward of the court

• You are an emancipated child as determined by a court judge

• You are homeless or at risk of homelessness as determined by the director of a HUD approved homeless shelter, transitional program,

or high school liaison

If you do not meet any of those criteria, you are required to report parental information on your FAFSA, meaning you are classified as a

dependent student.

*If none of these apply, but you believe you should be considered an independent student (other than living on your own and paying for

your own expenses), please contact our office for further review.

Dependent or Independent

NOTE: If you are a dependent student, your parent will need their own FSA ID to be able to sign your FAFSA at the end of the application. If your

parent already has an FSA ID that they used for themselves or someone else, they will need to use that same FSA ID. Parents that do not have a

social security number cannot get an FSA ID, however, there is another option to sign the FAFSA.

Getting Started - FAFSA

Do Not Share Your FSA ID!

Be sure to select the correct application!

Student’s applying for fall 2020, select the 2020-2021 FAFSA.

Every October 1st, the new academic year FAFSA will be

available to complete. The 2021-2022 FAFSA will be available

October 1st, 2020.

The save key is not the same as your FSA ID (which acts as a

legal signature that you shouldn’t share).

A save key allows you to return to an application or correction

later from the point you left off if you need to stop and save

your work.

The save key must be between 4 and 8 characters long. You

can use any combination of numbers and/or uppercase and

lowercase letters.

FAFSA Questions

Student Demographics

FAFSA Questions – Student Demographicsfafsa.gov

These fields are auto-

populated based on the

information you entered when

you created your FSA ID.

If you need to make any

changes, return to fsaid.ed.gov

and click on the Manage My

FSA ID tab (except for changes

to the SSN).

For an SSN change, you’ll need

to contact FAFSA directly at

1-800-433-3243.


Have you lived in your state for at least five years?

If you moved into this state for the sole purpose of attending a school, don’t

count this state as your state of legal residence.

Are you a U.S. citizen?

If you select No, but I am an eligible noncitizen, you will be prompted to enter

your Alien Registration Number (ARN).


What college degree or certificate will you be working on when you

begin the 2020-2021 school year?

Associate degree occupational: Culinary, Refrigeration, Cosmetology, EMT, Firefighter.

Associate degree general education: Math, Reading, Science, History.

Bachelor’s degree: Business Administration, Psychology, Science in Nursing, Criminal

Justice.

College graduate/professional degree: Masters and Doctoral degrees.

Are you interested in being considered for work-study?

The Federal Work-Study Program provides jobs for undergraduate

and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn

money to help pay educational expenses.


Are you male or female?

Your gender is used to determine if you need to register with the Selective

Service System (SSS). Most male citizens and male immigrants must register

with the SSS to receive federal student aid. This requirement applies to any

person assigned the sex of male at birth. For more information visit

www.sss.gov.

http://www.sss.gov/

FAFSA Questions

School Selection

FAFSA Questions – School Selectionfafsa.gov


UTEP’s Federal

School Code:

003661


Note: In Texas, the order in which you list the colleges will not impact your

eligibility for state aid program.

Please select the appropriate housing plan for each school.

Room and Board is a component in the cost of attendance.

The cost of attendance (COA) is not the bill that a student may receive from a

college or university; it is the total amount it will cost the student to attend

college. Other components of the cost of attendance include tuition and fees,

books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses.

It is used to assist students and their families in planning for their education.

Schools use the COA to create an annual budget for the student utilizing the

student’s financial aid.

FAFSA Questions

Dependency Status

FAFSA Questions – Dependency Statusfafsa.gov

Married students will be required to enter their spouse’s

2018 tax return information.

Students that are expecting an unborn child between July 1, 2020 – June

30, 2021 should answer “Yes” to the first question.

You must only mark “Yes” if you support a child/dependent more than

50%.

Do not mark “Yes” simply because someone lives in your household or

you report them on your taxes.


Does someone other than your parent or stepparent have

legal guardianship of you, as determined by a court in

your state of legal residence?

Only answer “Yes” if legal guardianship was officiated by

the court in your state of legal residence. A document

officiated by a notary is not sufficient.


Mark “Yes” if any of the following apply:

• At any time on or after July 1, 2019, did your high school or school district

homeless liaison determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who

was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?

Note: This includes students in the McKinney-Vento Program

• At any time on or after July 1, 2019, did the director of an emergency

shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Department of

Housing and Urban Development determine that you were an

unaccompanied youth who was homeless or self-supporting and at risk of

being homeless?

• At any time on or after July 1, 2019, did the director of a runaway or

homeless youth basic center or transitional living program determine that

you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-

supporting and at risk of being homeless?


If you answer “I will provide information about my

parent(s)”, the FAFSA will direct you to the Parent

Demographics area.

If you answer “I am unable to provide information

about my parent(s)”, the next page will explain the

impact of not providing parent information.


FAFSA Questions

Parent Demographics

FAFSA Questions – Parent Demographicsfafsa.gov

Who is considered a parent?

A legal parent includes a biological or adoptive parent, or a person that the

state has determined to be your parent.

Grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older brothers or sisters,

widowed stepparents, and aunts and uncles are not considered parents

unless they have legally adopted you.

Use the table on the next page to determine whose information to provide on

the FAFSA based on your parents’ marital status.


Parents’ Marital Status: Provide Information for:

Never Married

The parent that you lived with most during the

last 12 months. If you did not live with one

parent more than the other, provide information

about the parent who provided more financial

support during the last 12 months.

Unmarried and both legal parents living

togetherBoth of your legal parents

Married Both of your parents

Remarried (after being widowed or divorced) Parent and Stepparent

Divorced or Separated

The parent that you lived with most during the

last 12 months. If you did not live with one

parent more than the other, provide information

about the parent who provided more financial

support during the last 12 months.

Widowed The surviving parent


Parent’s Social Security Number

If your parent does not have an SSN,

enter all zeros (e.g., 000000000).

Note: Don’t enter an Individual Taxpayer

Identification Number (ITIN) in the

“Social Security number” field. ITIN is a

tax processing number that is available

to certain nonresidents and resident

aliens with foreign status or

undocumented immigrants.

Parent 1 Parent 2

**You will need to remember who is parent 1 and parent 2 throughout the rest of the application**


If you select “No” to Have your parents lived in Texas for at least 5 years?, you will be

prompted to answer the following question:

What is your parents' state of legal residence?

If your parents’ state of legal residence is in Canada, Mexico, a U.S. territory or a military

installation, select one of the following options in response to the state question. If

none apply, you may select “Foreign Country”.

American Samoa

Canada

Federated States of Micronesia

Guam

Marshall Islands

Mexico

Northern Mariana Islands

Palau

U.S. Virgin Islands

Military


Pre-filled based on parents marital status question

Pre-filled

Enter “1" for yourself even if you have not graduated high school yet. Be sure to include

anyone else that will be attending college between July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021.

Pre-filled (Adds the top four fields)

Enter the total number here. Do not add foster children if parent is receiving financial

support for them.

Enter the total number here. Do not add foster children if parent is receiving financial

support for them.

FAFSA Questions

Parent Financials

The Student Financials section questions are the same as the questions in the Parent

Financials section, therefore, even if you are an independent student, please be sure to

take notes in the following slides.

FAFSA Questions – Parent Financialsfafsa.gov


If you decide to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, your parent will need to

enter their FSA ID and their FSA ID Password.


Must match the

address that was

reported on parents’

2018 Federal

Income Tax Return.


Please note that not all parents will be eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. The following scenarios would make the student/parent ineligible to use the tool:

• The student/parent indicated they will file but have not filed.

• The student/parent indicated they will not file.

• The student/parent is married, and either the student/parent or his/her spouse filed as Married Filing Separately.

• The student/parent is married, and either the student/parent or his/her spouse filed as Head of Household.

• The parents’ marital status is “Unmarried and both legal parents living together.”

• The student/parent filed a Puerto Rican or foreign tax return.

• Any students or parents who meet the above criteria will need to enter their tax return information manually.

• Additionally, students or parents who filed their tax returns electronically within the last three weeks, or through the mail within the last 11 weeks, might need to

enter their tax return information manually or return at a later date to transfer their tax return information into the FAFSA, as their tax return information might not

be available for transfer from the IRS.


If your parent was unable to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, your parent will need to use their 2018 IRS Income Tax Return

Page 1 Page 2


If parents filed their 2018 IRS Income Tax Return as “Married Filing Joint”,

parents can gather the information for wages, salaries, and tips from their

individual 2018 W-2 Wage and Tax Statement that they received from their

employer.


Generally, you report any taxable portion of a scholarship, a

fellowship, or other grant as part of the “Wages, salaries, tips” line of

your IRS tax return.

Enlisted persons and warrant officers— Combat pay is entirely nontaxable, and

your parent(s) should report zero for combat pay or special combat pay.

Commissioned officers—To calculate the taxable amount, use the total combat

pay from the leave and earnings statements of your parent(s) and subtract the

untaxed portion, which is reported in box 12 of the W-2 form with code Q.


Federal Work-Study is income earned from work. This income should

appear on your parents’ W-2 form and should be reported as wages,

whether or not your parent is a tax filer.


Don’t include rent subsidies for low-income housing, the value of on-base military housing, or

the value of a basic military allowance for housing.

Don’t include the following veterans educational benefits:

Montgomery GI Bill, Dependents Education Assistance Program, VA Vocational

Rehabilitation Program, Veterans Educational Assistance Program Benefits,

Post-9/11 GI Bill

Enter the total amount of any other untaxed income or benefits, such as workers compensation,

Black Lung Benefits, untaxed portions of Railroad Retirement Benefits, foreign income not

taxed by any government, disability benefits, etc., that your parents received in 2018. Also

include the untaxed portions of health savings accounts from IRS Form 1040 Schedule 1-line

25.

Don’t include extended foster care benefits, student aid, earned income credit, child tax credit,

welfare payments, untaxed Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Workforce

Innovation and Opportunity Act educational benefits, on-base military housing or military

housing allowance, combat pay, benefits from flexible spending arrangements (e.g., cafeteria

plans), foreign income exclusion, or credit for federal tax on special fuels.


Does the total amount of your parents’ asset net worth exceed the amount listed?

Asset net worth means current value of the assets minus what is owed on those assets.

Assets include

money in cash, savings, and checking accounts;

businesses;

investment farms; and

other investments, such as real estate (other than the home in which your parents

live), Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA) and Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA)

accounts for which your parents are the owner, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, etc.

Assets don’t include

the home in which your parents live;

UGMA and UTMA accounts for which your parents are the custodian, but not the owner;

the value of life insurance;

ABLE accounts; and

retirement plans (e.g., 401[k] plans, pension funds, annuities, noneducation IRAs, Keogh

plans, etc.)

FAFSA Questions

Student Financials

FAFSA Questions – Student Financialsfafsa.gov

Student’s financial questions will be the same as the parent’s financial questions previously reviewed.

The student will also have the option to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, if the student meets the requirements.

FAFSA Questions

Sign & Submit

Preparer Infofafsa.gov

A preparer is anyone who charges a fee for helping you fill out

your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form.

If you’re a student filling out your own FAFSA form OR a relative or

friend helping a student complete his or her form for free, then

you’re NOT a preparer.

Typically, high school counselors, school financial aid

administrators, or other mentors don’t charge a fee to help you

complete your application, so they’re not considered preparers

unless you paid them for their services.

FAFSA Summaryfafsa.gov

Please review all the information you

have submitted!

If you need to make any changes, you

can click on the field on the left of the

screen and you will be redirected to

that section of the FAFSA.

Signature Statusfafsa.gov



Parents that do not have a social security number will need to

print a signature page and mail in.


CONGRATULATIONS!!!fafsa.gov

When you complete a FAFSA, you are applying for three types

of student aid:

Grants

Financial aid that doesn't have to be repaid (unless, for

example, you drop some or all classes for the semester);

Loans

Borrowed money for college; loans must be repaid.

Work-study

A work program through which you work to earn money to

help you pay for school; and

TYPES OF AID

Join us next Friday, May 22nd to learn more in

detail about the types of financial aid you are

applying for when you complete the FAFSA.

Call Us: 915-747-5204

[email protected]

[email protected]

utep_financialaid utepfinancialaid

For any FSA ID or FAFSA help, you can call the U.S. Department of Education's

office of Federal Student Aid at 1-800-433-3243.