Trends in Student Aid
The recent College Board report "Trends in Student Aid 2009" found that undergraduate students in 2008–2009 received an average of $10,185 in financial aid per full-time equivalent (FTE) student. This included $5,041 in grant aid and $4,585 in federal loans.
Other findings included:
- In 2008–2009, undergraduate and graduate students received more than $168.4 billion in financial aid in the form of federal, state, and institutional grants; federal student loans; federal work-study; and federal tax credits and deductions.
- In 2008–2009, 39% of undergraduate grant aid came from colleges and universities, and 36% came from the federal government.
- Nearly 6.1 million students received Pell Grants in 2008–2009, with recipients receiving an average of $2,973.
- Total education borrowing increased 5% from 2007–2008 to 2008–2009. This same time period showed an increase of $14.7 billion in federal loans and an estimated decline of about $10.6 billion in nonfederal loans.
- Approximately 8.5 million taxpayers benefited from federal education tax credits and deductions in 2008.
Help Your Students Avoid Common FAFSA Mistakes
A mistake on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) may delay the processing time by as much as 3 weeks. We've compiled some of the most common errors students and their families make when completing the FAFSA.
Make sure your students DON'T do any of these:
- DON'T leave fields blank—It's better to enter "0" or "not applicable" instead of leaving a field blank. Too many blanks may cause miscalculations, and the application may be rejected.
- DON'T use commas or decimal points in numeric fields—Always round up to the nearest dollar.
- DON'T list a parent's marital status incorrectly—The FAFSA asks for financial information from the custodial parent or, if he or she has remarried, from both the custodial parent and stepparent.
- DON'T list an incorrect Social Security Number or driver's license number—Check these entries. Ask someone else to check them too.
- DON'T list the same figure for adjusted gross income and total income—These are not the same figure. Adjusted gross income can be found on the 1040 form at Line 37, on the 1040A form at Line 21, and on the 1040EZ form at Line 4.
- DON'T enter the wrong federal income tax paid amount—Look for the federal income tax paid on income tax return forms, not W-2 forms.
- DON'T forget to list any colleges—The FAFSA asks for the Federal School Code for any college the student applies to or plans to attend.
- DON'T forget to sign and date the FAFSA—The paper FAFSA requires a signature, so be sure to provide one. FAFSA on the Web requires an electronic signature using a PIN. Obtain a PIN (personal identification number) from www.pin.ed.gov.
Student Aid Report
About 3–5 days after your college-bound seniors file the FAFSA online and sign it electronically with a PIN, they should receive an email with a secure link to view their Student Aid Report (SAR). If your students complete and mail a paper FAFSA, they should receive their SAR in about 2–4 weeks.
The SAR lists all the information reported on the FAFSA. If no additional information is needed, the SAR will detail the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
Each school listed on the FAFSA (up to six) will receive a copy of each student's SAR. The school's Financial Aid Office will use the information in the SAR to determine a student's financial aid package.
As soon as your students receive their SAR, they should review it carefully to make sure it's correct and complete. If they need to make corrections or updates to the SAR, they can do so online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/complete014.jsp. Or they can write the correct information on the SAR and mail it to the address provided.
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