Red Hawk Central
The people statues outside of College Hall near the Alexander Kasser Theater.

Undergraduate Open House Presentation

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What is Financial Aid?

  • Financial Aid is a comprehensive term that includes
    • Grants
    • Scholarships
    • Loans
    • Work Study

Types of Aid: Grants

  • Pell Grant (Federal)
  • SEOG (Federal) – based on eligibility and FAFSA filing date
  • Tuition Aid Grant – TAG (State) – link directly from the FAFSA or complete a separate form with NJ HESAA directly

– www.njgrants.org

  • Educational Opportunity Fund – EOF (State) – Find out more information before applying to college

Types of Aid: Private Scholarships

  • High School Guidance Office
  • Local library resources
  • Local businesses, civic organizations, churches, private companies
  • Parent/Guardians’ place of

employment

Types of Aid: Loans

  • Stafford Loans (Federal)
  • Parent PLUS Loans (Federal) – parents apply (credit check required)
  • Alternative Private Loans – anyone can apply (credit check required)

Types of Aid: Work Study

  • Jobs on campus
  • Meet eligibility criteria
  • Funding comes from government instead of department budget

Keep Calm and File Your FAFSA

  • To ensure maximum consideration for aid, check requirements for each college:
  • Required application materials
  • Priority Deadline: February 1st

Application Process

  • Every school has different requirements
  • Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
    • FAFSA available as of October 1st
      • Prior-prior year update (use 2017 income data for 19-20 FAFSA)
    • Montclair State University’s Priority Deadline is February 1st

Steps to Receiving Aid: Step 1 – FSA ID

  • The student and parent need their own separate FSA ID’s

Step 2 – Complete the FAFSA

Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT)

  • For both student and parent
    • If certain tax filing conditions are met:
      • FAFSA will take you to the IRS website to auto complete some of the income data
      • Data that comes back into the FAFSA will be cloaked
    • Montclair State Universite recommends you use the DRT
      • Eliminates some paperwork later.

What Data to Report

  • Income: Prior Prior (2017)
  • Savings/Investments:  As of filing date
  • Family Size : Project for academic year

 Remember…

  • NJ residents must complete the additional state questionnaire for the Tuition Aid Grant
  • Once submitted, use the link from the FAFSA confirmation page to HESAA’s NJFAMS portal to complete the additional data elements for Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) and NJ STARS (II) eligibility.

If You Forget…

  • Go directly to www.njgrants.org
  • Applicants who bypass answering the State questions, should log into NJFAMS to create a user ID and password to check and complete any outstanding items on their “To Do” list.

Step 3 – Check the SAR

  • Once you submit the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR)
    • via email
    • Check for errors or omissions
  • If you cannot see your SAR, you may have errors that have to be corrected on the FAFSA.

FAFSA is a Snapshot of Your Current Financial Situation

  • Update your FAFSA only if you made a mistake
  • Any other updates should go through the Financial Aid office
  • Constantly updating your FAFSA can create issues with your aid

Common Mistakes

  • Using incorrect Social Security Numbers
  • Putting parent income information in student area
  • Listing income tax paid as equal to total income
  • Incorrect marital status for parent(s)
  • Leaving questions blank (0 is an answer)

Where Does FAFSA Go?

  • Federal processor
  • Social Security Administration
  • Homeland Security
  • Selective Service
  • IRS
  • Schools Listed
  • State of NJ (HESAA)

Aid Eligibility

  • High School Diploma or Equivalent
  • Enrollment in an eligible program
  • U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
  • Valid Social Security Number
  • Sign certifying statements on the FAFSA
  • Must answer the drug question
  • Male students must be registered with Selective Service

Remember!

  • This is financial AID not a GIFT
  • In most cases, families will have some financial responsibility. Discuss costs as a family
  • The earlier you start with the process, the better
  • Montclair State University will receive your FAFSA once you are accepted to the University
  • Read school website for information about the financial aid process and requirements