Admissions

Important:  It is perfectly acceptable to estimate income in order to meet the deadline.  We may ask you to for a signed copy of your federal income tax return once it has been completed.  Contact our office for instructions on providing final income figures.   

Regardless of your status, we urge you to apply for financial aid as early as possible, as some sources of funds are limited.  Applications will continue to be accepted after the deadlines, but you may receive less money than if you had applied on time.

Recommendations for Completion of the 2008-2009 FAFSA

• It is especially important to properly sign the FAFSA on the Web!  To do so, BOTH you and your parent need to apply for a PIN.  More information about the PIN is at the bottom of the page.
• Questions with "you" or "your" always refer to the student applying for financial aid.
• Unless instructed to skip a question or section, do not leave anything blank; enter $0.    
• Answer questions based on the best information available, even if they will not be exact.  The more accurate you are, however, the more accurate we will be when determining your eligibility.
• When answering income questions, adhere to the tax return line references provided on the application.  (A tax return is considered “completed” even if you have not mailed or transmitted it to the IRS.) If your income tax return is not ready, please follow the instructions below.    
• Important!  While it is "best" to have your 2007 tax return done before the FAFSA, it is perfectly acceptable to estimate your 2007 tax information without the return.  
• Here are some tips if you don't have your 2007 tax return done:
• To the extent that is reasonable, use the prior year's figures as the starting point, then increase or decrease that amount based on what you know about such things as pay raises, earnings from investments, net business or rental income, etc.    
• If you use your the prior year's tax return, refer to our Tax Conversion Table. Do not provide answers from lines other than those shown in this table.    
• It is better to meet the deadlines and be reasonably accurate with answers, than to file late and be exact.
• Once your tax information is available, contact our office if there are significant differences in the numbers you reported.  We will let you know if corrections are necessary.    
• Please do not send your tax return to our office unless we request them. 
• Child support and social security benefits received "by the parent, for the child" are reported as the parent's income. Only benefits paid directly to the student are reported as the student's income.
• Create a file folder in which to keep a copy of all financial aid documents, such as your PIN, the completed FAFSA, all confirmation pages, the Student Aid Report (SAR), etc.