Hints for Completing The FAFSA
Before completing FAFSA on the Web, complete the Pre-Application Worksheet that is available at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov, and access the information on applying for financial aid provided by the US Department of Education by clicking the link to the webpage entitled Completing the FAFSA: Frequently Asked Questions.
You will need a PIN to sign your FAFSA electronically. If you are providing parents’ information, your parent may also sign your FAFSA with their own PIN. If you do not have a PIN, or if you have forgotten your PIN, your may request your PIN at: http://www.pin.ed.gov/. Your parent may also request a PIN at the same web site.
If you completed a FAFSA for 2003-2004, you may apply for 2004-2005 by using Renewal FAFSA on the Web. The address is http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Enter your Social Security Number CORRECTLY in order to avoid having to reapply for your FAFSA!
Have your information sent to New Mexico Highlands University. The School Code is 002653.
Keep copies of your FAFSA application and all documents you submit to NMHU. It is important that you keep copies of FAFSA Worksheets A, B, and C in case you are asked to verify the information you provided.
Respond immediately to all additional document requests from NMHU’s Office of Financial Aid. Include your name, social security number, and email address on all documents you submit to our office.
Complete the "Housing Plans" section of Step Six on the FAFSA. If you leave "Housing Plans" blank, your financial aid will be delayed, and you may not receive all the aid for which you are eligible.
Answer the enrollment status questions accurately on the FAFSA. Your enrollment status is used to determine the amount of your financial aid. Let us know if your enrollment status changes.
Notify the Financial Aid Office immediately if you receive any type of financial assistance to attend NMHU other than the amounts reflected on your financial aid award letter. Examples are tuition remission, scholarships, Americorps grants, Dependent Education awards, WIA, tribal aid, graduate and teaching assistantships, fellowships, etc. These types of assistance affect your eligibility for need-based financial aid. Unreported assistance could result in an over-award of financial aid, which you will be required to repay immediately! Don’t put yourself in this predicament.
Student’s Citizenship Status and Alien Registration Number: Generally, you are an eligible non-citizen if you are: (1) a US permanent resident and you have an Alien Registration Receipt card (I-551); (2) a conditional permanent resident (I-551C); or (3) a non-citizen with an Arrival-Department Record (I-94) from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service showing any of the following designations: "Refugee," "Asylum Granted," Indefinite Parole," "Humanitarian Parole," or "Cuban-Haitian Entrant." If you’re not sure how to answer, FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.ed.gov/help.htm) provides additional information to help you answer these questions.
Student’s Drug Conviction Affecting Eligibility: If you have a conviction for possessing or selling illegal drugs, go to FAFSA on the Web. The worksheet will walk you through a series of questions to help you figure out if your conviction affects your eligibility.
Was Student Eligible to File a 1040A or 1040EZ? In general, a person is eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ if he or she makes less than $50,000, does not itemize deductions, doesn’t receive income from his or her business/farm, does not receive alimony, and is not required to file Schedule D for capital gains. If you filed a 1040 only to claim Hope and Lifetime Learning credits, and you would have otherwise been eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ, you should answer "Yes."
Are You, the Student, a Veteran of the US Armed Forces? Answer "No" (you are not a veteran) if you (1) have never engaged in active duty in the US Armed Forces, (2) are currently an ROTC student or cadet or midshipman at a service academy, or (3) are a National Guard or Reserves enlistee activated only for training. Also answer "No" if you are currently serving in the US Armed Forces and will continue to serve through June 30, 2005.
Answer "Yes" (you are a veteran) if you (s) have engaged in active duty in the US Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard) or as a member of the National Guard or Reserves who was called to active duty for purposes other than training, or were a cadet or midshipmen at one of the service academies and (2) were released under a condition other than dishonorable. Also answer "Yes" if you are not a veteran now, but will be one by June 30, 2005.
Student’s Household Size: Include in your household: (1) Yourself (and your spouse, if you have one), and (2) your children if you will provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004, and (3) other people if they now live with you, and you provide more than half of their support, and you will continue to provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005.
Who is Considered a Parent? If your parents are both living and married to each other, answer the questions about them. If your parent is widowed or single, answer the questions about that parent. If your widowed parent is remarried as of today, answer the questions about that parent and the person to whom your parent is married (your stepparent).
If your parents are divorced or separated, answer the questions about the parent you lived with during the past 12 months (if you did not live with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the past 12 months, or during the most recent year that you actually received support from that parent.). If this parent is remarried as of today, answer the questions on the rest of the FAFSA about that parent and the person to whom your parent is married (your stepparent).
Were Your Parents Eligible to File a 1040A or 1040EZ? In general, a person is eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ if he or she makes less than $50,000, does not itemize deductions, doesn’t receive income from his or her business/farm, does not receive alimony, and is not required to file Schedule D for capital gains. If your parents filed a 1040 only to claim Hope and Lifetime Learning credits, and would have otherwise been eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ, they should answer "Yes" to this question.
Worksheets A, B, and C: For help with answering these questions, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov/worksheet.htm. Print out copies of all Worksheets and complete them prior to filling out the online FAFSA. Keep these worksheets because you may be asked to provide them in the verification process.
Parents’ Household Size: Include in your parents’ household: (1) Your parents and yourself, even if you don’t live with your parents, and (2) your parents’ other children if (a) your parents will provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004, or (b) the children could answer "No" to all of the dependency questions listed on the FAFSA, and (3) other people if they live with your parents, and your parents provide more than half of their support, and your parents will continue to provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.
Change in Family Circumstances: If any of the following circumstances apply to you/your family, check with the Financial Aid Office to see if this might affect your financial aid eligibility:
- last years income will be lower than the income from the year before
- Academic year income will be lower than the income from the year before
- Unusual debts (not credit card debts)
- Unusually high medical/dental expenses
- Paying tuition/fees for private elementary/secondary education
- Paying adult day care expenses
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