We mentioned this in one of the previous blog posts, but one of the new features on the FAFSA this year is the FSA ID. If you haven't signed up for one before, you have to now - it's replaced the PIN. Both you (the student) and your parent need one, and to make the account all you have to do is head to fsaid.ed.gov. Here are some tips to setting up your FSA ID, and avoiding any issues that will make you have to go through their lengthy identity verification process in order to reset your account.
1) MAKE SURE YOUR NAME MATCHES ALL SOCIAL SECURITY DOCUMENTS
A common mistake made in establishing an FSA ID is using a nickname. You have to use your legal name on these, so make sure whatever you put down matches your social security card. If you don't use your legal name, it can be a massive hassle to call the help hotline and get it changed.
2) USE SEPARATE EMAIL ADDRESSES
The student and the parent need their own FSA IDs, and each account needs its own email address. Use whatever email address you use most frequently, and remember if you're a student using your high school email, these accounts often disappear when you graduate so consider setting up a gmail account.
3) SELECT SECURITY QUESTIONS YOU'LL REMEMBER
You don't have to sign up with email. While this is the easiest way to regain access to your FSA account if you ever forget your password, email may not be a viable option for you for a number of reasons. If this is the case, you'll have to select a few security questions to answer every time you log in. Make sure you remember the answer to these - write them down, even - because if you forget you'll have to call the helpline, which can be very frustrating.
4) WRITE DOWN YOUR ID AND PASSWORDS, BUT KEEP THEM SECURE
Because the FSA application asks for so many different answers (even a date special to you!) we recommend keeping track of what you've answered for future years. But remember - and this is especially for students - keep your passwords secure. This means either writing them on paper and keeping them at home with mom and dad, or using a password manager like LastPass. Studies show that young people are four times more likely than other age groups to have their identities stolen by people they know, which is especially concerning given that college students are already at the highest risk for identity theft. The best way to prevent this is always logging out of your accounts, disabling your devices from automatically logging in to public WiFi, and protecting your passwords.
The FSA ID can be a very frustrating process, so if you need to come in and get help or give us a call we'd love to help you out! Keep in mind that we have no control over the process, though, and may need to direct you to the federal helpline. Let us know if you have any questions, or tips for other students.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Monday, January 25, 2016
FAFSA Tips: the Scholarship Question
One of our most common questions - and the most common mistake we have to have people correct - is regarding the scholarship question on the FAFSA. Now, if you have to report your scholarships as earnings on your taxes this won't apply to you, but for most students at Cornish, the scholarships you get from the school and the grants you get from the government are not reported as income. If you received scholarships from outside organizations, you'll want to check in with a tax professional about how you should handle those.
EXAMPLE No.1:
So let's say you've got a Cornish scholarship. Maybe you've got a Pell grant, possibly some of that good ol' State Need Grant if you're a Washington state resident. All of this is documented on the 1098-T form you can download from Compass or pick up in the Student Accounts office, and you're looking at your grants and scholarships as you're doing the FAFSA because you're a responsible student who has all their necessary documentation gathered, and you get to a question. This question wants to know if you've received any grants and scholarships this year.
Leave that section marked a big fat zero.
What that question is actually asking is if you've received any grants or scholarships you're reporting as income. As an undergraduate art student at Cornish, you shouldn't be reporting the Pell, SNG, or your institutional scholarships (this includes any of you lucky so-and-so's with endowed scholarships like the Kreielsheimer or any of our other endowed funds).
EXAMPLE No. 2:
So let's say you've got a Cornish scholarship, a Pell grant, some SNG money, and you also put in a bunch of hours last year filling out a billion scholarship applications and you wound up with a scholarship from a not-for-profit or private company for $1000. You get to that same scholarship question, and you think to yourself "Didn't that financial aid blog say something about outside scholarships?".
Good memory! We did. If you received an outside scholarship, contact a tax professional to see if that money should be reported as income. You can contact the organization you got the money from too, and they should be able to tell you. Unfortunately, because we are not tax professionals, we cannot give you tax advice and will be unable to tell you what you should do about that $1000 scholarship as far as your taxes go. It may very well be that you don't have to report it, and in that case, the same rule applies - don't include it on the FAFSA.
We're here for you and excited to help you fill out those FAFSAs - let us know if we can give any more helpful advice by commenting here, emailing us, or dropping by the office!
EXAMPLE No.1:
So let's say you've got a Cornish scholarship. Maybe you've got a Pell grant, possibly some of that good ol' State Need Grant if you're a Washington state resident. All of this is documented on the 1098-T form you can download from Compass or pick up in the Student Accounts office, and you're looking at your grants and scholarships as you're doing the FAFSA because you're a responsible student who has all their necessary documentation gathered, and you get to a question. This question wants to know if you've received any grants and scholarships this year.
Leave that section marked a big fat zero.
What that question is actually asking is if you've received any grants or scholarships you're reporting as income. As an undergraduate art student at Cornish, you shouldn't be reporting the Pell, SNG, or your institutional scholarships (this includes any of you lucky so-and-so's with endowed scholarships like the Kreielsheimer or any of our other endowed funds).
EXAMPLE No. 2:
So let's say you've got a Cornish scholarship, a Pell grant, some SNG money, and you also put in a bunch of hours last year filling out a billion scholarship applications and you wound up with a scholarship from a not-for-profit or private company for $1000. You get to that same scholarship question, and you think to yourself "Didn't that financial aid blog say something about outside scholarships?".
Good memory! We did. If you received an outside scholarship, contact a tax professional to see if that money should be reported as income. You can contact the organization you got the money from too, and they should be able to tell you. Unfortunately, because we are not tax professionals, we cannot give you tax advice and will be unable to tell you what you should do about that $1000 scholarship as far as your taxes go. It may very well be that you don't have to report it, and in that case, the same rule applies - don't include it on the FAFSA.
We're here for you and excited to help you fill out those FAFSAs - let us know if we can give any more helpful advice by commenting here, emailing us, or dropping by the office!
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Do your taxes - for free!
Make under $62,000 and looking for a good free tax resource? In King County, United Way makes it easy for you to file your taxes with free work shops to help you get the biggest return possible - you can even talk to a real person when you do it, which can be really helpful and can prepare you to file your taxes in the future. Go here to learn more - you can file your taxes as soon as you get your W2s, so don't delay! Getting them done early is the best way to prepare for the FAFSA.
Monday, January 4, 2016
FAFSA TIME
Look at you, all responsible and checking the financial aid blog on your winter vacation! I bet I know why. It's because the FAFSA is here and the FAFSA is a massive pain in the butt, and you're here looking for advice. Well no worries, we've got ya covered. We're even breaking our update schedule to bring you information as quickly as possible - that's how much cover we're giving you!
So over the next few weeks keep checking back for advice, and feel free to comment with any questions. To start us off, here's one important change to the FAFSA, two tips, and four frequently asked questions!
THE CHANGE: THE FSA ID
You old timers might remember the PIN. Or remember not being able to remember your PIN (like me. Every year.) The good news is that you don't have to anymore, because the PIN no longer exists. If you filled out your FAFSA before May last year and you didn't have any problems we needed you to fix, you missed the exciting time in which the FSA ID replaced the PIN, and you'll need to apply for one before you can do your FAFSA. There will be a link to this on the FAFSA website, but you can also just skip that if you know you need to do one and go right here. It'll link your old PIN to your new FSA ID, and after a couple days you'll be all set to do your FAFSA. Any freshmen or returning students who filled out a FAFSA after May last year already have an FSA ID, and will just need to log in. If for whatever reason you need help with it, you'll have to call the FAFSA help hotline, at 1-800-4-FEDAID.
THE TIPS:
NEVER PAY FOR HELP ON THE FAFSA
The first "f" in FAFSA stands for free. There are a hundred billion companies out there who will offer to help you file your FAFSA for a fee, sometimes upwards of $100 - don't do this! If you need help, you can always bring your documents into our office and we'll help you through it. All you need to fill out the FAFSA is:
Your (and your parents' if applicable) social security number and birthdate
Your W2s or 1099s
Your Tax Return (including your Schedule C) - if you fill out the FAFSA after you've filed taxes, you can just use the handy IRS DATA RETRIEVAL tool provided on the application.
Your checking/savings/investment balances as of the day you plan to file
And that's it! If you have all of those, and you're having issues filling out the FAFSA, just bring in all the relevant information and we'll help you fill it out and keep that first "f" standing for free.
DO NOT INCLUDE SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION ON THE FAFSA
Unless you're reporting your scholarship to the IRS as income - and normally only post-graduate students need to do this - you do not have to put your scholarship information on the FAFSA. If you do, we will actually tell you to go and zero it out once we review it. So skip that step and just keep the field blank!
THE QUESTIONS
WHEN IS THE DEADLINE?
The priority deadline is February 15th. You can still do your FAFSA after this, but the earlier you do it - especially for Washington State residents - the more secure your financial aid will be. Certain funds run out, and doing it early secures your place in line, which leads us to our next question...
I HAVEN'T EVEN DONE TAXES YET, HOW CAN I POSSIBLY FILL THIS OUT!?
No worries! You can do it based on a very educated estimate. If you have a good idea of what your or your parents' income will be, or if your financial and home situation hasn't changed at all since last year, you can use that information to do basically a rough draft of the FAFSA, save it and send it to us, and then make any necessary changes after you've completed your taxes. Remember that your employer is legally obligated to give you a copy of your W2s by the end of January, so make sure you get in touch with them if they're not showing up in the mail!
WILL I BE SELECTED FOR VERIFICATION?
Who knows! Approximately one third of all FAFSAs are selected for verification, and if you've been selected before your chances of being selected again seem to be higher. You'll just have to fill out the FAFSA and wait and see! Very exciting.
HOW CAN I TELL IF YOU NEED MORE DOCUMENTS FROM ME?
By checking Compass! You freshmen might remember getting an estimate award letter where we bothered you for more documentation, but returning students don't get those because they have access to the wonderful world of Compass, where you can check the financial aid section for all our outstanding documents. Starting around March, keep your eyes peeled for those documents showing up.
So over the next few weeks keep checking back for advice, and feel free to comment with any questions. To start us off, here's one important change to the FAFSA, two tips, and four frequently asked questions!
THE CHANGE: THE FSA ID
You old timers might remember the PIN. Or remember not being able to remember your PIN (like me. Every year.) The good news is that you don't have to anymore, because the PIN no longer exists. If you filled out your FAFSA before May last year and you didn't have any problems we needed you to fix, you missed the exciting time in which the FSA ID replaced the PIN, and you'll need to apply for one before you can do your FAFSA. There will be a link to this on the FAFSA website, but you can also just skip that if you know you need to do one and go right here. It'll link your old PIN to your new FSA ID, and after a couple days you'll be all set to do your FAFSA. Any freshmen or returning students who filled out a FAFSA after May last year already have an FSA ID, and will just need to log in. If for whatever reason you need help with it, you'll have to call the FAFSA help hotline, at 1-800-4-FEDAID.
THE TIPS:
NEVER PAY FOR HELP ON THE FAFSA
The first "f" in FAFSA stands for free. There are a hundred billion companies out there who will offer to help you file your FAFSA for a fee, sometimes upwards of $100 - don't do this! If you need help, you can always bring your documents into our office and we'll help you through it. All you need to fill out the FAFSA is:
Your (and your parents' if applicable) social security number and birthdate
Your W2s or 1099s
Your Tax Return (including your Schedule C) - if you fill out the FAFSA after you've filed taxes, you can just use the handy IRS DATA RETRIEVAL tool provided on the application.
Your checking/savings/investment balances as of the day you plan to file
And that's it! If you have all of those, and you're having issues filling out the FAFSA, just bring in all the relevant information and we'll help you fill it out and keep that first "f" standing for free.
DO NOT INCLUDE SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION ON THE FAFSA
Unless you're reporting your scholarship to the IRS as income - and normally only post-graduate students need to do this - you do not have to put your scholarship information on the FAFSA. If you do, we will actually tell you to go and zero it out once we review it. So skip that step and just keep the field blank!
THE QUESTIONS
WHEN IS THE DEADLINE?
The priority deadline is February 15th. You can still do your FAFSA after this, but the earlier you do it - especially for Washington State residents - the more secure your financial aid will be. Certain funds run out, and doing it early secures your place in line, which leads us to our next question...
I HAVEN'T EVEN DONE TAXES YET, HOW CAN I POSSIBLY FILL THIS OUT!?
No worries! You can do it based on a very educated estimate. If you have a good idea of what your or your parents' income will be, or if your financial and home situation hasn't changed at all since last year, you can use that information to do basically a rough draft of the FAFSA, save it and send it to us, and then make any necessary changes after you've completed your taxes. Remember that your employer is legally obligated to give you a copy of your W2s by the end of January, so make sure you get in touch with them if they're not showing up in the mail!
WILL I BE SELECTED FOR VERIFICATION?
Who knows! Approximately one third of all FAFSAs are selected for verification, and if you've been selected before your chances of being selected again seem to be higher. You'll just have to fill out the FAFSA and wait and see! Very exciting.
HOW CAN I TELL IF YOU NEED MORE DOCUMENTS FROM ME?
By checking Compass! You freshmen might remember getting an estimate award letter where we bothered you for more documentation, but returning students don't get those because they have access to the wonderful world of Compass, where you can check the financial aid section for all our outstanding documents. Starting around March, keep your eyes peeled for those documents showing up.
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