FINANCIAL AID PRESENTATION

Presented by David Seward, Director of Financial Aid/Veterans Services

Topics we will discuss

• Better FAFSA Better Future (FAFSA Simplification) Update
• FSA ID and 2025-2026 FAFSA Access
• 2025-2026 FAFSA Concepts and Terminology
• Which FAFSA do I complete? 
• Information needed to complete the FAFSA
• FAFSA Verification
• Professional Judgement
• Types of Aid FAFSA will determine 
• How to find Scholarships
• Frequent FAFSA errors

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BETTER FAFSA BETTER FUTURE

• The FAFSA Simplification Act passed on 12/27/2020 represents a significant changes to federal student aid, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, eligibility calculations, and many policies and procedures for schools that participate in Title IV programs.
• This is being implemented alongside the Future Act which expands access to federal student aid; mandates Federal Student Aid to use data directly from the IRS.
• The FAFSA will reduce the maximum number of questions from 108 to 46. Also, because the FAFSA is on the Web, some students won’t even be presented with all 46 questions.

FSA ID and 2025-2026 FAFSA Access�

• Every student and contributor will need to create an FSA ID to
• complete the 2025-26 FAFSA online
• FSA IDs will still take around 3 days to be verified and created
• Schools should be encouraging students to create them well in advance of FAFSA filing
• FSA is still working on a process to allow individuals without SSNs to create an FSA ID

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2025-2026 FAFSA Concepts and Terminology�

• Introduction of contributors to the FAFSA form
• Contributors = Parent, Other Parent, Student Spouse, and Student
• Contributors must provide the required information and sign their respective section for a FAFSA form to be considered complete
• Dependent students must invite their parent(s) to contribute to their form if parent information is required.
• Independent students and a dependent student's parent must invite their spouse to contribute to the student’s form if spouse information is required.
• Integration to allow users’ federal tax information to be retrieved and transferred directly into the FAFSA form via IRS direct data exchange, replacing the IRS Data Retrieval Tool
• Each contributor will now need to provide their consent to their Federal Tax Information (FTI) being included in the FAFSA, even if they did not file a U.S. tax return.
• Student Aid Index (SAI) is replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The SAI will determine for certain types of federal student aid.

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2025-2026 FAFSA Concepts and Terminology (Continued)

• The number of family members in college is not used in the calculation of aid eligibility.
• The question will still be asked on the FAFSA
• Statute requires it to still be listed on the FAFSA

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• Parent responsible for providing information on the FAFSA in cases of divorce or separation.
• Parent the student lived with the most in the past 12 months is no longer a criterion
• Income and assets are reported by the parent who provided the most financial support over the past 12 months before completing the FAFSA even if the student does not live with the parent.

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• The net worth of a business is no longer limited to those with more than 100 full-time employees.

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• Net worth of a farm now includes the value of a family farm. 

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Which FAFSA to complete

2025-2026 FAFSA available December 1, 2024.

Information needed for FAFSA

• Social security numbers for students and parents
• Citizenship status
• Marital status
• Records of child support received
• Tax returns
• Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
• Net worth of investments, businesses, and farms
• Colleges

FAFSA^® Form Landing Page

This is the main FAFSA^® form landing page. On this page, students are directed to "Start a New Form" or "Edit Existing Form."

Dependent Student Provides Consent

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This page informs the student about consent and their federal tax information. By providing consent, the student’s federal tax information is transferred directly into the FAFSA^® form from the IRS to help complete the Student Financials section. The student selects "Approve" to provide consent and is taken to the next page. 

Dependent Student Provides Consent (Continued)

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Dependent Student: Tell Us About Your Parents

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As the student is considered dependent, they are asked to provide information about their parents. The FAFSA^® form considers their “Parent” to be their legal (biological or adoptive) parent. The student is asked if their parents are married. The student selects "Yes" and is required to invite their parents to their FAFSA form to complete the required parent sections. 

Dependent Student Invites Parents to FAFSA^® Form

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The student is asked to enter personal information about their parents in order to send them an invite to their FAFSA^® form. In this scenario, the student invites one parent. 

Dependent Student’s Parent Email

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This is NOT a view within StudentAid.gov nor the FAFSA^® form. This view demonstrates a parent opening the FAFSA invitation from their email. The parent selects “Log In" and is taken to StudentAid.gov. 

Professional Judgement

• Conditions exist that cannot be documented with the FAFSA
• College will review and request additional information if necessary
• Change of Circumstance
• Loss of income, divorce, unusual medical expenses, private school tuition expenses, etc.
• Dependency Override
• Unusual circumstance, on a case by case basis.

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FAFSA Verification

• FAFSAs are selected by the Dept. of Education to be verified
• Schools may request additional documentation to verify FAFSA data
• IRS Tax Return Transcripts
• W-2s
• Number in Household

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Types of Aid

Federal Pell Grant�

• Free federal aid you don’t repay.
• Maximum $7,395 annual - $3,698 per sem. Based on full-time attendance.
• Based on financial need.
• Pell amounts are the same at every college.
• If money is left after costs are paid, the extra money is returned to students.
• Federal Pell Grant is available for the summer term.

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Federal Pell Eligibility

• There is not Pell Chart for new aide years. Determining Pell eligibility is formula based.

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• Maximum Pell Grant Eligibility: ability of a student to receive a maximum Pell Grant (amount determined annually by Congress) which depends on annually published federal poverty guidelines; the U.S. tax return adjusted gross income (or the equivalent for foreign tax filers); state of legal residence; family size; and tax filing status.

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• Minimum Pell Grant Eligibility: ability of a student to receive a minimum Pell Grant depending on annual published federal poverty guidelines, Adjusted Gross Income (or the equivalent for foreign tax filers), state of legal residence, and family size.

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• If the student is not eligible for maximum or minimum Pell grant a Student Aid Index calculation is performed.

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• Pell will be adjusted based on enrollment intensity.

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Federal SEOG�

• Free federal aid you don’t repay.
• The financial aid will award this to students with high financial need.
• Award amount can be different at each institution. The award can range from $100 to $4,000.
• If money is left after costs are paid, the extra money is returned to students.

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Federal Campus Work study�

• Earned aid - nothing to repay.
• Bi-weekly paycheck
• No FICA taxes!
• Flexible hrs.
• Networking opportunity
• Resume builder

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Federal Direct Subsidized Loan�

• Need based.
• While attending college, the interest is paid by the federal government.
• Must attend college at least 1/2 time.
• First payment is due 6 months after date of last attendance or if student drops below 1/2 time attendance.
• Loan is not based on credit history.
• Current fixed rate is 6.53% for DL

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Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan�

• Are NOT need based. (Cannot exceed cost of attendance.)
• Interest is charged while attending college.
• Must attend college at least 1/2 time.
• First payment is due 6 months after date of last attendance or if student drops below 1/2 time attendance.
• Loan is not based on credit history.
• Current fixed rate is 6.53% for DL

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How much can I borrow?�

• Dependent undergraduate students may borrow up to:
• First year $5,500 (Maximum Subsidized is $3,500)
• Second year $6,500 (Maximum Subsidized is $4,500)
• Third year and beyond $7,500 (Maximum Subsidized is $5,500)

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• Independent undergraduate students may borrow up to:
• First year $9,500 (Maximum Subsidized is $3500)
• Second year $10,500 (Maximum Subsidized is $4500)
• Third year and beyond $12,500 (Maximum Subsidized is $5,500)

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Federal Direct PLUS Loan�

• Parent is the borrower.
• The U.S. Department of Education is your lender.
• You must not have an adverse credit history. A credit check will be conducted. If you have an adverse credit history, you may still be able to receive a PLUS loan if you meet additional requirements.
• The maximum PLUS loan amount you can receive is the cost of attendance (determined by the school) minus any other financial aid received.
• Current fixed rate is 9.08% for DL

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New A+ Student Checklist�

A+ program

How to find Scholarships?

• Missouri Scholarships- Front Page - Scholarship Central (myscholarshipcentral.org)
• Federal Student Aid - Finding and Applying for Scholarships | Federal Student Aid (studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/scholarships)

Frequent FAFSA Errors

• Social Security Numbers
• Divorced/widowed/remarried parental information
• Household size
• Real estate and investment net worth

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

2025-2026 A+ Orientation Dates

• Topics covered:

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• SCC Admissions and Application Information
• Academic Advising
• A+ New Student Checklist
• A+ Program Eligibility and Requirements
• Eligible Costs
• SCC Dates and Deadlines

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• Thursday, March 25, 2025 6-7:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 08, 2025 6-7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, April 24, 2025 6-7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 15, 2025 6-7:30 p.m.

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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Questions?