Tag: Federal student aid

10 Things to Know About Your FAFSA Submission Summary

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The time has come for the federal government to start releasing FAFSA Submission Summaries to students who filed! Here is a list of the top 10 things you need to know about your FAFSA Submission Summary.

    1. The FAFSA Submission Summary is the new name for your Student Aid Report (SAR). It contains a summary of what information you provided when you filed the FAFSA and will need to be reviewed for accuracy to ensure you get the correct amount of aid.
    2. Your FAFSA Submission Summary will be available online. Once you receive the email notifying you that your Summary is ready, you’ll be able to find it at studentaid.gov. For a video tutorial on how to find your Summary, check out this video from uAspire.
    3. Graduation hat on piggy bank with stack of coins money on natural green background, Saving money for education conceptYour FAFSA Submission Summary is going to include useful information you’ll need to make an informed decision about financial aid, including your estimated eligibility for the Pell Grant and federal student loans, your Student Aid Index (SAI), FAFSA form answers, school information, if you have been selected for verification, and next steps.
    4. You may get error notifications in your FAFSA Submission Summary. Some of the most common notifications are:
      • Contributor Consent – You are not eligible for federal student aid because you did not provide consent and approval to retrieve and disclose your federal tax information. You can fix this during the review process.
        • It’s important to note that contributors CAN provide consent after your submission, but they CANNOT revoke it.
      • The Social Security Administration (SSA) didn’t confirm that you are a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen. You can fix this by submitting documentation of U.S. citizenship to the financial aid office.
      • The date of birth (DOB) that you reported on the FAFSA does not match SSA records. You can fix this by contacting the SSA to correct their records and then submit proof of your DOB to the financial aid office.
      • Your FAFSA form has been selected for verification. This is a process where your school can request copies of certain financial documents. You can fix this by following up with your school(s) to verify the information reported in your FAFSA.
    5. Your FAFSA is not considered complete until you finish the review of your FAFSA Submission Summary.
    6. You can make changes to your FAFSA by editing the information in the FAFSA Form Answers section of the summary.
    7. You can add and remove schools from your FAFSA while reviewing your Summary. This is an incredibly important tool for anyone who has changed their mind about a potential school or applied to a few extra institutions since filing.
    8. Your FAFSA Submission Summary has a ton of information about your potential schools, including graduation rate, retention rate, and average cost. Be sure to review this information so that you can find the best fit for your situation.
    9. Your FAFSA Submission Summary will provide you with Next Steps. So, if you are missing any documentation or need to submit a correction, this section will walk you through what you need to do.
    10. After you submit any changes that have been made, and the Department of Education has processed your Summary, you can download a copy for your own reference by revisiting your dashboard on studentaid.gov.

For more information about your FAFSA Submission Summary, check out this article from studentaid.gov.

4 Reasons to File Your FAFSA

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Graduation is on the horizon, and opportunities for continued education are only steps away! Now that the 2024-25 FAFSA is available online for students and families to complete, let’s go over the reasons why you should file now.

It’s FREE

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Student Aid. It’s the way that the Department of Education determines your ability to receive federal student aid. To receive this, you MUST file your FAFSA!

It’s Quick

You can file online, and it won’t take long. Go over the 2024-25 FAFSA Checklist to ensure you have all information you need. A small time investment for your future could have a big potential payoff!

A smiling girl with her eyes closed lying down on the floor with her head in a pile of money.

It’s Financial Comfort

Tuition and fees can be overwhelming. By filing a FAFSA you will have a better understand of the actual cost. It is also the first step to qualify for many scholarship, grants, work-study, and student loans. The information you provide on your FAFSA helps determine the types and amounts of financial aid you may be eligible for. The FAFSA gives you access to four primary sources of financial aid, including:

    1. Federal financial aid
    2. State financial aid
    3. Aid from colleges, universities, and other postsecondary schools
    4. Some private scholarships and grants

If you file by April 1, you will be considered for the Access Missouri Grant program and will be guaranteed an award if you qualify.

It’s Made for YOU!

There is no downside to filing and the only way to know if you are eligible is to APPLY! Take control of your future. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Check out our previous blogs about the new FAFSA, preparing for college and important things to know as you prepare for the 2024-25 school year.

2024-25 FAFSA is Now Available: Here’s What You Should Know

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As of Dec. 31, the much-anticipated new 2024-25 FAFSA is now available online for students and families to complete. Although the form has been released, it is important to note that that the U.S. Department of Education shared that the release is a “soft launch” and that the form may be unavailable periodically as they work through any potential issues.

Group of happy teen high school students studying outdoors, preparing for lectures together, free space

So, what does this mean for students and families? This means that there may be glitches or interruptions during the soft launch period that families should consider. The U.S. Department of Education has indicated that the soft launch will allow the department to monitor site performance, conduct planned pauses for maintenance, and make updates to improve the user experience. In addition, they have advised that Federal Student Aid (FSA) will not transmit results to schools until later in January.

As a reminder, there are things you can do now to prepare for the updated FAFSA if you would prefer to wait to file until after the soft launch. You can review our November blog post for more details. Here are a few other helpful things to keep in mind should you choose to fill out the FAFSA during the soft launch period:

  • If a student completes their form during the soft launch, information will be stored for processing and they do not need to return to resubmit their application once the soft launch concludes.
  • FSA will initiate planned pauses for site maintenance. During these pauses, students who are already online will be able to complete their work, but other users may not be able to begin or resume work on their 2024-25 FAFSA form. If you are unable to fill out the form, you should come back later and try again.Students with modern devices studying online indoors
  • Students may experience a waiting room feature to help control website volumes for those trying to fill out the form.
  • If a contributor is unable to access the site during maintenance, they should try again later and fill out their section as soon as the site becomes available again.
  • Once your 2024-25 FAFSA form is completed and submitted, students will receive a confirmation email that includes their submission date, their Student Aid Index, and their estimated Federal Pell Grant eligibility. Students will not receive an official FAFSA submission summary until their FAFSA is processed, beginning in late January.

Deadline Reminders

In Missouri, the deadline to file the FAFSA to be eligible for the Missouri Access Grant Program is April 1. Applications received before that date will receive an Access Missouri award, although the final award amount will not be determined until later in the year.

It is also important to note that some colleges and universities may have their own FAFSA deadlines for the financial aid they offer. Please check with each school you are interested in to make sure you are meeting important deadlines.