GRANTS - FAQ
How do students apply for a Federal Pell Grant?
When students complete a FAFSA, it automatically considers them for a Pell Grant. If the students meet eligibility guidelines as established by the federal government, a Pell Grant will be included as part of the total need-based aid package.
Why should students fill out a FAFSA?
To apply for federal student financial aid, students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The information provided on the FAFSA determines what types of financial aid students are eligible for.
Is there a maximum income level that will disqualify students from receiving financial aid?
Most people have the misconception that income is the only factor in determining need for financial aid assistance. However, other variables are considered such as: family size, number of family members in college, savings, investments, and various other allowances to the family's income and assets.
Do students have to apply every year for financial aid?
Yes. In order to receive consideration for eligible programs students must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. File the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1.
What is a SAR?
The Student Aid Report (SAR) summarizes the information reported on the FAFSA. The schools listed on the application can request electronic copies of the SAR and use the information to determine students’ eligibility for federal financial aid.
What is verification?
Verification is a process used to make sure the information reported on the FAFSA is accurate. The federal government randomly selects approximately 30% of all aid applicants for verification; however, some applications are selected because of FAFSA information that is inconsistent with information reported elsewhere on the application.
Also, the FAO may select students for verification. In any case, students whose application is selected for verification must submit certain documentation to show that the application information is correct. The sooner this documentation is submitted, the sooner the FAO can award aid if students are eligible.
The financial aid office will request:
- Federal Tax Return
- Verification worksheets
Once these documents have been reviewed, additional information may be requested.
What is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)?
The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) measures the students and/or family’s financial strength and is used to determine eligibility for federal student aid during one school year. The EFC will be displayed on the Student Aid Report (SAR) after the FAFSA is processed.
The information reported on the FAFSA is used to calculate the EFC. The JCJC FAO uses the EFC to determine the federal student aid eligibility and financial aid award based on federal regulations.
The EFC is not the amount that students will have to pay for college nor is it the amount of federal student aid that students will receive. It is a number used by the school to calculate the amount that the family will be expected to pay for college and the amount of federal student aid students are eligible to receive.
If parents are divorced or separated, which parent should students use on the FAFSA?
Students should provide information from the parent they lived with and supported them the most in the past year. If the parent who provided students with the most support has remarried, the stepparent's information must also be provided on the FAFSA.
Can students apply for financial aid without using parents’ information on the FAFSA Form?
When students apply for federal student aid, the answers to certain questions will determine whether they are considered dependent on their parents or independent. If considered dependent on parents, students must report parents’ income and assets as well as their own. If students have unusual circumstances that would make them independent, contact the FAO.
What determines if a student is an independent student?
Being considered an independent student is not merely a matter of being responsible for educational expenses. The student must meet at least one of the following eight criteria to be declared an independent student for the purposes of the FAFSA:
- Be 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year;
- Be an orphan (both parents deceased), ward of the court, or was a ward of the court until the age of 18;
- Be a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States;
- Be a graduate or professional student working on a degree beyond a bachelor’s degree;
- Be a married individual as of the day the FAFSA was completed;
- Have children who receive more than half of their support from you;
- Have legal dependents other than a spouse who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you;
- Be a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a documented determination of independence by reason of other unusual circumstances.
If one of the above conditions does not apply to the student, then the student is a dependent student and must use the parental information. If a student feels that special circumstances exist, please contact the JCJC FAO. **Independent status is NOT determined by the student’s wish to be financially independent of parents nor on the basis of parents' unwillingness to finance a student’s college education.
What if students disagree regarding, “What determines an independent student?”
If students feel they have unusual circumstances that would justify them being reclassified as independent, please see the Director of Financial Aid for a "professional judgment" review.
The Department of Education has identified four conditions that do not qualify as unusual circumstances and do not merit a dependency override. They are as follows:
- Parents refusing to contribute to the student’s education;
- Parents unwilling to provide information on the application or verification;
- Parents not claiming the student as a dependent for income tax purposes;
- Student demonstrating total self-sufficiency.
Generally, the financial aid administrator will require students to submit independent third-party documentation of the situation.
In addition to being genuinely self-supporting with no financial support from parents, students must have been living on their own and be able to document an estranged relationship with their parents (e.g., court protection from abuse orders, social worker reports, etc.) or other equally unusual circumstances (e.g., parents both incarcerated).
