How to Apply for Financial Aid

Waycross College School Code 013537

The Department administers several major student aid programs, including Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, which provide over $42 billion a year to help millions of students pay for the costs of college. Whether your ready to apply for financial aid or just interested in more information about the federal student aid programs, the starting point is...

Completing the FAFSA

The following information will assist you in completing the FAFSA, and completing your financial aid file:

  1. Complete the FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA) and file your application electronically (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov). You must have a PIN to file the Application electronically. If you are a dependent student (you had to use your parent's information to complete the FAFSA) you will need to get a PIN for your parents. To request a PIN for you and/or your parents, log onto http://www.pin.ed.gov and enter the requested information. Details will be given on when the PIN will be received.
  2. You can submit your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) from most Personal Computers through the Internet. To prevent delays, students and parents should first complete their 2008 tax returns. Estimated information will be flagged for correction which can lengthen the application process by two to four weeks. Follow these steps to submit your FAFSA electronically.
    1. Complete a FAFSA application or gather all required information. All information must be available at the time data is entered over the Internet.
    2. Log onto the Web site: www.fafsa.ed.gov.
    3. Enter the information as it is requested.
    4. Sign electronically with your PIN and parent PIN, if applicable. If the PIN signature is not applied, the processing center will print a rejected SAR and mail it to you within two weeks. For assistance with the Web site, call 1-800-433-3243.
  3. After electronically submitting your FAFSA Application, you will receive your STUDENT AID REPORT. Review the information on the SAR for accuracy. If all information is correct, contact the Financial Aid Office (if the FA Office has not already contacted you) to see if you need to submit additional documentation. If you determine that the information on the SAR is incorrect, make corrections according to the instructions on Part 2, Information Review Form, and make corrections electronically (you must have your PIN to make corrections electronically).
  4. VERIFICATION of application information: If your application is selected by the Federal Processing Center for additional verification you will be notified by the OFA (Office of Financial Aid) of what documentation will be required.

To receive a Federal Pell Grant, all verification requirements must be completed within 60 days after your last day of enrollment, or by August 30, whichever is earlier. You may be asked to submit the following to the OFA, if applicable: a signed copy of your 2008 federal tax return, a signed copy of your parent's and/or spouse's 2008 federal tax return, verification of other family members' enrollment at a post-secondary institution, and a Verification Work-Sheet.

  1. The OFA will contact you if additional information or applications are needed to process your request. You should respond promptly to these requests in order to prevent delays in processing your application for aid.
  2. Once the OFA has received all required documents, and after federal regulations governing the 2009-2010 academic year are issued, you will receive an AWARD LETTER notifying you of your eligibility for aid. Be sure to review all Award Letter messages. You do not have to return the Award Letter to the OFA.
  3. We do not automatically award Loans. If you want to apply for a loan, you must contact the OFA to see how much eligibility you have. Once your eligibility has been determined, you must complete Entrance Loan Counseling, choose a lender from the Lender list, sign a promissory note electronically, and complete an online loan request form. Once these steps have been completed, your loan proceeds will be posted to your student account in the Business Office for you to use to pay your fees. Your funds will be delivered to the college by EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer) on the College's scheduled disbursement date.

IMPORTANT
You have completed the application process once you have received an award letter from the OFA and, if applicable, your Federal Promissory Note has been correctly completed and received by Waycross College
Students who meet the general eligibility requirements will have their eligibility for aid determined when the OFA has received a completed FAA, valid SAR data, and, if selected, all requested verification information.