HELPFUL HINTS for First Time Students

HELPFUL HINTS
APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID AT HOPE COLLEGE
To be considered for all need-based aid resources, complete both of the following applications:
Hope College Supplemental Application for Financial Aid (SAF)
AND
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
hope.edu/finaid
PRIORITY FILING DEADLINE IS MARCH 1, 2015.
SAF CHECKLIST
 Carefully complete each question. If the answer is zero, enter “0” or “None”. Do not leave blank.
 Explain any special circumstances (loss of employment, loss of child support, unusual non-discretionary expenses,
etc.) in Section D of the SAF.
FAFSA CHECKLIST
 Be sure to enter your name on the FAFSA exactly as it appears on your Social Security Card. Also, be careful to
correctly enter your social security number and date of birth. An incorrect number or date of birth will delay processing.
 The FAFSA collects 2014 income and tax information. Use your 2014 Federal Income Tax Return information if
possible. If your tax return information is not available prior to March 1, use estimated figures to complete the FAFSA.
Once your tax return is completed, return to the FAFSA website to review and revise your income and tax information.
 USE THE IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL! See reverse side for more information about the IRS Data Retrieval
Process.
 List Hope College as one of the colleges to receive your FAFSA results. Our Federal School Code is 002273.
FILING YOUR 2015-16 FAFSA ONLINE
1) Go to fafsa.gov,
2) Select Start A New FAFSA,
3) After entering your identifying information, select START 2015-2016 FAFSA.
Important Note: You and one of your parents must each apply for a Federal PIN to electronically sign the FAFSA.
When filing online, you and your parent are both prompted to apply for a PIN if you don’t already have one. The PIN
serves as an electronic signature on the FAFSA and can be used to electronically sign other federal financial aid
documents. You will be asked to provide your social security number, name, date of birth, mailing address, and email
address when applying for a PIN. Go to pin.ed.gov for more information. Note – the PIN process will be transitioned
to a User ID process in late April. You will receive additional information about this process the first time you attempt to
log in after the transition.
Continued on reverse side……
MORE HINTS
 Both you and one parent must sign both forms. However, parent signature is not needed if you are not
required to provide parent data on the FAFSA – see FAFSA instructions.
 Complete both the SAF and the FAFSA at the same time to ensure your answers are consistent.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
•
If you entered a valid email address on your FAFSA, you will receive electronic status messages from the
FAFSA Processing Center. If you did not provide a valid email address, the Processor will mail you a
Student Aid Report (SAR).
•
Carefully review the Student Aid Report (SAR) you receive from the Federal Processor to ensure all
information is accurate. If you need to correct any data, return to the FAFSA website and enter your
corrections.
•
If you estimated your 2014 income and taxes when completing your FAFSA, return to the FAFSA
website and use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool once your tax returns have been submitted. Do NOT complete
another Hope College SAF.
•
Promptly respond to all requests for additional information from the Hope College Office of Financial Aid.
Requests will be mailed to your permanent address. Later in the summer, requests for information will also
be sent to the Hope College email address of students who have paid their deposit.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?
•
•
•
Call toll-free at 1.888.439.8907
Call local 616.395.7765
Email to [email protected]
Why should I use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool?
A successful transfer of data between the IRS and the Federal Processor via the IRS Data Retrieval Tool
eliminates the need for us to collect your federal income tax return transcripts, helps prevent reporting errors
and avoids processing delays. Most students and parents will be allowed to transfer their required 2014 tax
information directly from the IRS to the FAFSA. After February 1, you can retrieve your IRS data if you filed
your taxes electronically more than two weeks prior or mailed your return 6-8 weeks prior . We encourage you
to use this IRS Data Retrieval tool now or when making corrections subsequent to filing your original FAFSA.
How does the IRS Data Retrieval Process work?
While completing the FAFSA, you will be asked a series of questions that will help to determine if you are
eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to view and transfer your tax information from the IRS. If eligible,
you will enter information that allows the FAFSA Federal Processor to conduct a data match with the IRS and
be redirected to a secure IRS website. You then grant permission for the IRS to transfer the necessary data
elements directly into your FAFSA. Successfully transferred data is noted on your FAFSA as “Transferred
from the IRS”.
Where can I get more information?
Additional information can be found on the FAFSA website at fafsa.gov.

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