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Step One collects personal identification information. This step includes a question about citizenship status because you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen to receive federal aid.
Questions 1-3 Name - Your name, along with other identifying information, is used to confirm eligibility with other federal databases. Because the Department matches each name and Social Security Number (SSN) with the Social Security Administration (SSA), the name provided here should match the name on your Social Security card. If you use a name other than the name on your Social Security card (such as a nickname), you will receive a comment about the inconsistency, which may delay awarding your aid. Questions 4-7 Permanent Mailing Address - You must give a permanent home mailing address (not a school or office address). An incarcerated student may use his or her school's administrative address. If such a student uses a school's administrative address, the school's financial aid administrator (FAA) must include a letter with the FAFSA indicating that the student is incarcerated and is therefore using the school's address. Questions 8 Social Security Number (SSN) - Generally, you must have a Social Security Number (SSN) to be eligible for federal student financial aid. If you submit a FAFSA without an SSN, your FAFSA will be returned to you unprocessed. The Privacy Act Statement gives information about how your SSN may be used. To apply for an SSN or to get a replacement Social Security card if yours has been lost or stolen, contact your local Social Security office. For additional information (in English or Spanish), you can call the SSA at 1-800/772-1213 or go to their web site at http://www.ssa.gov The one exception to the SSN requirement is for students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau. If you do not have an SSN, you can contact an FAA for assistance or send your FAFSA to the following address - not to the address on the FAFSA or the FAFSA envelope: Federal Student Aid Programs Questions 12-13 Driver's License Number and State - You must provide your driver's license number or the number on the identification card issued by your state Department of Motor Vehicles. If you do not have a driver's license or identification card, enter "no" in the question that asks whether you have a driver's license and leave the driver's license number and state questions blank. Question 14 Citizenship Status - You can receive federal student financial aid only if you are a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen. If you have changed from a noncitizen to a citizen and have not already done so, contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to update your status with that agency. Otherwise, the SSA may report that you are not a citizen, and you will have to provide citizenship documentation before receiving aid. For financial aid purposes, an eligible noncitizen is one of the following:
You are neither a citizen nor an eligible noncitizen if you are in the U.S. on
which means you are not eligible for federal student aid. However, you may be eligible for state or institutional aid and may therefore wish to complete the FAFSA. Question 15 Alien Registration Number (ARN) - If you are an eligible noncitizen, enter your eight- or nine-digit ARN. Leave the first space blank if you have an eight-digit ARN. If you answer "yes" to the question asking whether you are a U.S. citizen, do not write an ARN in this question. If an ARN is present, the Department will check with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to confirm your status. Question 16 Marital Status - Your marital status directly affects how your income and assets are treated in the EFC calculation. Marital status cannot be projected-you must report your marital status as of the date the application is completed. Question 17 Date of Marital Status - You should enter the date you married, divorced, separated, or were widowed. If you never married, leave this question blank. If your current marital status is "divorced," enter the date you separated or became divorced, whichever was earlier. Questions 18-22 Enrollment Status - A financial aid administrator (FAA) will look at your expected enrollment status as a factor in determining your financial aid package. The amount of your financial aid award depends on whether you're a full-time or part-time student and whether you attend school for a full academic year or less. If you change your enrollment status, your FAA may be able to adjust your award to reflect this change, depending on the timing of the change, how much aid is available, etc. You should enter your expected enrollment status for the 2000-2001 school year. If applying to more than one school, you should provide the enrollment status and school terms that apply to the school you are likely to attend and list that school first. If unsure of your enrollment status, you should select "full time." For undergraduates, "full time" generally means taking at least 12 credit hours in a term or 24 clock hours per week. "Three-quarter time" generally means taking at least 9 credit hours in a term or 18 clock hours per week. "Half time" generally means taking at least 6 credit hours in a term or 12 clock hours per week. Questions 23-24 Father's/Mother's Highest School Level - These questions are for state scholarship purposes only and do not affect your eligibility for federal student aid. Some state and institutional programs offer aid to first-generation college students. Enter the highest grade level completed by your father and mother. "Father" and "mother" in these questions mean your birth or adoptive parents, but not stepparents or foster parents. Note that this definition of parents is unique to these two questions. Question 25 State of Legal Residence - The Department will disclose your FAFSA information to each school listed on the FAFSA, state agencies in your state of legal residence, and state agencies in the state in which the school is located. State and institutional programs may use the information provided on the FAFSA to determine your eligibility for state and institutional aid. Your state of legal residence is also used in the EFC calculation to determine the appropriate allowance for state and other taxes paid by that state's residents. Provide your state of legal residence. Residency (domicile) is your true, fixed, and permanent home. If you are a dependent student, the state of legal residence is usually the state in which your parents live. If you moved into a state for the sole purpose of attending a college, do not count that state as your legal residence. Use the State Abbreviations List to provide the abbreviation for your state. Question 26 Legal Resident Before 1995 - States have varying criteria for determining whether or not you are a resident for purposes of state financial aid. However, all states consider you to be a resident if you became a legal resident of that state more than four years ago. Select "Yes" if you became a resident of your state before January 1, 1995 or "No" if you became a resident of your state on or after January 1, 1995. Question 27 Date of Legal Residence - Your state will use this information to determine whether you meet its specific residency criteria for state aid. If you answered "No" to the question asking if you became a legal resident of your state before January 1, 1995, provide the month and year you became a legal resident of your state. Question 28 Drug Offense Convictions - In October 1998, Congress passed a new law that suspends federal student aid eligibility for students convicted under federal or state law of possession or sale of drugs (this does not include alcohol or tobacco). A drug-related conviction does not necessarily mean you are ineligible for aid. This question is important, and students should not leave it blank. If you have never been convicted of any illegal drug offense, enter a "1" in the box and continue filling out the FAFSA. Call 1-800/433-3243 or go to http://fafsaws4.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw0001/q28wksht.htm#Page1 for additional help answering this question. All students are advised to complete and file the FAFSA. Even if you are not eligible for federal student aid during 2000-2001 because of a drug conviction, you may be eligible for state or institutional aid. Questions 29-30 Selective Service Registration - To receive federal student financial aid, male students who are at least 18 years old and born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with Selective Service. Indicate whether you are male. If you are male, 18 through 25 years of age, and have not registered with Selective Service, you can enter "Yes" to give Selective Service permission to register you. You can also register on the web at http://www.sss.gov If you believe that you are not required to register, call the Selective Service office at 1-847/688-6888 for information regarding exemptions. Female students should leave the question asking whether they want to be registered with Selective Service blank. Question 31 Degree or Certificate - Write in the one-digit code for your expected degree or certificate, using the "Degree/Certificate Code List" below. If your degree or certificate does not fit any of these categories, or if you are undecided, enter "9."
Question 32 Grade Level during 2000-2001 School Year - Choose from the following:
Grade level does not mean the number of years you have attended college, but grade level in regard to completing your degree/certificate. (For example, if you are enrolled less than full time, it will take longer for you to reach the same grade level than for a full-time student.) Question 33 High School Diploma/GED - If you receive your high school diploma or earn a General Education Development (GED) diploma or equivalent home-school credential before you enroll in college, answer "Yes" to this question. Otherwise, answer "No." Question 34 1st Bachelor's Degree - This question has a direct bearing on your eligibility for Federal Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, which are restricted to students who have not yet received bachelor's degrees. You must answer "yes" to this question if you have (or will have by July 1, 2000) a degree from a college in the U.S., or from a college in another country that is equal to a bachelor's degree. If you incorrectly report "Yes" to this question, you will be ineligible for a Federal Pell Grant unless a correction is made. If you attend two different colleges during the same enrollment period, you must notify the financial aid administrators (FAAs) at both schools. You may not receive Federal Pell Grants at both schools. Questions 35-36 Types of Aid - These questions ask you to indicate what types of aid, in addition to grants, you are interested in receiving. Please note that although the FAFSA assumes you are interested in grant aid (aid you do not have to pay back), you are not required to accept any grants offered to you. Federal, state, and institutional programs all may use the information from this question to determine what types of aid to award. If you are not sure, you should answer "Yes" to both of these questions and will be considered for all types of aid that are available. You can decline any aid that is later awarded and that you do not want. If you or your parents wish to take out loans for your education, check "Yes" to "student loans." Courtesy of: "Completing the 2000-2001 FAFSA," from the U.S. Department of Education | ||
