FAFSA Completion

Debrief for 2017-2018

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What is the FAFSA?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a document required at
all post-secondary institutions that include federal and certain types of state and
institutional funds as part of the financial aid that that they offer to students.
Completing the FAFSA early and accurately gives students and their parents
maximum access to the largest pool of financial aid available in the United States
and its territories. Students can utilize these funds at colleges and career schools
to help fund a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

The FAFSA and the Financial Aid Process

The information that a student provides on the FAFSA is used to calculate an
index number known as an Expected Family Contribution (EFC). An EFC is neither an indication of how much money a students family is expected to contribute to college nor is it how much a student is going to receive in financial aid. Rather, an EFC is the numerical result of a mathematical formula which condenses
certain measures of a familys financial situation (household size, parent age, assets, number of family members in college, taxable income, etc.) into a number
representative of a familys overall financial strength.
The EFC simplifies and expedites financial aid offices awarding procedures in
two significant ways. First, the EFC allows each institution to establish how
much money a student needs relative to his or her financial situation and the offices estimated budget for the type of program into which the student is planning to matriculate. Second, because the EFC is a sole value, it allows certain
types of federal, state, and institutional funds to be based in-part on the EFC
(Pell Grant, Direct Subsidized student loans, WV Higher Education Grant, Institutional needs-based grants, etc.), which expedites the financial aid packaging
process for institutions.
Financial aid offices apply these EFC-based funds (often called needs-based aid)
in combination with both outside and institutional scholarships and grants (i.e.
merit-based aid) in order to maximize the total funds that a student can receive.

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The FAFSA and College

Access in West Virginia
Easy access to completing the FAFSA has been shown in multiple
research settings to increase college enrollment among high
school seniors, and is therefore a critical component of developing
and sustaining college-going cultures in high schools. Heres
some noteworthy stats:

A Department of Education report estimates that there is a 25 to 30% increase in

the likelihood that a student will attend college if they complete the FAFSA..

In a study examining the effects of FAFSA outreach, students who submitted a

FAFSA under guidance were 8% more likely to complete at least a two year degree program than students who did not do so.

Multiple studies have found that studentsparticularly those from low income
backgroundsdidnt complete the FAFSA because they believed were ineligible
for funds, did not have enough information about financial aid to apply, thought
the application was too complicated, and were leery of student loan debt. These
student beliefs are also correlated with low college-going rates.

In West Virginia, completing the FAFSA in order to receive needsbased aid has taken on increased significance for students in recent years.

In 2015, West Virginia ranked 2nd in the United States in terms of needs-based
grant dollars awarded to students.

West Virginia ranked 9th overall in another analysis of college affordability conducted by the University of Pennsylvania.

About 1 out of 3 West Virginia college students complete an undergraduate degree without federal student loan debt.

The number of students in West Virginia who received the Pell grant, a Federal
needs-based grant, increased by 36,249 total awardees from the 2007-2008 award
year to the 2011-2012 award years.

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2017-2018 Changes
In an effort to encourage low-income and first-generation college
students to enroll into a post-secondary program following high
school, the Department of Education will release the 2017-2018
FAFSA on October 1st, 2016.
Heres a summary of the changes which the West Virginia Higher
Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC) will be implementing in
order to take advantages of this change:

All financial aid offices have been encouraged to adjust their financial aid processing in order to provide admitted students who have completed the FAFSA in
October and November with a tentative financial aid package by December or
early January so that students will have their second high school semester to compare offers and work to qualify for more aid.

The statewide FAFSA completion goal will be raised to 60% FAFSA completion
by April 15th, 2016. There will not be a second statewide goal in the following
September.

In lieu of College Goal Sunday, institutional financial aid offices will sponsor multiple events throughout the year at various locations around the state wherein students and can have a FAFSA filled out under guidance. However, high schools
are expected to be the primary sites for all other FAFSA workshops.

The 2017 PROMISE Scholarship online application will become available on October 1st, 2016 in order to allow students to submit both the PROMISE applica- WV Higher Educa on
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Official notification of PROMISE eligibility will be made on a rolling basis. Students who have a qualifying test score, a completed FAFSA, and a qualifying
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PROMISE application will be notified of their tentative eligibility to receive the Email: jacob.abrams@wvhepc.edu
award contingent upon the student continuing to meet eligibility requirements.
Institutions will also be notified of students eligibility.

The statewide deadlines for the PROMISE scholarship (March 1st, 2017) and West
Virginia Higher Education Grant (April 15th, 2017) will remain the same in order
to maximize the number of students who can qualify for the programs.
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So, what are FAFSA

Completion Rates?
WVHEPC has embarked on a comprehensive effort to improve FAFSA completion among all West Virginia high schools, and has developed multiple
tools aimed at increasing FAFSA completion rates. WVHEPC will regularly
publish high school completion data at http://www.cfwvconnect.com/
financial-aid-outreach/ throughout the year.
Calculation of FAFSA Completion Rates
West Virginia high school FAFSA completion rates are calculated from data
provided to the WVHEPC by the Department of Education (DOE) and the
West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE). The DOE provides us
with the number of completed and submitted FAFSAs at your high school
that they determine have been provided by high school seniors, and the
WVDE reports to us your second-month senior class enrollment (the same
number that is used in other WVDE reports of attendance rates, class sizes,
and school demographics). While we understand and appreciate that students may withdrawal or enroll in your senior class after you have reported your second-month senior class enrollment to the WVDE, internal data processing and federal privacy laws prevents us from altering
your enrollment figures unless the WVDE corrects your second month
enrollment.
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FAFSA Completion Rates

Completed vs. Submitted FAFSAs
A submitted FAFSA is just what you would expect: a FAFSA that
has been submitted by a student deemed to be a high school student and processed by the DOE. A submitted FAFSA IS NOT
necessarily considered a complete FAFSA. A submitted FAFSA
might have errors and/or missing information preventing the
DOE from calculating an EFC. An EFC must be calculated in order for a FAFSA to be considered complete. .
A completed FAFSA means that the DOE was able to calculate
an EFC for the student from his or her FAFSA submission and
determine that the student was a high school senior. No other action is necessary on the part of the student unless he or she is instructed to update or correct information by an institution or the
DOE.

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How can I ensure that a

student is included in my
published completion rate?
Because there is no question on the FAFSA which asks a student whether
he or she is a high school senior, the DOE has to infer whether a student
is considered a high school senior based on the students responses to
certain questions on the FAFSA. A high school senior needs to answer
the following questions on his or her FAFSA and have the following demographic characteristics in order for the Department of Education to
consider the student to be a high school senior:

FAFSA Question 29: What will your grade level be when you begin the 20172018 school year?
Student MUST answer (if currently a high school senior): Never attended
college and 1st year undergraduate

FAFSA Question 30: What degree or certificate will you be working on when
you begin the 2016-2017 school year?
Student must NOT answer: Second bachelors (choice 2) or Graduate or
professional degree (choice 8)

FAFSA Question 27: What is the name of the high school where you received
or will receive your high school diploma?
Student MUST answer: Current high school (clicking CONFIRM will ensure
that the high school name is correct).

FAFSA Question 9: Your date of birth

Student must be no older than 18.

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Unfortunately, students who are older than 18 are not included in completion
numbers by the DOE. However, students who are older than 18 should not
change their birthdate on the FAFSA in order to be included in your completion numbers.

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What resources are available to

high schools to increase the number
of students completing the FAFSA?
There are multiple resources available to high schools to achieve
their FAFSA completion goals:

Financial Aid Management System (FAMS): Authorized users at high

schools have access to two features available within WVHEPCs user interface for state-level financial aid: FAFSA Datashare and the PROMISE applicant Roster.

FAFSA Datashare: This feature is available within FAMS and allows authorized individuals to view the FAFSA completion status of
every student in a schools senior class.

PROMISE Applicant status: This program is available within

FAMS and allows authorized users to view the FAFSA status of students at their high school who have submitted a PROMISE application.

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What resources are available to

high schools to increase the
number of students completing
the FAFSA?

CFWV Financial Aid Outreach website: A one-stop shop website is

available for high school counselors to utilize: http://
www.cfwvconnect.com/financial-aid-outreach/. This website contains archived training webinars and videos, statewide FAFSA completion data, access to FAMS, the CFWV Statewide Calendar, and a wide variety of outreach
materials, including flyers, brochures, professional development materials,
social media tools, marketing materials, etc.

CFWV Calendar: WVHEPC posts financial aid events on our public calendar at http://cfwvconnect.com/community-calendar/. If a student or his or
her parent cannot attend a workshop at your high school, you can use this
calendar to direct them to another workshop being offered in your area.

Counselor Workshops: West Virginia Association of State Financial Aid

Administrators (WVASFAA) hosts 12 workshops across the state in the fall
of every year to provide further professional development to all high school
counselors and college access stakeholders. Trainings review important information on federal and state regulations concerning financial aid.

Student Text Message Service: WVHEPC has also developed a new text
messaging outreach service that provides students and/or parents who have a
CFWV account or have submitted a PROMISE application with college and
financial aid counseling through text messaging. Students and parents can also
sign up for text messages by clicking the Sign up to get college tips & reminders button at the bottom left-hand corner at cfwv.com.

Social media: CFWV, GEAR UP, and WVHEPC regularly post scholarship
opportunities, upcoming financial aid deadlines, and college access events on
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Additionally, social media campaigns that
provide students with chances to win free gift cards, college supplies, and
monetary awards are conducted throughout the school year.

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WVHEPC Financial Aid hotline: High school counselors and administrators are always welcome to call the WVHEPCs hotline with any financial aidrelated questions or concerns from 9:00AM until 5:00PM daily.
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What types of events can my

school provide to students in order
to assist them throughout the
financial aid application process?
WVHEPC and financial aid offices work together throughout the
school year to provide as many outreach events to high schools as
possible. Here are the core events recommended for all high schools:

Financial aid night: This event is a presentation conducted in the evening

and is designed to provide students and parents with an overview of the financial aid application process, including how to complete the FAFSA and
apply for state-level financial aid awards. For the 2016-2017 school year,
high schools are encouraged to offer financial aid nights for seniors in August and September if they have not already offered a presentation for the
upcoming senior class during the previous year. During the spring, high
schools are also strongly encouraged to host a financial aid night for all juniors in order to provide them and their parents with enough preparation
time for financial aid applications over the summer.

FAFSA Workshop: This event is the most critical component of outreach

for many schools. At a FAFSA workshop, a financial aid professional will be
available at a location in the school to individually assist students and parents in filing the FAFSA.

Classroom presentations and on-site visits: Financial aid professionals

can also provide condensed and/or tailored financial aid presentations for
any grade level in high schools, and are also available to conduct presentations at parent information nights for any grade level. Additionally, high
schools which have already conducted a FAFSA workshop and still need to
reach a relatively small number of students may request another on-site visit
from a financial aid professional so that students can complete the FAFSA
under proper guidance.

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How can I use FAMS to check

and see if a student is included
in my completion rate?
The DOE does not release identifying student data in its published completion numbers. Heres a breakdown of what resources you can utilize to
verify certain high school senior status indicators on a students FAFSA.
When in doubt, you can always request that the student provide you with
a copy of his or Student Aid Report (SAR), which is an informational copy
of the FAFSA that the student submitted. If the student provided an
email address on the FAFSA, he or she will typically receive a SAR 2 to 3
days after he or she submitted the online FAFSA.

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Common FAFSA Completion

Questions from Students
and Answers to them:
1. What is the FAFSA?
The FAFSA is a document that colleges, vocational schools, and some technical training centers use to give you financial aid based on you and your familys financial situation. They combine those funds with scholarships and grants
based on your academic performance and extra-curricular activities.
2. I have no interest in going to college right now, so whats the point
in me completing the FAFSA now?
Completing the FAFSA now will allow a financial aid office to give you financial aid more quickly if you do decide to go to college later this year. A lot of
funds are available on a first-come-first-serve basis, and if you wait until this
summer to complete it, a financial aid office may have to wait up to two to
four weeks before they can provide you with financial aid, and there might not
be much institutional aid available for you by then.
3. Im going into the military, so why do I need this?
Completing this years FAFSA may be required for certain scholarships and
grants that you can defer and pick up when you enroll in college after you
complete your service requirement. Its also important to have the FAFSA on
file as a back-up in case you decide over the summer to go to college or enroll
in a cooperative program. Its always good to have a safety net and complete
the FAFSA now while you have these resources readily available to you.
4. Whats an FSA-ID and why do I need it?
An FSA-ID is a user name and password that you and your parents (if your
parents information is required on the FAFSA) create which allows you to file
and sign the FAFSA electronically. Youll also use your FSA ID later on to
manage your student loans (if you have them) and apply for certain financial
aid programs funded at a federal level.

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5. The FAFSA says my (or my parents) FSA-ID doesnt match whats on

my FAFSA. What do I need to do?
If you have your FAFSA already open in a web browser, theres a couple of
things
you can do:
Open another window or tab in your browser.
Go to fsaid.ed.gov.
Click the Edit my FSA ID tab.
Enter your username and password and access your FSA-ID information .
In the separate window or tab that contains your FAFSA, look at
your student (or parent) demographic information and compare it
with the information you or your parent provided on the FSA-ID.
Correct any incorrect information on your FSA-ID or FAFSA
(name, date of birth, social security number, etc.) until the information on both the FAFSA and FSA-ID match one another.
Once you correct the discrepancy on the FAFSA or FSA-ID, your
signature should be applied.
If you continue to have problems, contact a financial aid professional for assistance.

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Possible Student and Parent

Questions about the 2017-2018
FAFSA and Answers to them
1. Do I need to go back and change my income on the 2017-2018 FAFSA to
my 2016 income?
Answer: No, you are not required to update your 2015 tax information to 2016 income information after submitting the 2017-2018 FAFSA. You can only report the
information that the FAFSA asks for. If theres been a significant change in your
income from 2015 to 2016, you can contact your financial aid office and request a
Professional Judgment.
2. Whys all of this FAFSA stuff being moved up to October?
Answer: Its being moved up to give students across the U.S., especially those who
come from low-income backgrounds and those who will be the first person in their
family to go to college, more time to qualify for financial aid and make more informed decisions about which college is best for them. Itll also let you meet college application and other state financial aid deadlines sooner rather than later.
3. I dont like that some of the information on the FAFSA is going to be
more than a year old. Hows it even going to make my FAFSA accurate?
Answer: The information that you provide on your FAFSA actually goes into an
equation that is set by Congress each year and managed by the Department of Education. That equation produces an index number called an EFC (Expected Family
Contribution). Before this change, the DOE shared your concern, but found in a
review of income variation from year to year that there wasnt a significant enough
variation in peoples yearly income to impact an EFC.
4. What if my financial situation has drastically changed from 2015 to 2016?
Youll still be required to report your 2015 income information on the 2017-2018
FAFSA, but you can contact your financial aid offices at colleges ask for a Professional Judgment. Theyll ask for some documentation from you, and if they find
that your situation has indeed changed to the point that it is affecting your eligibility for needs-based aid at their institution, they will adjust your information to be
more reflective of your financial situation.

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