Make certain that you are applying for all possible types of aid

• Many parents and students ask for advice from the Office of Financial Aid to make certain that they have applied for every possible type of aid for college.  If this is also your concern, here are the seven steps you should take:

• File a FAFSA by the May 1 deadline. If you would like to be considered for any Clarion University scholarships that are need-based, apply by March 1.

• Complete the PA State Grant Status Notice form and return it to PHEAA.

• Apply for Stafford, PLUS, or private loans (as needed) over the summer.  Read more....

• First time applicants for the Stafford Student Loan should complete the online entrance interview counseling session.

• First time incoming students are automatically considered for most Clarion University scholarships on application to the University, but we encourage all students to investigate scholarship opportunities on their own.  Here is the link to the scholarship section.

• If you are selected for federal or state verification, submit any requested documents in a timely manner.

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The FAFSA Form

Filing a FAFSA is the starting point for most financial aid. In order to be considered for federal and state grants, federal loans and federal work study (financial aid based on need) students must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. The FAFSA may be filed electronically at fafsa.ed.gov, or via a paper version that can be obtained by calling 1-800-433-3243. There is no charge to file a FAFSA at this website.  If you are asked to pay a fee to file a FAFSA, check to make certain that your browser is at fafsa.ed.gov.

If you are filing electronically, you (and your parents, if you are a dependent student) will need a PIN number.  A PIN number is an access code number that allows you to "sign" your FAFSA electronically.  You can request a PIN at www.fafsa.ed.gov, the site where you file the FAFSA.

In addition to filing the FAFSA on the Internet, you can use your PIN to access your FAFSA once it is processed and make changes to it electronically.

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 FAFSA Common Errors 

Question 80: Parents should report their actual tax liability, not the amount of taxes withheld on the W-2 form. 

Question 26: "What type of student aid interests you?"  You must list "Student Loans" or "Both work-study and student loans" (and file a Master Promissory Note) for the Office of Financial Aid to automatically process a Stafford loan for you.  If you answer "work-study," "Neither," or "Don't know," we will not automatically process a loan, even if you have a Master Promissory Note on file. 

Question 31: "Convicted of a drug offense?"  If you leave this question blank, you will not be eligible for federal financial aid.

Section 5: "Housing Plan"  On campus means living in a residence hall on the Clarion campus.  Off campus means living in an apartment, Eagle Park, Reinhard Villages, or somewhere else where you are paying rent. With parent (commuter) means that you are living at home with your parents or other relatives who are providing room and meals to you. 

Don’t forget to list Clarion University in Section 5 (the list of schools that can receive your information). Our Title IV code is 003318.

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 Dependent or Independent?

For financial aid purposes, you must file as a dependent student and report information on both your, and your parents income and assets on the FAFSA, unless you are 24 years of age or older; are married; have one or more children and provide more than 51% of their support; are in graduate school; are a veteran, or are an orphan or ward of the court. If you do not meet one of these exceptions, the federal and state financial aid providers consider you to be dependent on your parents, even if they do not claim you on their tax return.

If you do not meet one of the exceptions, but feel that you should be considered for financial aid as an independent student due to extraordinary circumstances, contact the Office of Financial Aid at 1-800-67-7171, option #2.

How to file an appeal to be considered independent

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 FAFSA Deadlines 

Students who wish to be considered for scholarships at Clarion are advised to file the FAFSA by March 1. If you and your parents have not filed your federal income tax by then, note that you can estimate that information when you file the FAFSA.

Most states have a deadline by which residents must apply if they want to be considered for grant aid from their state of domiciliary. These deadlines are noted on the front cover of the paper FAFSA, and on the Fafsa.ed.gov site as well. Pennsylvania’s deadline is May 1. That means that the FAFSA form must be received by the federal processor by May 1, or you will not be considered for the PA state grant, even if you are otherwise eligible.

If you are a Pennsylvania resident, and this is the first time that you have applied for a PHEAA state grant, that agency will also ask you to answer some additional questions once they have received your FAFSA information. When PHEAA receives this information from you, they will finish processing your state grant, and will notify you of the amount of that grant in May.

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 After The FAFSA 

• If you filed the paper version of the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) in the mail within four weeks.  If you applied on the Web, you will receive a SAR Information Acknowledgement.  If you provided an e-mail address on either the paper or the electronic application, you'll receive an e-mail message that contains a secure link where you can access your SAR on the Web.  Review the information that you reported on the FAFSA.  If any of it is recorded incorrectly, make the change on the SAR and return it to the processor.  If there are no mistakes, keep the SAR.
   
• Want to check the status of your FAFSA application? Need an extra copy of your SAR? Call 1-800-433-3243.
   
• If you need to make corrections, you can make them online, or you can make them on Part 2, the informational Review Section of the SAR. Don’t forget to  sign the certification statement and submit both pages to the federal processor whose address is listed near the Certification Statement. You will receive a corrected SAR within a few weeks. Clarion University will receive changes to your SAR electronically, and will notify you in writing if the changes you made result in an increased eligibility for federal financial aid.
   
• If you make corrections to the SAR, you may also need to make the same corrections to your state grant record. Pennsylvania residents should contact PHEAA at 1-800-692-7392 to report any changes or mistakes to the original FAFSA. Residents of other states should contact their state grant agency.
   
• If you are an out-of-state student, make certain that you file the FAFSA by your state’s deadline, and that you complete any other forms they require.
• Students who already have a Master Promissory Note (MPN) on file (the application for a Stafford Student Loan) do not need to reapply each year.

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Clarion will provide estimates of federal and state grants to incoming students who have filed a FAFSA beginning in May. Official notices of loans, scholarships, grants and other aid will be mailed on a rolling basis over the summer.

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 If, after filing the FAFSA, there is a change in the family’s circumstances, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at 800-672-7171, option #2 to determine if your circumstances would result in a change to your financial aid status. Both federal and state grant aid can be reconsidered based on special conditions including (but not limited to) parent’s loss of employment, loss of untaxed income, a parent in college, disability, divorce or separation, or death.

PHEAA (PA state grant) 2008-09 reduced income form for dependent students

PHEAA (PA state grant) 2008-09 reduced income form for independent students

The purpose of filing a FAFSA, of course, is for you to see if you qualify for grant aid (aid based on financial need that does not need to be repaid). Actually, you don’t need to wait until you file the FAFSA to see what your expected family contribution is (the amount of money, according to federal methodology, that you and your parents are expected to contribute toward your education.). You can point your browser to FAFSA4caster, or to Education Planner to get an estimate of your EFC right away. 

Or, if you prefer, you can contact the Office of Financial Aid at Clarion and we will do an early need estimate for you.

Both the federal and state financial aid agencies verify, or check for accuracy, the financial information provided by a percentage of those file the FAFSA. If you are selected for verification by either or both the federal and/or state assistance agency, you will be notified in writing, and asked to provide certain financial records, such as tax returns, W-2 statements, or records of Social Security income. When you sign the FAFSA, you agree that the information you provide is accurate, and that you can substantiate your answers with financial records, if required. Please realize that federal and/or state financial aid cannot be given to you until you have completed the verification process.

2007-2008 Federal Verification Worksheet for Dependent Students

2007-2008 Federal Verification Worksheet for Independent Students

2008-2009 Federal Verification Worksheet for Dependent Students

2008-2009 Federal Verification Worksheet for Independent Students

Can’t find your tax returns? Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and ask to receive a free tax transcript (a tax account is NOT acceptable--please be sure to specify a tax transcript).top of page