Financial Aid FAQ

 

How do I start applying for financial aid?

Which FAFSA® year do I complete?

  • Aid year: 2024-25 includes Summer 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, and Spring 2025
  • Aid year: 2023-24 includes Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, and Spring 2024
  • Please complete the appropriate application for the academic year(s) you plan on attending.

Are you a dependent student?

If you are under the age of 24, not married, do not have children, and have not served in the military; you will need your parent(s) to create an FSA ID and provide information to your FAFSA® application.

Who is a Contributor for my FAFSA®?

  • If you are under the age of 24, not married, do not have children, and have not served in the military; you will need your parent(s) to create an FSA ID and provide information to your FAFSA® application. Your parents will be contributors on your application.
  • If you’re married, your spouse will need to create an FSA ID and provide information to your FAFSA® application. Your spouse will be a contributor to your application.

When will the issue of not being able to complete the online form or apply for an FSA ID if my parent(s) or spouse do not have an SSN be resolved?

Until this issue has been resolved, parent(s)/spouse who are unable to get through the process, can wait for the Department of Education to fix the issue or the student and parent can complete and mail in the Paper FAFSA®.

If I am a dependent student with divorced/separated parents, who is parent that I use for the FAFSA®?

The parent who provides the most financial support over the 12-month period before filing FAFSA®, must be the parent contributor on the FAFSA®. This is regardless of whom the student is or was living with.

What is Federal Tax Information (FTI) Data? 

  • The college utilizes your FTI to determine how much federal, state, and institutional financial aid you qualify for. Any other use requires a signed release of information.
  • It is now required that you and all contributor(s) give consent for their FTI to be transferred from the IRS to the FAFSA®.

Do you have a social security number, but one of your contributors does not?

Starting in December 2023, parents or spouses will be able to create a StudentAid.gov account without having an SSN to access their portion of your FAFSA® form. On the 2024–25 FAFSA® form, if the parent or spouse is completing their own section and doesn't have an SSN, the SSN will be blank and disabled. If the parent or spouse has an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), they should add it to the FAFSA® form. If they don’t have an ITIN, they should leave that question blank.

I want to make a change to my FAFSA®, when can I do that?

You will be able to make corrections to your FAFSA®; once the form has been fully processed. At this point, this date is anticipated to be during the first half of March.

I submitted a paper FAFSA®, when will the Department of Education process the paperwork?

The Department will fully process paper applications in the weeks following the processing of the electronic submissions. At this time, we would anticipate this to occur starting later in March.

What is SAI (Student Aid Index)?

Student Aid Index (SAI) is replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculation. The SAI is used to determine your eligibility for financial aid.

What is Enrollment Intensity for Pell and Washington College Grant?

  • Financial aid is awarded based on the number of credits enrolled each term.
  • Dropping or withdrawing from a single credit may cause you to owe financial aid funds back to the college. Please make sure that you are enrolled in the number of credits that you will complete prior to financial aid disbursement each term.

How is family size determined?

Your family size is based on the dependents claimed on your federal tax return. If your family size has changed since 2022 you can update the family size on your FAFSA® application.

How do Work-Study funds impact the FAFSA®?

Earnings from Federal Work-Study are excluded from income.

Who may want to petition for independent status?

  • Students under the age of 24 are generally considered dependent students for financial aid purposes and are required to provide parental information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). However, if you’re unable to provide parental information due to unusual circumstances (such as parental incarceration/abusive family environment) you may submit a Student Status Appeal to the Financial Aid Office at Clark College.
  • If you received a Provisional Independent Status with a provisional SAI calculation, you will need to work with the financial aid office to determine if you are eligible for a dependency override prior to aid being processed.

What is the timeline for the FAFSA® to be completed by all contributors and electronically signed?

All FAFSA® contributors have 45 days to fill out their sections of the FAFSA® and give consent to import FTI or the FAFSA® application will expire and a new one will need to be created.

What is the Student Demographic Survey?

You will be asked to complete a demographic survey on the application about gender, race, and ethnicity prior to submitting the FAFSA® . Colleges do not receive this information and the survey will have no effect on your financial aid eligibility.

My FAFSA® has been submitted, what happens next?

  • Once FAFSA® application is accepted by Federal Student Aid, you will receive an estimate of Pell eligibility based on the calculated SAI.
  • Colleges are anticipating that the Department of Education will begin transmitting batches of FAFSA® information to schools and state agencies in the first half of March.
  • When the college receives the application, it will determine if additional documentation is required. Once all required documentation is submitted, the application can be reviewed.
  • After review, the application is used to determine eligibility for Federal, State, and Institutional grants, loan offers, and Work Study. Once eligibility is determined you will receive an award offer, sent by email to your preferred account.
    • Loans must be accepted in ctcLink and Entrance Counseling & Master Promissory Note must be completed.

When can I expect to receive an award offer letter from my college?

You will receive an email informing you that your FAFSA®; form has been fully processed by the Department of Education and your FAFSA®; information has been sent to the schools they listed on your form. Each college will have to perform a file review and determine eligibility for financial aid awards.  Please be patient as this process will begin later in the spring.

What is a financial aid tuition hold and when will my funds be disbursed?

  • To prevent you from being dropped from classes for non-payment prior to the release of your financial aid, a financial aid tuition hold is added to your account student account.
  • If you are attending less than 12 credits in a term, you must inform the financial aid office. If your aid is not adjusted to reflect your current enrollment intensity, your disbursement will be delayed.
  • Funds begin to be disbursed the Thursday before the start of each term. Funds will automatically apply to your student account to pay tuition and fees. Any remaining balance will be refunded to you through BankMobile Vibe.
  • After funds are disbursed, the financial aid hold will be removed. If there are still outstanding charged they will need to be paid promptly.