Smart Money Moves
Your monthly guide to Financial Aid Information: Dec 2018
In this issue, you will find:
- Winston Salem Foundation Scholarship application opens Jan 1
- Crosby Scholars Scholarship Opportunities for Seniors opens Jan 7
- CSS PROFILE Fee Waivers
- Upcoming UNC School System Priority Filing Deadlines
- Use the myStudentAid mobile app to submit your FAFSA
I filed my FAFSA, what happens now?
What if I make a mistake on the FAFSA?
What do I do if my FAFSA has been selected for Verification?
- Don't miss DestinationCollege2019: Crosby Scholars Senior Newsletter!
- Have Financial Aid Questions? Schedule a one-on-one appointment
The Winston Salem Foundation's One-Stop Scholarship Application opens Jan 1
The Winston Salem Foundation offers many scholarships utilizing a one-stop scholarship application. After completing the online application, you will receive a list of scholarship opportunities for which you are eligible. There is no need to apply for these scholarships individually or more than once - the prequalifying process is done for you!
Click here to review a list of all scholarships included in the one-stop application process.
APPLICATION DEADLINES:
January 1: one-stop scholarship application process opens
April 1: deadline for most merit-based scholarships
July 31: deadline for most financial need-based scholarships (applications will be considered in order of completion date)
Crosby Scholars Scholarship Opportunities for Seniors opens Jan 7
Apply inside your Crosby Scholars Student Portal beginning January 7, 2019. Students may apply for as many of our scholarships as they are eligible for.
Crosby Scholars Scholarship opportunities will be posted every Monday, so check your Crosby Scholars Student Portal each week!
CSS PROFILE Fee Waivers
The CSS Profile is an additional financial aid form required be some colleges to determine instutitional scholarship eligibilty. Unlike the free FAFSA form, the CSS PROFILE does have a cost of $25 for the first application and $16 for each subsequent application.
You may be eligible to receive a CSS PROFILE fee wavier if you will be a first year undergraduate whose parents live in the U.S.:
- You received an SAT fee waiver OR
- The parental income you reported on your application is approximately $45,500 or less for a family of four OR
- You are an orphan or ward of the court under age 24
Check out the CSS Profile website and read their FAQ for more info!
Don't miss these UNC School System FAFSA Priority Filing Deadlines
Make sure you know the institutional Financial Aid priority deadline for your school! Filing out and submitting your 2019-20 FAFSA by a school's Institutional priority deadline is the best way to ensure you will be considered for the most federal and state financial aid funds.
UNC School System FAFSA Priority Filing Dates
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington -- January 1st
- Western Carolina University -- January 1st
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte -- January 1st
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- March 1st
- Eastern Carolina University -- March 1st
- University of North Carolina at Asheville -- March 1st
- University of North Carolina at Pembroke -- March 1st
- Winston Salem State University -- March 1st
- Appalachian State University -- March 1st
- Elizabeth City State University -- March 1st
- North Carolina State University -- March 1st
- North Carolina Central University -- March 15th
If you do not see your school listed, you can find their FAFSA priority deadline by checking the Financial Aid section of their website.
Try the myStudentAid mobile app to submit your FAFSA today!
No access to a computer? No problem!
Students and parents are now able to fill out and submit a FAFSA using the myStudentAid mobile app. Download from the Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android)
The myStudentAid app is the only mobile device application where you can fill out and submit the FAFSA.
With myStudentAid, you can apply for financial aid for college and keep tabs on the amount of federal student aid you use in the future.
Key Features of myStudentAid
- Application: Begin, complete, and submit a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form for the 2019-20 school year.
- Customization: Answer questions and see customized guidance based on who you are – a student, parent, or preparer
- Help: Get help and tips as you complete the FAFSA form
- Security: Know your information is secure with the same data protections used for the FAFSA form on fafsa.gov
I filed my FAFSA, what happens now?
- Within 3 days to 3 weeks after filing the FAFSA, you will receive notification from the Federal Government that your Student Aid Report (SAR) has been processed. The SAR is a summary of the information you and your parent(s) provided on the FAFSA.
- If you do not hear from them, log in at FAFSA.gov and check your status.
- Look over your SAR to make sure you did not make a mistake on your FAFSA.
- The SAR won't tell you how much financial aid you'll get.
- If you have been admitted to a school, and you listed that school on the FAFSA, the school will calculate your aid and will send you an electronic or paper aid offer, called an Award Letter, telling you how much aid you're eligible for at the school. The timing of the aid offer varies from school to school. It depends on when you apply and how the school prefers to schedule awarding of aid.
What if I made a mistake on the FAFSA?
Once your application has been processed, you can correct your FAFSA online or on paper. (Making corrections online is the easiest and fastest option.)
You can also contact the financial aid office at the school that you have been accepted at to see if they can make the correction for you.
Note: The online FAFSA doesn’t allow you to change your Social Security number (SSN). If you made a mistake in reporting your SSN, ask the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend whether you should start over again and submit a new FAFSA.
Find more information about correcting your Social Security Number HERE.
What do I do if my FAFSA has been selected for Verification?
Verification is the process your school uses to confirm that the data reported on the FAFSA is accurate.
If you're selected for Verification, don't assume you're being accused of doing anything wrong. Some people are selected at random; and some schools verify all students' FAFSAs. All you need to do is provide the documentation your school asks for - and be sure to do so by the school's deadline, or your financial aid could be delayed or rescinded.
If you used the Internal Revenue Service Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) when filing the FAFSA, you will not have to verify that information. If you didn't use the IRS DRT and you're selected for verification, log back in at fafsa.gov to see whether you can use IRS DRT to fill in the relevant fields on your FAFSA. If not, your school may require you to submit a tax transcript as part of the verification process.
Have questions about Financial Aid?
Schedule an appointment with Ashly by clicking the button below.
Crosby Scholars Community Partnership
Email: awilson@crosbyscholars.org
Website: www.crosbyscholars.org
Location: 2701 University Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Phone: 336-725-5371
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrosbyScholars?fref=ts
Twitter: @CrosbyScholars