In order to be considered for financial aid here at MSOE, you must first be accepted for admission to the university. Once you have been formally accepted, the only form needed to apply for institutional, state, and federal financial aid is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). MSOE encourages you to file the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.gov. Once you have completed the FAFSA, the MSOE Financial Aid Office will be able to determine what institutional, state, and federal financial aid you are eligible for.
When is the FAFSA available, and what is MSOE's priority deadline?
Students are encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as early as possible. The earliest the FAFSA is available is January 1st for the upcoming academic year that begins in September. MSOE's priority deadline is March 15th each year. Students who submit the FAFSA after that date risk losing institutional, state, and federal funds.
What will I need to complete the FAFSA?
In order to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you will need the following documentation:
- As a U.S. Citizen, you will need your Social Security Number and a driver's license (if applicable). If you're not a U.S. Citizen, you will need your alien registration number or your permanent resident card.
- You will need records of your income earned in the year prior to when the FAFSA became available. This may include W-2s and Federal tax returns. You will also need to report income from your spouse, if married, or your parent's income, if you are a dependent student.
(If you will not have your Federal tax returns completed before you file the FAFSA, you may use estimated income figures in the FAFSA based off of your yearend pay stubs or W-2s. Please note that if you use estimated income figures, you will need to update your FAFSA to the corrected income amounts once your Federal tax returns are completed.)
- Current bank statements and investment information along with business and farm records will also need to be available.
What is a PIN, and how do I apply?
A Personal Identification Number (PIN) is a four-digit number that can be used to electronically sign federal student aid documents and allow you access to your financial aid records online. For a dependent student, both the student and one parent will need to have their own PIN. You can apply for your PIN online by visiting the PIN website at www.pin.ed.gov.
What is MSOE's Federal School Code?
MSOE's Federal School Code is 003868. You will need to list this number on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to have your FAFSA information sent directly to MSOE.
Am I required to provide my parent(s)' information on the FAFSA?
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Education (ED) have different guidelines for determining whether a student is considered dependent or independent. Due to the differing guidelines, a student could be considered independent by the IRS but dependent by ED. ED considers a student to be independent, and therefore not required to include parental information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), if the student can answer "yes" to any of the following statements:
- I was born before January 1, 1990.
- I was married as of the date I filed the FAFSA.
- I have children or other dependents who receive more than half of their support from me.
- I will be working on a master's degree at the beginning of the school year.
- I am currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training.
- I am a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- When I was 13 or older, both of my parents were deceased, I was in foster care, or I was a dependent or ward of the court.
- As of the date I filed the FAFSA, I was an emancipated minor or in legal guardianship determined by a court in my state of legal residence.
- I was determined an unaccompanied youth who was homeless by my high school, by a transitional living program, or by an emergency shelter program on or after July 1, 2010.
If the student answers "no" to all of the statements above, the student is required by ED to include parental information regardless of whether or not the parents claim the student on their taxes.
My parents are divorced. Whose information would I provide on the FAFSA?
If your parents are divorced or separated, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) answering the questions about the parent you lived with more during the past 12 months. (If you did not live with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the past 12 months or during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent.) If this parent is remarried when completing the FAFSA, you must answer the questions about that parent and their spouse.
What is verification, and why was I selected?
: If selected for verification, you will need to provide the MSOE Financial Aid Office with a completed copy of our 2013-2014 Verification Worksheet along with the student’s and parent(s)’ IRS Tax Return Transcripts. Independent students should also submit their spouse’s IRS Tax Return Transcript, if applicable. If a student or parent uses the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when completing the FAFSA then MSOE does not need to collect their tax transcript. MSOE may require additional documents, like W-2s, if they are determined to be necessary in order to complete the verification of a student’s FAFSA.
What is an EFC, and how is it used to determine my financial aid?
The U.S. Department of Education has developed a methodology that measures your family's financial strength and estimates how much your family can contribute toward your higher education expenses. This calculation is your Expected Family Contribution or EFC. Your EFC is based upon the asset and income information you listed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Using your EFC and MSOE's cost of attendance (direct and indirect costs), the MSOE Financial Aid Office is able to determine what institutional, state, and federal financial aid you are eligible for. Please note a student's financial aid award may not necessarily equal the difference between the educational expenses and the EFC.
What if there is a major change in my family/financial situation after I file the FAFSA? What should I do?
The MSOE Financial Aid Office recognizes that students and their families may have extenuating circumstances that affect their financial situation such as unemployment, extraordinary medical expenses, elementary or secondary school tuition, and other special circumstances.
If students and their families feel that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) does not reflect an accurate financial picture, they may submit the 2013-2014 Extenuating Circumstance Form and additional documentation to the MSOE Financial Aid Office. The submitted documentation will be reviewed along with your data on the FAFSA and the financial aid awarded.
MSOE's Financial Aid Office encourages submission of these documents but cannot guarantee that any changes to the FAFSA will result in additional aid, or that similar future requests will be approved. Our office also reserves the right to request additional information should we feel the situation is not sufficiently documented.