Financial Aid & Scholarships Newsletters

For more information please visit wichita.edu/finaidevents.

 

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How You Can Contribute to FAFSA Completion:
To make FAFSA a success at Wichita State, we need your help! The sooner students apply, the better chances they have to qualify for additional resources and ensure their financial aid pays on time so they have the resources they need to be successful academically. The FAFSA typically only takes about 30 minutes for students to complete; encourage them to apply as soon as possible. Here are some ideas for how you can promote the FAFSA in Shocker Nation:

• FAFSA Tour: Encourage your students to attend a FAFSA Tour event. Dates are available at wichita.edu/finaidevents 
• Student Engagement: Promote FAFSA completion when speaking with students: “If you’re eligible to complete the FAFSA, be sure to submit it by the priority date of April 1, 2024.”
• Email Signatures: Add a FAFSA completion statement to your email signature: “The 2024-25 FAFSA is available now at studentaid.gov. Add WSU’s school code: 001950 for priority consideration for financial aid by April 1, 2024.”
• Social Media: Share our FAFSA posts on social media. 
  • Follow us: 
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Twitter/X
• Book a FAFSA Event: Schedule us for a FAFSA completion event or financial aid information session. We’d love to share our expertise with your student organization or class!

Visit wichita.edu/fafsa for more information and tips for completing the FAFSA

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The FAFSA can feel intimidating for students to complete for the first time. Luckily, the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships can equip you with all the resources to help guide students to tackle this head-on. Here are some frequently asked questions that you can answer.

Where can I find information about completing the FAFSA? 
Visit wichita.edu/fafsa for videos and answers to common questions about the FAFSA.

What is the FAFSA?
The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is the single form to apply for federal and state financial aid, such as grants, student loans, and work-study at Wichita State. Your Financial Aid Offer can help you cover college costs like tuition, fees, books, housing and meals, textbooks, a laptop and other technology, and transportation to and from school.

When will the 2024-2025 FAFSA be available for completion?
The 2024-2025 FAFSA has been available for students and parents since Dec. 30, 2023. Students who complete the form will receive a confirmation and see their estimated student aid eligibility. However, schools will begin receiving aid eligibility information, including Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs), by mid-March 2024.

What do I need to start my FAFSA?
You and your parents/contributors must create an FSA ID and a studentaid.gov account. You will also need your 2022 Tax Return information if applicable.

How long will this take?
It should take around 30 minutes to complete if you have all your materials.

What questions should I expect to see on the FAFSA?
Student information: basic information, household information, demographics, student high school information
Student financial information: student income tax information, student assets information, student college information
Parent information: basic information, household information, parent income tax information
IF APPLICABLE: Student spouse information, other parent basic information, other parent income tax information, Preparer information
 
Why do I need to give consent to my FAFSA?
Beginning in 2024-25, all FAFSA applicants and contributors must provide their consent to transfer their tax information through the IRS Direct Data Exchange. This change will reduce the number of financial questions most families will see on the FAFSA. You must provide this consent and approval on the FAFSA to be eligible for federal student aid. Providing consent even applies to contributors without SSNs, those who didn't file 2022 taxes, or individuals who filed taxes outside the U.S.
 
Will independent students be able to enter parent information in the FAFSA?
No. Parent information can only be added to the FAFSA for dependent students.
 
How is the ‘Parent of Record’ determined?
The ‘Parent of Record’ is the Parent who provided the most financial support in the last 12 months. This parent must complete the FAFSA. If the financial support amounts are the same for each legal parent, then the tiebreaker question is which parent has greater assets when FAFSA is being completed.
 
What is the process for getting an FSA ID without a social security number?
While students must have a Social Security Number (SSN), spouses and parents of students will be asked if they have a SSN. If the answer is ‘no,’ then the user continues to complete their username, e-mail, and password fields. Users without SSNs are also required to provide mailing addresses, and all users will then set up two-step verification via text, e-mail, or an authentication application. The user is then asked knowledge-based verification questions provided by TransUnion. Assuming at least one of these is answered incorrectly, the user’s screen will indicate that while the account was created, they must contact FSAIC to verify their identity before using the ID. Upon contacting FSAIC, the user will be asked to provide the documents required for identity verification:

1. Completed attestation form (access form via the link in email and on StudentAid.gov)
2. One of the following as proof of identity (documents may not be expired):  Driver’s license, State or city identification card, foreign passport, Utility bill with matching address plus municipal identification card, a community ID, or a consular identification card.

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As the FAFSA continues to navigate its soft launch period, Student Aid is working on improving user experience and will provide ‘workarounds’ to alert issues as they appear to students. Here are some useful tips from Student Aid for some common issues that students may come across on the FAFSA.
 
Student who incorrectly selects "eligible noncitizen" on FAFSA form prevented from completing and submitting form after correction

• Description: If a student who is a citizen initially selects "Eligible noncitizen" on the 2024-25 FAFSA form, enters an “A-Number” when prompted, and completes the demographic section, the student is prevented from completing the form even after the student changes the citizenship status response to "U.S. citizen or national". In this situation, the A-Number is not removed from the form and the student cannot proceed beyond the “Select Colleges” question. The student receives no error message to explain this situation and is prevented from completing and submitting the form.
• Workaround: The student can delete the existing application and then start a new 2024-25 FAFSA form online.

 Student or parent who returns to saved FAFSA form requiring contributors has signature removed upon return without changing any information

• Description: If a student or parent signs the student’s or parent’s respective section of a 2024-25 FAFSA form that includes other contributors and returns to the form before the other contributors have signed and submitted the form and selects “Save” from the FAFSA menu without making any changes, the signature of that student or parent is removed from the application.
• Workaround: The student or parent should re-sign the FAFSA form upon returning to the application, even if the student or parent is not making any changes to the form.

Some school names are truncated on college search page

• Description: When searching for a school from the 2024-25 FAFSA form, the full name of a school may not be displayed on the screen. In the case of a school with multiple programs or locations, this makes it difficult for a user to know which entry to select.
• Workaround: The user can search by Federal School Code instead of by School Name to identify the correct school entry. School codes can be located via Internet search.

FAFSA application status is "in progress" even when user is ready to submit FAFSA

• Description: If a 2024-25 FAFSA form has all required information and the only remaining actions are for signature/submission, the status of the FAFSA form in My Activity will display as “In Progress” for any users/contributors that do not have those remaining actions. For example, if a dependent student completes the student section but does not submit and the student’s parent completes the parent section, the FAFSA form status displays as In Progress to the parent because the student still needs to submit. As a result of the In Progress status, the parent may not realize what action is required to finalize the form.
• Workaround: Student can enter the application and navigate through the end of the application to finalize and submit the application.

NOTE: If a student wants to resubmit their FAFSA to make changes, they must wait until their school receives their FAFSA.

For more information on FAFSA Alert Issues please visit 2024–25 FAFSA Issue Alerts | Knowledge Center 

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