Posted Date:January 16, 2015
| Author: | Lisa DiCarlo, Director, Student Experience Group, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Distribution of 2015-2016 Renewal FAFSA® Reminders
The distribution of 2015-2016 Renewal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) Reminders by the Central Processing System (CPS) began on January 15, 2015 and will continue through January 22, 2015.
As described in the October 30, 2014 electronic announcement posted to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, Renewal Reminder e-mail notifications are being sent to students who are renewal-eligible for 2015-2016 and qualified to receive reminders by January 12, 2015. Eligible students must have a valid e-mail address on their 2014-2015 record to receive a 2015-2016 Renewal Reminder e-mail.
Please note the following additional information:
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A student may become renewal-eligible for 2015-2016 after January 12, 2015 if he or she initially files a 2014-2015 FAFSA or if a correction is made to his or her 2014-2015 record after January 12, 2015 that creates a renewal-eligible record. This student is eligible to complete the 2015-2016 renewal application, but will not receive a Renewal Reminder e-mail.
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We will not send Renewal Reminders to renewal-eligible students who already have a processed 2015-2016 FAFSA as of January 12, 2015.
Encouraging Students to Complete a FAFSA
In addition to sending Renewal Reminder e-mails, Federal Student Aid utilizes social media to encourage returning students to complete a FAFSA each year. We use the Twitter handle @FAFSA, and post information on many topics, including the FAFSA, on a regular basis. Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/FederalStudentAid, and just like our Twitter feed, it contains useful information on a variety of topics that can be shared with your student population.
Some of our recent Twitter and Facebook postings include:
College Students: You must renew your FAFSA each school year! The 2015-16 FAFSA is available now! Complete it today: fafsa.gov
College Students: It's not just one and done! Complete the FAFSA every year at fafsa.gov
FACT: You must fill out the FAFSA every year to apply for financial aid. Start now: fafsa.gov
FACT: You must fill out the FAFSA every year to apply for financial aid: fafsa.gov
We encourage schools to share or re-tweet anything from our pages that benefit your student community. For your convenience we have inserted a reminder Tweet from January 5, 2015 that can be shared with applicants to remind them that the FAFSA must be completed each year.
Available Resources
Federal Student Aid encourages Financial Aid Administrators, High School Counselors and anyone advocating on behalf of students seeking financial assistance to attend post-secondary education to visit the Federal Student Aid Financial Aid Toolkit Web site at www.financialaidtoolkit.ed.gov for information and ideas on how to spread the word to students. Among the items to be found on the web site are:
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Presentations on financial aid, the FAFSA and financial literacy
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Infographics and handouts that can be used by anyone seeking information to educate students on a variety of financial aid and financial aid-related topics
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A detailed, in-depth search engine that can be used to narrow the focus of the information that can be searched for
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Information about using social media to reach out to and engage students and prospective students about various financial aid topics
The Financial Aid Toolkit Web site was designed to provide federal student aid information and outreach tools to financial aid administrators, counselors, nonprofit mentors and others working to promote the financial aid process to students and families. Feel free to take advantage of any and all material available on the site, and to customize it to meet the needs of your institution.
Contact Information
If you have questions regarding the 2015-2016 renewal FAFSA process, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.