| AwardYear: 1996-1997 Edition: PostSecondary Part: 2 - - The application process for financial aid SectionNumber: SectionTitle: How the application is processed PageNumbers: 31-33 The CPS analyzes the information from the FAFSA and calculates an EFC to determine how much a student and (if the student is dependent) his or her parents can be expected to pay toward the student's education. As discussed in Part 1, the EFC measures the family's financial strength on the basis of the income and assets of the student and the dependent student's parents or, if an independent student is married, the student and his or her spouse. The EFC formula also takes into account the family's expenses relative to the number of persons in the household and how many of them will be attending college during the award year. If the EFC is less than the cost of attendance, the student is considered to have FINANCIAL NEED. A student who receives an EFC of zero may receive the maximum Federal Pell Grant award depending on the student's cost of attendance and whether he or she will be enrolled full time for the entire award year. The higher the EFC, the less the student's need for Federal Pell Grant assistance. If the student's EFC is above a maximum amount determined each award year, the student will not receive a Federal Pell Grant but may be eligible for other assistance. The CPS automatically calculates a SIMPLIFIED EFC for students who meet certain income and tax filing requirements. However, applicants who meet the requirements for the simplified needs test do not need to provide information about family assets on the application. The tax filing requirement is the same as in previous years: Neither the student, the dependent student's parents, nor the independent student's spouse filed or is required to file an IRS Form 1040. The income requirement is an income of less than $50,000. Note that this requirement applies to the income of an independent student and spouse, or to the income of a dependent student's parents, but the income of a dependent student is not counted towards this limit. The formula also provides for an automatic zero EFC for some students. Applicants who meet the following requirements will automatically receive a zero EFC: - for a dependent student, neither parent was required to file a 1995 IRS Form 1040, and the parents' taxable income is $12,000 or less - for an independent student with dependents other than a spouse, neither the student (or spouse) filed or were required to file a 1995 IRS Form 1040, and the student (and spouse's) taxable income is $12,000 or less. Independent students with no dependents other than a spouse do not qualify for an automatic zero EFC. The CPS uses a series of EDITS to check the consistency of the student's information. For instance, it would be inconsistent for the dependent student of a single parent to report income earned from work for two parents. If the student's information is inconsistent, the CPS may be unable to calculate the EFC or may calculate an EFC based on assumptions built into the processing system. If assumptions have been used, they are indicated on the SAR or ISIR; the student must make sure the assumptions are correct. For electronic applications, the financial aid administrator can (if desired) anticipate certain assumptions the processor will make and can then correct or override certain information on the student's first application. Thus, the student's information does not have to be reprocessed to confirm these assumptions. For example, if the household size and the number of people in college are equal to each other and more than two, the processor assumes that the number in college should be one. In an electronic application, the financial aid administrator can override this assumption if all members of the household are in fact enrolled in college. This override allows information contrary to the assumptions to be confirmed when first filing through EDE (rather than requiring later confirmation). The student receives a SAR or SAR Information Acknowledgement within four weeks of filing an application. (The student's school may receive this information sooner on an ISIR if the student has authorized release of the information.) The SAR or SAR Information Acknowledgement contains the student's EFC and any comments about the student's application information. DATA MATCHES The CPS also performs several eligibility matches with other databases. If a student's records do not satisfy the eligibility match requirements of one or more of the databases, the student's records are flagged. If a student's records are flagged, the student may not be eligible to receive federal aid unless the discrepancy is resolved. Resolving such a discrepancy usually requires the student to submit additional documentation to the school where he or she is applying. The CPS sends records to the Social Security Administration (SSA) to check the validity of a student's Social Security Number (SSN). If the SSN is invalid, the student receives a rejected SAR, and a comment will appear on the SAR or ISIR instructing him or her to review the SSN. The student receives a comment on the SAR or ISIR if the SSN is a valid number but the name and/or date of birth reported on the FAFSA does not match SSA records. In 1996-97, the SSN Match with SSA is expanded to compare U.S. citizenship status reported by the student with SSA citizenship information. The results of that match appear in the FAA Information Box on all output documents or records. If SSA does not confirm a student's claim of U.S. citizenship, a new comment #146 is present and the SAR "C" flag is set. The student is required to provide documentation confirming current U.S. citizenship status or must correct citizenship status. The CPS also checks the status of eligible noncitizens by conducting a match with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Each eligible noncitizen must provide an Alien Registration Number so that the CPS can conduct this match with INS. In addition, the Department maintains the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). This database identifies students who owe an overpayment on a Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), or Federal Perkins Loan. It also identifies students who have defaulted on any Federal Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan, or any other federal student loan held by a state guaranty agency or by the Department. If a student is found to owe an overpayment or to be in default and has not made satisfactory arrangements to repay, he or she receives a comment on the SAR or ISIR saying he or she is ineligible for aid until the status is resolved. The CPS also performs matches against drug abuse conviction records maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice and registration status information maintained by the Selective Service System. |