How Do I Apply for Financial Aid?
How do I apply for Federal Financial Aid?
The Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs are the largest source of student aid in the U.S. Last year, undergraduate and graduate students received more than $100 billion in financial aid. You should file the FAFSA as soon after January 1 as possible. Follow these seven steps outlined below:
Step 1: Apply for an FSA ID and password. An FSA IDA and password lets you apply, "sign" your online FAFSA, make corrections to your application information and more – all online. Go to https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm to apply!
Step 2: Collect the documents including income tax returns, W-2 forms, and other records of income to apply. A complete list of what you need may be found at www.fafsa.gov.
Step 3: Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as early as possible, preferably in January, in order to meet school and state aid deadlines. Apply online at www.fafsa.gov. SUNY Fredonia’s school code is 002844. If you are a New York State resident, please complete and submit the TAP application at www.tapweb.org.
Step 4: We strongly encourage families to file their initial FAFSA by January 31 using estimated income information. Once tax information is submitted to the IRS, families should wait two weeks and then access their online FAFSA to import Federal tax return data via the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval process.
Step 5: Due to recently enacted federal Prior-Prior Year legislation, please know that the 2017-2018 FAFSA will be available on October 1, 2016 to complete. Beginning with the 2017-2018 application process, students and parents will be reporting Prior-Prior income within their on-line FAFSA application. This new legislation will enable the majority of families to transfer their prior-prior year federal tax return data via the IRS within their initial FAFSA application.
Step 6: If you are selected for verification, the Financial Aid Office will ask you to submit tax return transcripts (if applicable) and any other necessary documents. Be sure to hand in this information in a timely manner as your Federal financial aid will be on hold until verification is completed. Make sure the Financial Aid Office has the information needed to process your financial aid.
Step 7: Contact the Financial Aid Office at (716) 673-3253 with any questions. Review your award letter and make sure you accept/decline any Federal Loans and/or Federal Work Study that you have been offered in a timely manner. Be sure to submit any requested materials as soon as possible.
How Do I Apply for the New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)?
It is also recommended that you apply for TAP online at www.tapweb.org. As mentioned above, you should start the application process with the online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.gov. The New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) will use the FAFSA data as part of your online TAP application. After completing your FAFSA, there will be a link to the online TAP application on your FAFSA Confirmation Page.
To apply for TAP online, you need a HESC PIN (Personal Identification Number). Use the HESC PIN to "sign" your TAP application, keep track of your application information, or make changes. Once you have the HESC PIN, complete your TAP application online and insert SUNY Fredonia's TAP School Code (0915 undergraduate). Information from your FAFSA and your family's calculated New York State net taxable income are pre-filled on your online TAP application. You will be able to check the status of your TAP application online at any time.
Please be alert to HESC e-mails and respond to any requests or instructions. If you received TAP the year before and your application information is unchanged, you may only have to file a FAFSA to get TAP. The TAP application deadline is May 1 of academic year for which aid is sought.
Early application is strongly encouraged for both federal and state financial aid. Since funds are limited, early applications are given first consideration.