Ladies and gentlemen, on your mark, get set, GO! It’s that time again. Ah yes, financial aid time. Grab a pot of coffee, your tax forms, social security numbers, and your information and start filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
“Sleep in on the first of January, but on the second you need to fill out those forms,” says Mary Micalowski, a financial aid advisor.
Jamie Cummings, a NEIU transfer student, spent the fall semester working 50 plus hours a week, to pay tuition because she didn’t apply in time. Avoid this headache. Apply early, and spend your time studying.
It’s been a while since the Independent covered the never-ending saga of student financial aid. So, since were in the new year and also beginning the spring 2008 semester, we decided it was time to have a sit down with Northeastern’s Director of Financial Aid, J. Marshall Jennings, for some Question and Answer and to catch up on the latest happenings in the student financial aid world.
The following are excerpts from part one, of a two-part interview with Director Jennings conducted on December 14, 2007, by Keith Atterberry:
Independent: I’d like to just start out by asking what’s new in the financial aid world for spring 2008? Jennings: Thanks for asking that Keith. January always starts off our efforts for the next year, so 2008/2009 Free Application for Federal Student Aid [FAFSA] will be available on the second of January. What’s different from 2007/2008 is that the [2008/2009] application will be processed online, so students will have to go online to fill out the form and have it processed that way. It’s a lot quicker than the paper. The paper process was four to six weeks and the electronic process is 15 to 20 days, so this year, as opposed to last year, we can’t order any paper FAFSA applications for the school so the Department of Education has curtailed that activity.
It’s a simple process, so students should have their information together and available when they go online. It is preferred that they have a tax form completed; if they don’t have their tax forms completed, they at least have to have their year-end earnings, their W-2 form(s), and if they’re receiving untaxed income and benefits, their statement of untaxed income and benefits from the 2007 school year as a basis to start from; and they can always update that information later on.
Independent: So, with this change you anticipate a shorter processing time for the [FAFSA] application?
Jennings: Correct.
Independent: What will be necessary for students to actually get online and access the system? Will they need a user ID and password?
Jennings: Well, they can go online without a user ID. When they go to the FAFSA website they’ll be asked to complete a form and request a pin. If they request the pin, the response will be immediate this year, 2008/2009. … The application will require a school code and our code is 001693. This will allow the student’s electronic application information to come to Northeastern and they [students] will also get a copy of what we get via email.
Independent: Can you give me an estimate of what percentage of Northeastern students use financial aid?
Jennings: About fifty percent of our students receive some type of financial aid. Those types would include; need based, as determined by the FAFSA, or merit based aid. It would also include assistance from outside scholarship sources.
Independent: I know that, from my own personal experience, the financial aid process can be daunting. When I first came here, I had to learn how to navigate the [financial aid] system and I was able to succeed. The system worked for me. However, some students experience roadblocks in the student financial aid process. Are you offering any training classes?
Jennings: Keith, I’m glad you mentioned that because we will do a series of workshops in January and some in February as well. … (Checks his schedule)[There are two workshops scheduled in Jan. and three in Feb.].
Independent: What do you plan to cover in these workshops?
Jennings: During the workshop, we’ll go over the FAFSA, we’ll give students some filing tips; we’ll tell them what information they’ll need and what to expect. Now, every student who applies through the FAFSA will go through a series of data checks; through INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service]; [and] through selective service, as examples. And then a portion of students, who apply for financial aid at Northeastern, as well as other schools, will be selected on a random basis by the vendor who represents the Department of Education for this process called verification. This process will ask the students to verify the accuracy of the information they’re submitting.
This concludes part one of the interview with Director Jennings. For more information contact the Office of Student Financial Aid. Website: www.neiu.edu (Quick Links: financial Aid).