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The Role Of Fafsa In Accessing Federal Student Aid – When you submit your FAFSA, you will receive a document called a Student Aid Report. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
So you’ve finally filed your FAFSA form. Step one on your path to receiving federal financial aid is complete!
The Role Of Fafsa In Accessing Federal Student Aid
After a few days, a document called a Student Aid Report, or SAR, should come to you electronically or by mail.
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So in this article, we will explain what SAR is, what it is about, and why you might need it. Towards the end, we will also answer some frequently asked questions about the SAR and its content.
The Student Aid Report, or SAR, is a document you receive after submitting your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It contains a bunch of important information related to your FAFSA and federal aid eligibility.
When you submit your FAFSA, the government processes it, then sends the SAR to you and your chosen schools. Schools use information about it to put together your aid package.
Your data number, or DRN, is a 4-digit number that the Department of Education (ED) assigns to your FAFSA.
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Your DRN is important to know if you ever need to make changes to your FAFSA. You should keep it confidential and only share it with your school’s financial aid office or FAFSA customer service representatives.
Your expected family contribution (EFC) is a number the government calculates based on the financial information you and your family put on the FAFSA.
It estimates your financial need by looking at what they think your family can contribute (regardless of how much they actually pay for your college).
The schools you select on your FAFSA use the EFC to calculate and calculate your total financial aid award. Each school subtracts your EFC from your cost of attendance to determine your total financial needs.
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One thing to keep in mind: The FAFSA Simplification Act will cause the EFC to change the Student Aid Index, or SAI, starting in July 2023.
The change is only in the name. That said, SAI will be able to go from less than $0 to -$1,500. This grant is supposed to more accurately reflect your financial need.
The SAR includes all of your FAFSA information for enrollment purposes and so schools can better understand your financial situation.
Pell Grants are federal grants designed for low-income students and awarded by the ED. Your SAR will show you if you are eligible for a Pell Grant and, if so, how much.
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If you already have federal student loans, your SAR will list any loans you still owe.
That way, you can stay aware of how much debt you have to pay back early — which is important for making decisions about whether to take out more student aid this year.
There is a chance that ED will review your FAFSA for verification. This means they want you to provide additional documents to prove certain information on your FAFSA is correct.
Don’t worry: opting for verification doesn’t mean you’re in trouble, so don’t think they’re accusing you of lying.
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Still, you should act as soon as possible. Cooperating and getting what you need quickly shows that you are acting in good faith and helps you solve the stress of the FAFSA faster!
If you submitted your FAFSA online and provided a valid email address, you should receive an email with instructions on how to view your SAR online at fafsa.gov.
If you did it online but didn’t provide an email address, you’ll get a form called SAR Acknowledgment in the mail.
If you filed a FAFSA form, you should receive a SAR form in the mail within 3-4 weeks.
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Regardless of the method, you will eventually be able to find an online copy of your SAR by logging into the FAFSA with your FSA ID and selecting “View or Print Your Student Aid Report (SAR)” near the middle of the “FAFSA mine”. “page.
Alternatively, you can request to receive a paper copy by mail by contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243; TTY for the deaf or hard of hearing 1-800-730-8913).
Even if you don’t need to do these, keep a SAR for your records. You never know when you might need it on hand.
However, let’s look at each of these uses in detail to see how SAR comes into play.
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If you made a mistake, forgot to provide information, or your situation changes after submitting your FAFSA, you have a chance to make corrections.
You will need your DRN to make those changes, which is located on your SAR in the upper right corner above your EFC.
With that in hand, you can contact FAFSA customer service to make adjustments. You will provide your DRN to the agent to make certain corrections, such as correcting your email and postal addresses, phone number, and housing plan.
Later, however, you can update your FAFSA to add more than 10 schools or just update your current list.
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The process of adding or removing schools is the same as making corrections or updates to the FAFSA – you will only need to provide the school codes for the schools you are adding.
Once you receive your SAR, you should check it against your FAFSA numbers to see if anything doesn’t look right. There is always a small chance that some of the information you entered on the FAFSA will differ on your SAR.
By making sure your information is correct, you’ll be able to get the money you’re entitled to!
Do you have questions about SAR and why you need it? Below are some frequently asked questions about the FAFSA SAR.
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Your SAR contains a lot of helpful information. For example, they have your DRN and FAFSA answers, which can help you make corrections if needed.
It also includes your EFC, federal Pell Grant eligibility, and outstanding credit information. You can use this to help you plan how much you will pay and what sources of help you will rely on.
The SAR also tells you if ED has selected your FAFSA for verification. If you are selected, you will need to provide any additional documentation that the ED may request.
If you have an FSA ID, you can find an online copy of your SAR regardless of how you filled out your FAFSA.
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If you have not received your SAR after 3-4 weeks, contact the ED as soon as possible.
FAFSA has many acronyms. 3 of the important ones are your DRN, EFC (soon to be SAI) and your FSA ID.
Your DRN is a 4-digit number that appears in the upper right corner of your student aid report—right above your EFC. If you need to make corrections to your FAFSA, you need your DRN. When you contact FAFSA customer service, give them your DRN to allow them to log into the system and make the correction.
Your EFC is right below your DRN on your SAR, and it helps the government determine your estimated financial need. SAI will replace it in 2023 – a name change, except that SAI can be a negative number.
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Your FSA ID is a username/password that allows you to log into any ED system, including FAFSA. According to ED, your FSA ID is your legal signature, so only you should use it.
Generally, the federal deadline for FAFSA applications is June 30 of the academic year you are actually attending. For example, if you are applying for the 2022-2023 academic year, you can delay until June 30, 2023.
For one, some forms of assistance are first-come, first-served. If you wait too long you may miss out on some help.
Additionally, states may have earlier deadlines for basic state aid programs. Individual schools may also have their own past times.
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When in doubt, applying as much as possible is usually best. You can always restore if something is accidentally changed.
The deadline for FAFSA corrections is usually 2.5-3 months after the regular deadline. For example, the correction period for the 2022-2023 academic year is September 10, 2023.
When you receive your SAR, you should double check everything and make corrections immediately. It’s easy to forget and forget, and, as we mentioned, some forms of help can be outdated.
Your SAR is the key document for determining your federal aid eligibility, and you’ll also need it to correct errors or add schools after you submit your FAFSA.
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Make sure you wear it when you get it, even if you don’t need to do any of these things.
And remember: keep your SAR private. Do not show it to anyone except financial aid staff, ED customer service representatives, and possibly your parents. Information like your DRN can be used by the wrong person to gain access to your sensitive financial aid information. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is a form that college and graduate students fill out annually as part of the financial aid process.
More than $120 billion in federal aid is awarded each year. Many states and schools also use your FAFSA information in awarding aid, such as school scholarships.
That’s why you should always take the time to fill out your FAFSA each year (even if you don’t expect to receive basic aid).
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Use the school you’re attending (or the ones you’ve applied to) information on your FAFSA
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