Financial Aid
Common Errors Made When Applying for Financial Aid
Most mistakes are made because students and/or parents don’t follow or understand the application instructions on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). While few errors will require you to start all over, most errors will significantly delay the processing of your FAFSA at the federal level, your award at the university level, or both. If you complete the FAFSA online, automatic error checks are run that are not available on the paper form. If you are not clear on a question, visit the FAFSA FAQ, or take the time to email us.
Select the section of the FAFSA that you are reviewing to see the most common errors to avoid:
Household Size and Number in College
- Although other people (besides the student who is applying for aid) may help fill out this form, it is about the student. On this form, the words "you" and "your" always mean the student. The word "college" means a college, university, graduate or professional school, community college, vocational or technical school, or any other school beyond high school.
- It is important that you use your proper name as it appears on your Social Security card.
- Be sure your Social Security Number is accurate when entering it online. The processing center and Georgia Southern use this number to drive the application process. An error here can cause serious delays.
- If you are applying for financial aid at more than one school, answer enrollment questions according to your plans for your first-choice college. Check the terms that you will be enrolled and the type of enrollment. Full time equals 12 hours or more (9 or more hours for Graduate or Professional Students); 3/4 time 9 - 11 hours; Half time 6 - 8 hours; less than half-time 1- 5 hours; and not enrolled equals 0 hours. Your enrollment requirements may differ with the type of aid that you are receiving.
- Make sure the question regarding the possession or selling of illegal drugs is answered honestly. FAFSA on the Web will not let you continue with the application process until this question is answered. Having a conviction may or may not hamper your ability to receive federal aid. Visit the Drug Question Worksheet website for more information. If you have questions, contact the federal processing center.
- If you wish to receive a student loan, make sure you answer yes to the question about interest in loans, otherwise you will not be offered one.
- If you answered "No" to all questions in this section, FAFSA on the Web will direct you to complete both student and parent information. You will be considered "Dependent" for Financial Aid purposes.
- A dependent is a person for whom you (the student) provide and will continue to provide more than half of his/her total support. If a student has a child and that child is being supported by the student’s parents or someone else, then the student does not have a "dependent."
- You are a Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces only if you have engaged in active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard) or as a member of the National Guard or Reserves who was called to active duty for purposes other than training, or were a cadet or midshipman at one of service academies AND were released under a condition other than dishonorable.
- All income information must be completed. Put "0" for any line items that do not apply to you.
- If your parents have divorced or separated, provide information about the parent you lived with most during the past 12 months. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, answer in terms of the parent who provided the most financial support during the last 12 months or during the most recent year that you were actually supported by the parent.
- Do not leave the questions about parent name, Social Security Number, and date of birth blank! If this information is blank or incorrect, your FAFSA will be rejected at the federal level.
- Marital status of parent refers to the status of the parent with whom you live. This means if your biological parents are divorced and you live with your mother who has remarried, then her status is "married." Given this scenario, both the mother's income and her husband's must be listed on the application.
- The most common income errors are made
on worksheets A, B, and C. These worksheets must be completed
accurately.
To find the correct amount of taxes paid, you must use the amount from line #57 if you filed a 1040, line #36 if you filed a 1040A, or line #10 if you filed a 1040EZ. - If you or your parents received payments to tax-deferred pensions and savings plans (paid directly or withheld from earnings) as reported on the W-2 form, Box 12, this is untaxed income. The income should be included on worksheet B of the FAFSA. Housing, food, and other living allowances paid to members of the military, clergy, and others are also considered untaxed income.
Household Size and Number in College
- Include in your household: yourself (and your spouse, if you have one), and your children, if you provide more than half of their support, and other people if they now live with you, and you provide more than half of their support and will continue to provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007.
- List the number of people in your household (spouse, siblings under the age of 24, or children) who will attend college between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007. Count only the family members who will be enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program that leads to a recognized education credential at a college that is eligible to participate in Federal Student aid programs.
- If you did have to enter parent information and are considered "dependent" according to financial aid regulations, include only those who receive more than half their support from your parents between the period of July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007, in your parent's household.
- List the number of people in your parent's household (siblings or children under the age of 24) who will attend college between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007. Do not include parents. Count only the family members who will be enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program that leads to a recognized education credential at a college that is eligible to participate in Federal Student aid programs.
- Georgia Southern's Title IV Code is 001572. For the processing center this is as important as your social security number. Regardless of how you list our name, we will receive your information if the code is correct. Of course the same is not true if the code is wrong. The information will then go to another school and NOT be sent to Georgia Southern. If you do not list Georgia Southern's code, we cannot process any financial aid for you.
- It is imperative that the student, and if the student is dependent, one of the student's parents sign the FAFSA on the Web electronically using a PIN, which can be obtained from the U.S. Department of Education through their website. Both student and parent can obtain a PIN. If you do not have a PIN, you may print and mail the Signature Page from the website. If the PIN is not entered, or the Signature Page is not mailed, this can cause a rejection of your application and it cannot be processed until the signature is received. This can cause serious delays in the receipt of your aid. DO NOT close out your browser until you reach the page with your confirmation number. Otherwise your application will not be transmitted and processed.