Federal Student Aid (2024)

FAQs

Do I have to answer all FAFSA questions? ›

You must answer all relevant questions if the student intends to apply for state financial aid. The student's school may ask you to provide information after the FAFSA form is submitted. If you can't or don't provide this information to the school when asked, the student may not receive federal student aid.

Other reasons for financial aid disqualification include: Not maintaining satisfactory progress at your college or degree program. Not filling out the FAFSA each year you are enrolled in school. Defaulting on a student loan.

Request Additional Federal Student Loans

If you've exhausted other options and still need additional funds to help you pay for school, contact your school's financial aid office to find out if you're eligible for additional federal student loans.

If you did not complete the FAFSA for the academic year when you are seeking aid, you won't receive any. If you did complete the FAFSA, but didn't receive financial aid, confirm that you completed the form for the correct year. Contact your school's financial aid office if the wrong form was completed.

Students selected for verification of their FAFSA form may wonder, “Does FAFSA check your bank accounts?” FAFSA does not directly view the student's or parent's bank accounts.

For most students, there will not be enough financial aid to cover the full cost of tuition, unless the parents borrow a Federal Parent PLUS loan. The financial aid will be based on financial need, which is usually less than the cost of attendance.

Eligibility Requirements. Our general eligibility requirements include that you have financial need for need-based aid, are a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen, and are enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program at an eligible college or career/trade school.

According to the office of federal student aid, some applications can be denied because applicants did not meet the basic eligibility requirements. These include: Having demonstrated financial need for need-based federal student aid programs. Being a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen.

Why didn't I get my full Pell grant? ›

It's possible that you might not receive your entire scheduled award for an award year. There are a few reasons for this, the most common of which are that you are not enrolled for the full year or that you are not enrolled full-time, or both. We calculate the percentage of the scheduled award that you did receive.

Based on your answers to certain questions on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form, you may be given the option to skip additional questions about your income and assets. If you're given the option to skip questions, keep in mind that doing so won't affect your eligibility for federal student aid.

A mistake on your FAFSA can delay the processing of your application for financial aid. If your FAFSA is verified and contains errors, it can cost you.

You will be able to skip questions about your parents on the FAFSA form and submit it without a parent signature.

Borrow only what you need! If your living expenses are not going to be as high as the amount estimated by your school, you have the right to turn down the loan or to request a lower loan amount. Your school will tell you how to do this in the aid offer.