Financial Aid Applications
What does FAFSA and TASFA stand for?
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Texas Application for State Financial Aid
When do college applications open?
Already open! August 1st!
When is the financial aid priority deadline?
Jan 15th
Which financial aid application type requires parent accounts and information directly from the parent?
FAFSA only
If you are feeling sick on a work day, what should you do?
Immediately notify Sarah AND Melody, your campus liaison, CCMR
What are the components needed to complete TASFA?
Providing proof of lawful presence AND satisfying Texas Residency requirement (In most cases, to be considered a Texas resident, a student or their parent must live in Texas as their permanent residence for twelve consecutive months right before the semester the student plans to enroll in college)
What institutions prefer commonapp?
UT Austin
TX AM College Station
When are the priority deadlines (typically) for tuition free programs?
January 15th
If a student's parents are undocumented, can they still fill out FAFSA?
Yes, it is not dependent upon the parent's citizenship status ONLY the student's.
They may feel uncomfortable about sharing any information, which is completely fair! We should respect their decisions, if that is what they chose!
I would explain, FERPA guidelines!
What is the best practice when considering to leave campus for another event?
There should always be at least one College Career point of contact in your space/area!
Alternate who goes off campus for events!
Is an ITIN or SSN required to complete the TASFA?
No, neither is required.
Any of the following can be used for TASFA: SSN, ITIN, DACA. OR none!
What college application portal allows for counselors and advisors to be added to preview student applications?
Common App
What is the name of the presenter that presented the "Legacy Scholarship" to us?
Bernice Uresti
What determines eligibility for FAFSA?
1. You are a U.S. national or permanent resident.
2. You have an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) showing one of the following status categories:*
Refugee
Asylum Granted
Conditional Permanent Resident
Cuban-Haitian Entrant
Conditional Entrant (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980)
Parolee (you must be paroled for at least one year, and you must be able to provide evidence from the USCIS that you are in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a U.S. citizen or permanent resident)
Modified parole requirements for
3. You hold a T nonimmigrant status (“T-visa”) (for victims of human trafficking) or your parent holds a T-1 nonimmigrant status. Your college or career school’s financial aid office will ask to see your visa (and/or certification letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you have a T-1 visa).*
4. You are a “battered immigrant-qualified alien” who is a victim of abuse by your citizen or permanent resident spouse, or parent, or you are the child of a person designated as such under the Violence Against Women Act.*
5. You are a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau. If this is the case, you may be eligible for only certain types of federal student aid
How many mental health days do you have currently? How can you use them?
Every advisor has one per month
Can't be used to extend a weekend (consecutively) or a holiday
No Mondays or Fridays
What is the document called that you need to verify lawful presence with?
How would you describe it to a student?
It is called "Verifying Lawful Presence" and it is provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
It is the CURRENT list of accepted proof of lawful presence to get either TX DL or ID. This is also serves as a "master list" of accepted lawful presence status for either FAFSA or TASFA, most useful for TASFA.
It is still up to the institution to interpret policy and determine what category will be accepted for in state tuition.
Who is eligible to complete ApplyTexas or Common App?
anyone!
What are the types of financial aid?
Scholarships
Grants
Loans
Workstudy
For FAFSA, when do students not need to have a parent account?
As an independent student:
If someone asks you to help coordinate a dual credit enrollment what should you say? and why
NO, respectfully
If a student has an I-94 and has applied for refugee status visa would they be eligible for FAFSA or TASFA?
It depends what other category they have along with their I-94 (this is a arrival and departure document). For example, if they have Temporary Protected Status ALREADY, then they should be eligible for TASFA.
How can students receive free applications through either type of application portal and when do they occur?
Common App- through direct admissions, at any time
ApplyTexas- Free College Application Week Oct 12th-18th, only Tx Residents
Where can a student locate local scholarships?
San Antonio Area Foundations and other scholarships that were covered in the scholarships presentation!
Your campus may specific scholarship options!
A student's parent do not live in the United States but still provide for the student financially, should the student include the parent account?
Yes!
For this situation, the parent should
When requesting off for a relative's birthday, which type time do you request?
PTO!