APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID 2007-2008

UNM’s Federal School Code  is 002663.

Financial aid awards are not renewed automatically.  You MUST apply for financial aid each year.  Complete the 2007-2008 Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA) to apply for financial aid for Fall 2007, Spring 2008, and/or Summer 2008.

We encourage you to apply electronically using FAFSA on the Web.  It can save you weeks in processing time and has a built in editing format to reduce errors.  You can use FAFSA on the WEB on a personal computer (PC) or a Macintosh with a supported browser.  To complete your FAFSA on the Web, go to: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.  You may apply using FAFSA on the WEB for 2007-2008 beginning January 1, 2007.  Before completing FAFSA on the Web, we encourage you to complete the Pre-Application Worksheet.  If you do not have the worksheet, it is available from our office, or on the web at:   http://www.fafsa.ed.gov

You will need a PIN to sign your FAFSA electronically.  If you are providing parents’ information, your parent will sign your FAFSA with their own PIN.  If you do not have a PIN, or if you have forgotten your PIN, you may request a PIN at:  http://www.pin.ed.gov/.  Your parent may also request a PIN at the same web site.

If you completed a FAFSA for 2006-2007, you may apply for 2007-2008 by using Renewal FAFSA on the Web.  The address is:  http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. 

Before completing your FAFSA, we encourage you to access the helpful information on applying for financial aid provided by the US Department of Education: http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/index.html

If you do not have access to the Web, you may apply for financial aid using the paper FAFSA.  Complete and sign the form, and mail it in the envelope provided to the central processor, not to UNM.  The central processor will enter the information you provide, and send a report to you and each school you list on the FAFSA.

The FAFSA is used to apply for all types of federal and state need-based aid, including:  grants, loans, and work-study.  Send your FAFSA to the central processor as soon as possible after December 31, 2006.

The Student Aid Report (SAR)

You will receive either an email or a paper form from the Department of Education’s Central Processing System from a few days to four weeks after submitting the FAFSA.  The form is called the Student Aid Report, or SAR, and contains the data you entered on the FAFSA.  Review the SAR carefully for errors (the form will highlight items that didn’t pass edits) and follow directions for making corrections.  Submit your corrected SAR to UNM’s Financial Aid Office promptly to avoid long delays in processing your application.  We will make the corrections electronically.  Be sure to keep a copy of the SAR for your records.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

In the upper right of the front page of your SAR, you’ll find a figure called the Expected Family Contribution, or EFC.  The EFC is a preliminary estimate of the amount your family can contribute to college costs.  The EFC figure is sent electronically to the colleges you listed on the FAFSA.  We use the EFC to determine your eligibility for financial aid.  Your EFC is determined by the federal government.

What the EFC Figure Means for Most Families

First, most families can't just pay the EFC out of current income alone. But, not to worry -- the formulas assume that families will meet their contribution through a combination of savings, current income, and borrowing.

Second, financial aid is limited. The formulas, therefore, measure a particular family's ability to pay against other families' ability to pay.

Once students who met the March 1 priority date are awarded, we will continue to award the above types of financial aid as long as funding permits.

We strongly recommend that you complete your federal income tax returns before filling out the FAFSA. If you are not able to complete your tax returns in time to meet UNM’s March 1 priority date, you may provide estimated tax information.  However, you must correct the estimated tax information you provided as soon as your tax returns are complete.

Summer Financial Aid

For financial aid purposes, the academic year begins fall semester 2007, and ends with summer semester 2008.  UNM’s Office of Student Financial Aid will award funds for summer 2008 if funds are available for summer awards after fall/spring awards have been made.  To be considered for a summer 2008 Federal Stafford Loan, Federal Graduate PLUS Loan, Federal PLUS Loan, or Work-Study, complete the Request for Summer Financial Aid, which will be available on the financial aid web site at:

 http://www.unm.edu/~finaid/forms/index.html in April, 2008.

Requests for summer financial aid will be processed in the order in which they are received.  So, it is important that you submit the form to our office as soon as you have registered for summer classes.  We cannot process your summer request for aid until you register for summer classes.

Tribal Assistance

Contact your tribal agency if you are applying for tribal assistance.  Submit the tribal needs analysis form to UNM’s Office of Student Financial Aid for completion.  Your financial aid file must be complete before we can send your needs analysis to your tribe.  Questions?  Contact Dianne Perea at dmperea@unm.edu if your last name begins with A – H.  If your last name begins with I -- R, contact Carlos Ramirez at los@unm.edu.  If your last name begins with S – Z, contact Jackie Castro at jkward@unm.edu.

IMPORTANT TIPS

Keep a copy of your FAFSA application and all documents you submit to UNM.  It is important that you keep a copy of the 2007-2008 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet.  DO NOT MAIL THE WORKSHEET.

Respond immediately to all additional document requests from UNM’s Office of Student Financial Aid.  Include your name, social security number, and email address on all documents you submit to our office.

Complete the “Housing Plans” section of Step Six on the FAFSA.  If you leave “Housing Plans” blank, your financial aid will be delayed, and you may not receive all the aid for which you are eligible.

Answer Question 25, enrollment status, accurately on the FAFSA.  Your enrollment status is used to determine the amount of your financial aid.  It is important to let us know if your enrollment status changes.

It is imperative that you provide accurate information in items 1, 2, 3, 8, and 9.  Your name, date of birth, and social security number must match exactly with the Social Security Administration’s records.  If they do not, you will have to: 1) correct the information you provided on your FAFSA, or 2) correct your information at UNM, or 3) correct your information with the Social Security Administration.  It is also essential that accurate parent information is provided in items 56 – 64.  If the information provided does not match the Social Security Administration’s records, you will have to make corrections before your eligibility for financial aid can be determined.

Law students who wish to apply for institutional funds must also complete the Access Group financial aid form. The form is available at:

http://www.accessgroup.org/.

Pharmacy and Medical students who wish to be considered for an Exceptional Financial Need Scholarship, Primary Care or Health Profession Loan, or Loans or Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students must include parents’ information on their financial aid applications.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

All students who receive financial aid have their academic progress monitored at least annually to determine continued eligibility for assistance.  Students in certificate programs are monitored each semester.  There are three major components to UNM’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy:

1.       Grade point average

2.       Completion rate

3.       Maximum time frame

Our complete Satisfactory Academic progress policy is available on our website at: 

http://www.unm.edu/~finaid/guide/rap.html

Change in Family Circumstances

If any of the following circumstances apply to you/your family, check with our office to see if this might affect your financial aid eligibility:

·          2007 income will be lower than 2006 income

·          Unusual debts (not credit card debts)

·          Unusually high medical/dental expenses

·          Paying tuition/fees for private elementary/secondary education

·          Paying adult day care expenses  

FEDERAL VERIFICATION/QUALITY ASSURANCE

What happens if YOU are selected?

UNM participates in the Federal Quality Assurance Program, a program that allows us to establish verification criteria and determine which student files must be verified.  Because of this, you should disregard any statement on your Federal Student Aid Report (SAR) that you are being verified.  If your application is selected for verification by UNM, you will receive a letter from us explaining what documents to provide.  Do not submit any documents unless we request that you do so.  If your application is selected, aid funds cannot be disbursed to you until you have submitted all requested documents, and the accuracy of your information has been confirmed.

COMMON MISTAKES ON THE FAFSA

Student’s Name, Date of Birth, and Social Security No.

It is absolutely essential that your name, date of birth, and social security number are exactly the same on your FAFSA, UNM’s records, and with the Social Security Administration.  If they are not, you must correct them at the necessary location in order to receive financial aid.  If you are providing parent information on the FAFSA, their names, dates of birth, and social security numbers must also match the Social Security Administration’s records.

If you change your name with UNM during the academic year, you must also change your name on your FAFSA, and with the Social Security Administration.  If your name does not match exactly at all three locations, you may have to repay any financial aid you receive. You may change your name on your FAFSA at Corrections on the Web:  http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.

Who is Considered a Parent:

If you answered “No” to every question in Step Three on the FAFSA, you must provide parent information.  If your parents are both living and married to each other, answer the questions about them.  If your parent is widowed or single, answer the questions about that parent.  If your widowed parent is remarried as of today, answer the questions about that parent and the person to whom your parent is married (your stepparent).

If your parents are divorced or separated, answer the questions about the parent you lived with more during the past 12 months.  (If you did not live with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the past 12 months, or during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent.)  If this parent is remarried as of today, answer the questions on the rest of the FAFSA about that parent and the person whom your parent married (your stepparent).

You must answer questions about your parents if you answered “No” to all dependency questions listed on the FAFSA, even if you did not live with your parents. 

Grandparents, foster parents, and legal guardians are not considered parents on the FAFSA unless they have legally adopted you.

Worksheets A, B, and C:

For help answering these questions, use the 2007-2008 FAFSA Worksheets.  If you do not have the worksheet, you can obtain it on the web at:  http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/worksheet.htm 

Parents’ Household Size (Dependent Students):

Include in your parents’ household:

·          Your parents and yourself, even if you don’t live with your parents,

·          Your parents’ other children if (a) your parents will provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008, or (b) the children could answer “No” to every question in Step Three on page 8 of the FAFSA, and

·          Other people if they now live with your parents, your parents provide more than half of their support, and your parents will continue to provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2007, through June 20, 2008.

Parents’ Number in College:

Always count yourself as a college student.  Never include your parents.  Include others only if they will attend at least half-time in a 2007-2008 program that leads to a college degree or certificate.

Financial Aid Myths

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

Literally billions of dollars in financial aid is available to those who need help paying for college.  Yet lots of misinformation clouds the facts about what type of aid is available and who is eligible.  Here are some myths dispelled for students confronting the process of securing financial aid.

College is Just Too Expensive for Our Family

Despite the media hype about rising college costs, a college education is more affordable than most people think, especially when you consider college graduates earn an average of $1 million more over their careers than high school graduates.  There are some expensive schools, but high tuition is not a requirement for a good education.

My Parents’ Income Is Too High to Qualify for Aid

Aid is intended to make a college education available for students of families in many financial situations.  The federal formula which determines the EFC takes into account not only income, but also other family members in college, home mortgage costs, and other factors. 

My Parents Saved for College, So We won’t Qualify for Aid

Saving for college is always a good idea.  Since most financial aid comes in the form of loans, the aid you are likely to receive will need to be repaid.  Tucking away money could mean you have fewer loans to repay, and it won’t mean you’re not eligible for aid if you need it.  A family’s share of college costs is calculated based mostly on income, rather than assets such as savings.

I’m not a Straight “A” Student, So I Won’t Get Aid

It’s true that many scholarships reward merit, but the vast majority of federal aid is based on financial need and does not even consider high school grades.

If I Apply for a Loan, I Have to Take It

Families are not obligated to accept a low-interest loan if it is awarded to them. If you are awarded a student loan and do not wish to accept it, just inform our office.  Your loan will be canceled.

Working Will Hurt My Academic Success

Research shows that students who work a moderate amount often do better academically.  Securing an on-campus job related to career goals is a good way for you to help pay college costs, get experience, and create new ties with the university.

UNM is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution.  Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you require this information in alternative format or have special needs, please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid for assistance.

Rev. 12/06