Preparing your Renewal FAFSA for 2011-12/media/Files/PDF/...5. Filling out a Renewal FAFSA 6. Your...

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Preparing your Renewal FAFSA for 2011-12February 2011

Steve WineyAssistant Director of Financial Aid

[email protected]

Tonight’s presentation is from the perspective of a parent who is assisting their student in completing the FAFSA.

• Students are certainly welcome to attend and participate in this webinar

• The information should benefit anyone who plans to complete a renewal FAFSA for 2011-12

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1. Why Complete the FAFSA2. Getting Started3. Navigating the FAFSA on the Web (FOTW)4. Other Helpful Resources5. Filling out a Renewal FAFSA6. Your FAFSA follow-up7. Q & A

Agenda

FAFSA = Free Application for Federal Student Aid

1. Why complete the FAFSA?

It is an important application which ensures that your student has access to all financial aid options!

A completed FAFSA is the only way to apply for federal student aid. Federal aid programs include:

• Grants• Student Loans• Parent PLUS Loans (new requirement for 2011-12)

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FAFSA = Free Application for Federal Student Aid


It is an important application which ensures that your student has access to all financial aid options!

Cedarville, like most schools, requires a completed FAFSA to determine eligibility for institutional need-based grants.

• No FAFSA = No need-based aid• This includes Cedarville aid

State need-based grants also use FAFSA data to determine student eligibility.


The FAFSA application will calculate your student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

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Expected Family Contribution (EFC)The EFC is a standardized index of a student’s family and their financial situation.• The FAFSA is a ‘snapshot in time’ which measures the ability,

not necessarily the willingness, of the student’s family to pay for a college education.


Expected Family Contribution (EFC)Your EFC is a static number • It will be the same number whether the student attends a

private college, public college, or community college.

• The EFC might change if you submit an Estimated FAFSA followed later by a FAFSA update based on final tax data.

Note: If the EFC changes, then awarded aid might also change!

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Expected Family Contribution (EFC)Your EFC is not a billing statement indicating what you will pay for college.

Your EFC is simply a data element used by colleges to:• Evaluate a student’s level of financial need

• Evaluate a student’s eligibility for various financial aid awards (scholarships, grants and/or loans)

Caution: Some students and parents mistakenly assume they won’t qualify for any aid and therefore choose not to complete the FAFSA.

Rather than assume your student doesn’t qualify, Cedarville encourages each student to complete the FAFSA to see all the aid options available to them.

This allows the student and their parents to determine the best plan for utilizing various aid options for the upcoming academic year.


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Agenda

2. Getting Started

1) The FAFSA on the Web (FOTW hereafter)• FOTW is the best option for completing your FAFSA Dynamic messaging

Skip logic

Built in edit checks

Much quicker processing time

2) The PDF FAFSA3) The Paper FAFSA

You have three ways you can complete the FAFSA:

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A ‘Renewal FAFSA’ refers to the FAFSA process for any student who:

• completed a FAFSA for the current 2010-11 academic year; and

• wants to complete a FAFSA for the upcoming 2011-12 academic year.

2. Getting Started

2. Getting Started

As you prepare to complete the FAFSA process, keep the following in mind:

The FAFSA is the student’s application for federal student aid• The words "you" and "your" always refer to the student.

The FAFSA is:• Student specific (if more than one student in your family is in college,

each student needs to complete their own FAFSA).

• Academic year specific (the FAFSA must be completed each year). Make sure you select the correct academic year when completing

the FAFSA. Currently, the FAFSA on the Web has two active years available:

• 2010-11 (current year in progress)

• 2011-12 (upcoming year)

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2. Getting Started

As you prepare to complete the FAFSA process, keep the following in mind:

You control which colleges receive the FAFSA data. • In ‘School Selection’ you identify which college(s) you want as recipients

of your FAFSA data sent.• For the FAFSA Renewal, school codes from the prior year’s FAFSA are

not pre-filled. • You simply add the Federal School Code.

Cedarville’s federal school code is 003025

2. Getting Started

What determines a student’s dependency status?

A student’s dependency status for financial aid purposes is based solely upon the ‘Dependency Questions’ asked as part of the FAFSA.

FAFSA Status vs. IRS Tax Filing StatusFor financial aid/FAFSA purposes, a student may still be considered ‘Dependent’ even if they file their IRS Tax Form as a single person claiming only themselves as an exemption.• For financial aid, determination of ‘Dependency Status’ hinges on the

FAFSA Dependency Questions.• For financial aid, FAFSA dependency trumps IRS Filing Status.

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2. Getting Started

A PIN is a 4-digit number used in combination with your Social Security Number, name, and date of birth to identify you as someone who has the right to access your own personal information on Federal Student Aid Web sites, such as FAFSA on the Web.

• The PIN serves as a legal identifier: It is used as your electronic signature on the FOTW It also allows you to login to various federal aid related websites

• Your PIN will expire if you do not use it for 18 consecutive months.

PIN (Personal Identification Number)

2. Getting Started

PIN (Personal Identification Number)

Every student, whether Dependent or Independent, needs there own unique PIN to electronically sign their FAFSA.

• Dependent Student – one parent will also need a unique PIN so that they too can electronically sign-off on the parental data submitted at part of the FAFSA. Parents with more than one child attending college can use their

same PIN to sign all their children’s FAFSAs.

• Independent Student – only the student needs a PIN

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2. Getting Started

PIN (Personal Identification Number)What happens if you have forgotten your PIN?

Go to www.pin.ed.gov and Request a Duplicate PIN

There are helpful FAQs at www.pin.ed.gov for further PIN information.

2. Getting Started

Monetary Data: Round to the nearest dollar and do not use commas or decimal points.• The built-in logic will provide commas, if needed; you simply enter the

appropriate numbers

• Financial questions – do not leave these blank; rather, enter Zero for financial questions which do not apply to your situation or for which the correct reply is Zero (Example: Value of a business)

Dates: Enter numbers that correspond to the month, day, and year (MMDDYYYY).• The built-in logic will provide separators, you simply enter the appropriate

numbers

• Example: November 7, 1989 – enter 11071989

Data entry of monetary and date information:

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The FAFSA is a ‘Snapshot in Time’ and asks questions from three different reference points:

• The Past The previous tax year

• TodayThe day you submit your initial FAFSA for each specific academic year

• Academic yearThe upcoming academic year: July 1 thru June 30

2. Getting Started

Note: These questions are asked in both the student and parent sections.

The Past

Tax Year 2010

Today

The day you submit your initial FAFSA data

Academic Year

2011-12(July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012)

Tax filing statusTax form typeAdjusted Gross IncomeUS Taxes paidExemptions claimed on

taxes2010 – Additional financial

information2010 – Untaxed Income

2009 or 2010 – Received federal assistance from specific programs

Questions with the phrase “As of today”

• Asset questionsSame three asset questions are asked of both the student and the parent

• Marital status

• Dislocated worker

Student questions:High school completion status

• High school diploma• Homeschooled

Academic plans for college

Parent questions:

Number in household• this is not exemptions claimed

on last year’s taxes; read instructions carefully

• this could be the same number, but it could also be different

Number in college (not parents)

2. Getting Started

2010 – Additional financial information

2010 – Untaxed Income

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Today

The day you submit your initial FAFSA data

Questions with the phrase “As of today”

• Asset questions

• Marital status

• Dislocated worker

Answer all “As of today” questions based upon what is accurate the day you submit your initial FAFSA.

If you later submit updates to your FAFSA, you should not change any of your answers to these “As of Today” questions!

• Correcting data-entry errors

2. Getting Started

The Past

Tax Year 2010

Tax filing statusTax form typeAdjusted Gross IncomeUS Taxes paidExemptions claimed on

taxes2010 – Additional financial

information2010 – Untaxed Income

2009 or 2010 – Received federal assistance from specific programs

2. Getting Started

These are the questions that get ‘updated’ when you complete the FAFSA in two steps:

Step 1: Estimated FAFSA

All of these data elements are based upon the premise that the 2010 IRS Tax Form has not been completed! (Tax status is ‘…will file…’)

• Student Taxes (if they are required to file)• Parent Taxes

Step 2: Updated FAFSA

Once the 2010 Tax Form has been completed and submitted to the IRS, then only these data elements should be ‘updated’ using final tax-form data.

Also, make sure you also update your tax return status from ‘will file’ to ‘already completed’ (or to ‘not going to file’ if applicable)

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Agenda

www.fafsa.gov

3. Navigating the FAFSA on the Web (FOTW)

• Deadlines

• School Code Search

• FAFSA Filing Options

All of this information is available without having to ‘Start’ the FAFSA process.

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For 2011-12: Simplified login – Click ‘Start Here’

All FOTW functionality is accessed by entering through this one step login.


For 2011-12: Simplified login – Click ‘Start Here’


By providing name, SSN and Date of Birth, all FOTW functionality is accessible.

Proper Name as it appears on your Social Security Card.

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Dynamic messaging for a FAFSA Renewal . . .

Dynamic messaging guides the applicant through all phases of the FOTW experience

• New applicant

• Renewal applicant

Application Status

PIN Status


Example:Because you did a FAFSA in 2010-11, the system recognizes you based on the ‘student information’

Progress Bar


Shows your current progress through the seven main sections of the FOTW.

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Helps and Hints


Specific guidance is provided for each question of the FOTW.

Detailed Instructions


This question number refers to the Paper FAFSA – use this as needed in using the ‘Detailed Instructions for Completing the 2011-12 FAFSA’ resource.

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• Contact Us(FOTW staff)

• Browse Help

• Key word search


• Need Help?• Save• Clear All Data• View FAFSA Summary• Exit

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Color Schemes


Student (blue)

Parent (purple)


Agenda

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4. Other Helpful Resources

Detailed Instructions: Completing the FAFSA 2011-12www.studentaid.ed.gov

1. Tools and Resources2. Completing the FAFSA

(click ‘Go’)

3. Select the Academic Year instructions you want

(2011-12)

4. Keep PDF file open so you can use while you complete your FOTW

Link from our FAFSA resources webpage:

www.cedarville.edu/fafsa


Detailed Instructions: Completing the FAFSA 2011-12

Main Sections Page #Index 1-5Introduction 6-8General Information 9-23

FAQ’s (16-21)

Application Process 24-28Application Questions 29-71

Overview (29)Student Application Questions (29-50)Parent Application Questions (51-64)Independent Student Questions (65-67)College Codes & Housing Plans (67-69)Date, Signatures and PIN #’s (Student/Parent) (69-71)

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Detailed Instructions: Completing the FAFSA 2011-12

Key areas where help is needed most: Page #Student sections:• Student Asset Information/Help 39-43• Student’s 2010 Add’l Financial Information 43-44• Student’s 2010 Untaxed Income 44-46• Student ‘Dependency Questions 46-51

Parent sections:• Who is Considered a Parent 51-52• Dislocated Worker 57• Parental Asset Information/Help 58-62• Parents’ 2010 Additioanal Financial Information 62-63• Parents’ 2010 Untaxed Income 63-65

INDEPENDENT Students (Additional questions) 65-67


FOTW worksheet (four page PDF document)www.studentaid.ed.gov

1. Tools and Resources

2. FAFSA on the Web Worksheet

(click ‘Go’)3. Select the correct

Academic Year for the worksheet you want

(2011-12)

4. Print the worksheet for your use.

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Documents needed to complete the FAFSA

Social Security card

2010 income tax return

See the instructions on the FAFSA if the tax return has not been completed

W-2 forms and other 2010 records of money earned

Documents for Assets:

• Current stock, bond, and other investment records

• Current business and farm records

• Current bank statements

Driver’s license (if any)

Records of child support paid

Records of taxable earnings from Federal Work-Study or other need-based work programs

Permanent Resident Receipt Card (if applicable)

You can also access this information by using the Browse Help feature at www.fafsa.gov


Agenda

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5. Filling out your FAFSA

Remember the following when completing your FAFSA:• Relax and take your time

• You don’t have to finish in one sitting Use the ‘Save’ feature and just make sure you remember to come

back and finish.

• Beofre clicking the Neze butron on each FAFSA page, duoblecheck for rerosr.


Remember the following when completing your FAFSA:• Relax and take your time

• You don’t have to finish in one sitting Use the ‘Save’ feature and just make sure you remember to come

back and finish.

• Before clicking the Next button on each FAFSA page, double check for errors.

This will allow you to avoid unnecessary delays due to many of the common errors.

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Common data errors on the FAFSA:The following errors should be avoided as this data pre-loads from your prior year FAFSA. If you had a valid FAFSA in 2010-11, this information should be correct:

• Name entry error• Social Security Number entry error• Birthdate entry error

Make sure that you avoid the following common errors:

• Double entry of parental income and tax informationIncorrectly enter parent financial data twice (in BOTH the student and the parent income sections)

• Value of US Taxes Paid is equal to or larger than the amount reported for AGI (Adjusted Gross Income)

• Data errors when entering Asset Values


Student’s Email Address

Federal Student Aid uses the student’s e-mail address to communicate important information about the FAFSA application. • Some students enter their parent’s email as their own so that

FAFSA related information / communication is sent to the parent’s email. Since students often have more than one email address,

this may be something you wish to consider.

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Sample FOTW screen-shots

The following slides contain screen-shots from the FOTW.• All of the data elements contained in these slides are for example only • None of these screen-shots represent official FAFSA data or outcomes for

any student.


Login and get to the Renewal FAFSA start page . . .

www.fafsa.gov

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Enter these four data elements (first name, last name, SSN and Date of Birth and click the ‘Next’ button . . .



The FAFSA system recognizes returning students based on the previous ‘Student Information’ data.


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Enter the student PIN # and create a password for use with your 2011-12 FAFSA.

PIN # and Password


Review this page, if needed; or click the ‘Next’ button to begin with Section 1 – Student Demographics.

Introduction Page: 2011-12 FAFSA

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Student Demographics

This information comes directly from the student information data – if any of this is incorrect, you should consider starting over.


Student Demographics

Verify that your mailing address is still accurate; edit if needed.

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Student Demographics (cont.)

Review and edit as needed.• E-mail address is critical update, if needed• Marital status (if student is getting married . . .)


Student Demographics – Eligibility

Both of these are left ‘blank’ – you must answer these questions.

Both of these are pre-filled – you should review and update/correct based upon your student status in 2011-12.

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Student Demographics – Eligibility

For continuing students, these questions ‘pop-up’ based on other responses on this page.


School SelectionSchool codes used on prior year FAFSA are not pre-loaded. You must enter the federal school code for each school to which you want your FAFSA data sent.

Cedarville’s school code is 003025

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School Selection

Once you ‘Add’ a school code, you should scroll to the bottom of this page and indicate your Housing Plans for 2011-12.


Dependency Determination

You must complete the rest of these questions before your FAFSA Dependency Status is determined.

The Renewal FAFSA prefills a number of these questions based on prior year response.

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Dependency Status Results


Parent DemographicsNote:Color scheme changed to indicate these questions are for the student’s parents.

This information pre-fills from prior year’s FAFSA information.

• If your parent’s marital status is unchanged, then the information in this portion of Parent Demographics should be OK

• It doesn’t hurt to review for accuracy

If marital status has changed, then make the appropriate corrections to all appropriate fields on this page.

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Parent Demographics

Review and make corrections as needed.

These responses can change year to year, so make sure that you answer these accurately for the upcoming 2011-12 academic year.


You will continue through the remaining sections:• Financial Information Parent Financial Information (for dependent students only) Student Financial Information

• Sign and Submit• Confirmation

The following slides show what the new FOTW looks like in these areas.

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Parent Financial Information


Parent Financial Information

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Parent Financial Information continued

If you have financial information to report in either area, you should:• Click the box beside the applicable

statement.


Parent Financial Information continued

When you ‘check’ a box, this question will then expand to display additional information as well as a data-entry box for the appropriate value.• Ministry housing allowance is a

common example

• Read the Helps and Hints for more information, or refer to the Detailed Instructions resource

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Parental Assets


Student Financials are AFTER Parent Financials

The answer to this question will determine the next series of questions (another example of skip logic).

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Student Financials are AFTER Parent Financials

These questions display and operate similarly to those in the Parent financials; but they are asked from a student’s perspective.


Sign & Submit – Student first

Prior to signing your FAFSA, you can click this link for a final data review. This link opens a document which shows all your FAFSA data by section.

• If you discover an error you can ‘click’ the data element to make corrections.

• You also have the option of printing the entire document for your records.

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Sign & Submit – View FAFSA Information . . .


Sign & Submit – Student firstIn the ‘Sign & Submit’ section, pay attention to whether it is for the Studentor for the Parent who is signing!

The Student “signature” area:• If the student choses to Sign Electronically

with a PIN, then again the page will expand with a entry point for the PIN.

• This is where you can Apply for a PIN using the FOTW.

Note: Terms of Agreement for both the student and parent have a default value of ‘Disagree’ • To successfully submit your FAFSA you

must read and change the response from ‘Disagree’ to ‘Agree’

Submitting Without Signatures: This is NOT a good option! You can do it, but it will result in an Invalid FAFSA with No EFC calculation (unusable for packaging any financial aid)!

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Sign & Submit – Parent (only for dependent student)The Parent “signature” area:• If the parent choses to Sign Electronically

with a PIN, then you need to indicate which parent is signing.

• The PIN used needs to correspond to the information for that same parent; or you can also Apply for a PIN at this time.

Note: Another option is to Submit without signatures.

• This is not a good option – your FAFSA will only be partially processed (and it will not have a valid EFC calculation, meaning it is unusable for packaging financial aid).

• The best option is to obtain a PIN and sign off so that your student’s FAFSA is valid and fully processed with an EFC calculation!


After the Parent PIN, all that remains is:• Read the Terms of Agreement

• Change the Parent from ‘Disagree’ to ‘Agree’

Next, click the Submit My FAFSA Nowbutton and you will be taken to the Confirmation Page.

Sign & Submit – Parent (only for dependent student)

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Confirmation Page


Agenda

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6. Your FAFSA follow-up

Make corrections to an already processed FAFSA.• Login at www.fafsa.gov

Review your Student Aid Report (SAR)• This is not a financial aid package• This is the outcome report showing the results of your FAFSA• This is the data that colleges will receive• This data will be used in packaging the student’s financial aid

What does this look like?


Login to Make Corrections or View SAR

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View your Student PIN Status



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Make FAFSA Corrections or Updates:• The FAFSA is designed for updates;

unfortunately, your can change any data-element you want under FAFSA Corrections

• Remember – you should only update the following: tax-related financial data when updating from

Estimated Tax Data to Final Tax Data (including Tax Status question)

add/remove school codes on the FAFSA• If you need to correct an earlier data-entry

error, you can make the correction.Understand, you may be contacted to provide documentation to support the correction.




IRS Data Retrieval Information

Financial InformationIRS Data Retrieval:

• For 2011-12, access to IRS data begins January 30, 2011.

• This option will also be available when updating your FAFSA (Corrections /Updates)

When is IRS Data Available? • Electronically file tax return,

available in 1-2 weeks• Paper / Mailed tax return,

available in 6-8 weeks

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Other possible issues for follow-up:• Verification Visit www.cedarville.edu/verification for additional information.


Other possible issues for follow-up:• Special Conditions Reduced Income or Loss of employment Excessive medical expenses Divorce situation which impacts available income Private school tuition paid (K-12)

Note: Special Condition Requests are made directly to the college financial aid

office (not to the FAFSA processor).

Any special condition request requires the completion of the appropriate Special Condition Request documents.

Special Condition Requests are school specific.

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Agenda

Filing timeline / deadlines:

Cedarville encourages all students (new and continuing) to file their initial FAFSA for 2011-12 by February 20 for priority consideration.

• This is not a deadline; it is simply an encouragement, especially for those who believe they may qualify for need-based aid.

• You may want to wait if the student is planning to marry during the academic year; if this is your situation, call the financial aid office for further information.

State Deadlines: State filing deadlines are based on the student’s state of residency.

• Select the appropriate link at fafsa.gov for your state’s filing deadline.

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Late year tax-related legislation and filing your taxes:The IRS released an article detailing how late year tax-related legislation resulted in the need for some 2010 tax filers to delay filing their tax returns until mid- to late February.

Visit www.IRS.gov and select their News Releases link to access the complete article and to determine if this impacts your tax plans.

This could impact your decision on whether or not to file an Estimated FAFSA.

“IRS Kicks Off 2011 Tax Season with Deadline Extended to April 18; Taxpayers Impacted by Recent Tax Breaks Can File Starting in Mid- to Late February”

Late year tax-related legislation and filing your taxes:

Those who need to wait to file include:

• Taxpayers Claiming Itemized Deductions on Schedule A.

• Taxpayers Claiming the Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction. . . . However, the IRS emphasized that there will be no delays for millions of parents and students who claim other education credits, including the American Opportunity Tax Credit extended last month and the Lifetime Learning Credit.

See the full article to determine if this impacts you and your tax filing plan, as well as how this might influence how you wish to handle the filing of your initial FAFSA for 2011-12.

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Upcoming WebinarsLearning at the College Level

Becky Kuhn, Coordinator of Academic Engagement• Feb. 21 (7 pm)• Feb. 24 (9 pm)

Webinar information and registration links for upcoming webinars are available at www.cedarville.edu/webinars. You can also previous webinar archives at this webpage.

Financial Planning for CollegeRoscoe Smith, Assoc. VP for Enrollment Strategies• Mar. 14 (7 pm)• Mar. 17 (9 pm)

Career and CallingLew Gibbs, Director of Career Services• April 4 (7 pm)• April 7 (9 pm)

Web: www.cedarville.edu/finaid

Phone: 1-800-444-2433

Email: [email protected]

Contact information

Preparing your Renewal FAFSA for 2011-12/media/Files/PDF/...5. Filling out a Renewal FAFSA 6. Your...

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