New in 2012-2013
New items, policy changes, and tools
New verification Policies – Tax Return Transcript requirement
It is now required for students who are selected for verification to provide federal “Tax Return Transcripts”. The Office of Financial Aid can no long accept paper 1040 returns or returns from the filer. Students can obtain their Tax Return Transcripts by calling 1-800-908-9946 or by visiting the IRS website at www.irs.gov for an online form.
To see the acceptable documentation, and for more information please visit the Awarding Process page under verification.
IRS Data Retrieval Tool
The Federal Government has worked out an agreement with the IRS to do a data retrieval for the FAFSA. Students filing the FAFSA can click and download their IRS income information right into the application. If the information loaded from the IRS remains unchanged by the student/parent then they may avoid being selected for verification and having to submit copies of their IRS Tax Return Transcripts. But this is not guaranteed.
To see the benefits, eligibility and more information please visit the IRS Data Retrieval page.
No more graduate level subsidized loans
Unsubsidized Direct Loans and Graduate PLUS loans are the only federal loans available to students.
Interest rates and origination fees for 2012-2013
|
|
Subsidized Interest Rate |
Unsubsidized Interest Rate |
|
Undergraduate Students |
6.8% |
6.8% |
|
Graduate Students |
Not applicable |
6.8% |
Subsidized and unsubsidized loan origination fee = 1%
Parent and Graduate PLUS loan origination fee = 4%
Subsidized loan grace period
The interest for subsidized loans now begins to accrue at the beginning of the 6-grace period rather than after the six months. Repayment still begins at the end of the 6-month grace period.
Lifetime limit for Federal Pell Grants reduced
The amount of Pell Grants a student may receive has been reduced by a decision of the U.S. Congress. The limit is applied to all Pell Grant recipients, not just new students entering college in 2012-2013. The Pell Grant Lifetime limit is 600%. Each academic year represents 100%. Therefore, a student may receive a full time Pell Grant for 12 semesters or 6 years. See the examples in the table below.
Pell Lifetime Eligibility Chart
|
# of financial aid eligible credits enrolled (% of annual Pell) |
Annual Pell % Received |
||
|
FALL |
SPRING |
SUMMER |
|
|
12 (50%) |
13 (50%) |
0 |
100% |
|
6 (25%) |
7 (25%) |
0 |
50% |
|
12 (50%) |
8 (25%) |
6 (25%) |
100% |
|
6 (25%) |
7 (25%) |
8 (25%) |
75% |
|
9 (37.5%) |
9 (37.5%) |
0 |
75% |
|
9 (37.5%) |
9(37.5%) |
6 (25%) |
100% |
|
Total Pell after 6 Years |
Student has remaining Pell eligibility for future semesters |
= 500% |
|
Other resources:
Proration and Enrollment chart for undergraduates
