FAFSA and CalGrant

due by March 2nd!

 

What is the FAFSA? The FAFSA www.fafsa.ed.gov is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and is the application used for all types of federal financial aid – for junior colleges, trade schools, colleges and universities! 

 

Who should apply?  All graduating students planning to attend a junior college, trade school, private college, or university.

 

When is it due? California students - file BOTH forms between January 1 and March 2:

  1. FAFSA form is online at www.fafsa.ed.gov
  2. Cal Grant GPA Verification Form – request from the CWCS Guidance Department guidancecounselor@connectingwaters.org . The Guidance Department will certify it and send it back to you.  It is your responsibility to mail the completed form to the California Student Aid Commission.

Apply early!!!  Don’t wait until you have been accepted into a college for you or your parents to file year-end tax returns.  You may use estimates from December pay stubs and other end-of-year records which can be corrected later when you receive your Student Aid Report (SAR).

 

Why apply?  Don’t assume you or your family makes too much money to get financial aid.  You should still file the FAFSA!  Many factors affect your financial need such as the number of children in your household in college and the age of your oldest parent.  What’s more, a number of colleges require their students to submit a FAFSA before considering them for institution-based financial aid.

 

How do I apply?  Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov to begin.  To start, you will need to get a PIN (Personal Identification Number) by clicking on the “Register for PIN” button then follow the prompts.  The student and one parent must set up a PIN.  Then, fill out the FAFSA and submit it.  If you use a PIN when filing on-line, you don’t have to sign and mail in a signature page.

 

Where do I get the GPA Verification Form?  Call Mary Halter at 1-800-808-9895 ext.4 then 2 to request the form or email your request to guidancecounselor@connectingwaters.org . The Guidance Department will certify the form and send it back to you.  It is your responsibility to mail the completed form to the California Student Aid Commission postmarked by March 2nd.  TIP: keep a photocopy for your records and send using a Certificate of Mailing from the Post Office, this provides proof that you mailed the form by the deadline 

 

CWCS does not file the GPA Verification Forms for you, you are responsible for getting the certification from the Guidance Department and sending the form in the mail yourself!

 

Have more questions? 

Contact the Guidance Department!!! 

guidancecounselor@connectingwaters.org

Melissa Cripe 1-800-808-9895 ext. 4 then 6

Mary Halter 1-800-808-9895 ext. 4 then 2