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“Early FAFSA” & “Prior Prior Year” ‑ It's A‑Coming!
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Nearly 50 school counselors attended an informational training on Friday, May 6 at the Organizations' campus where financial aid and admissions officers from five of the state's colleges and universities discussed the upcoming changes for FAFSA filing, beginning October 1, 2016. Representatives from financial aid and admissions offices at five of NH's colleges and universities shared their thoughts on how these changes may impact students as they apply to college. The training was videotaped and can be viewed on the NHHEAF YouTube channel here.
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As a reminder, in September 2015, President Obama announced two major changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process. First, the President announced a change to the date when students and families can begin to submit a FAFSA. Beginning with the 2017‑2018 financial aid application cycle, the FAFSA will be available on October 1st of the year prior to the upcoming award year. Thus, 2017‑2018 FAFSA filing will begin on October 1, 2016. By having the FAFSA available earlier the financial aid process will generally coincide with the college admissions application and decision cycle, hopefully allowing schools and states to provide financial aid information sooner to students and families.
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Second, the President announced a change to which tax year's information will be collected on the FAFSA. Currently, when completing a FAFSA, applicants provide income information from the prior tax year (e.g., 2015 income information for the upcoming 2016‑2017 FAFSA). Beginning with the 2017‑2018, FAFSA income information from one tax year earlier ‑ the so‑called “prior‑prior year” will be collected. This means that the 2017‑2018 FAFSA will collect tax year 2015 income information and not 2016 information. As a result of this change most students will be able to complete their FAFSAs using information from an already completed tax return. This in turn, will provide most of them with the ability to electronically transfer their income tax return information from the IRS into the FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).
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During our May 6th training, an overarching theme from the panelists is by allowing families to apply for financial aid earlier in the admissions process, they will have the opportunity to receive earlier financial aid packages, and therefore may make more informed decisions about which college a student will attend. Panelists in attendance did not foresee their admissions or financial aid deadlines changing during the 2016‑2017 academic year, nor did they see any changes in how they award merit‑ or need‑based aid.
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The Center for College Planning will host a Financial Aid Summer Update ‑ perfect as a general refresher or introduction for all school counselors! The training is Thursday, August 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. To register, click here.
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For students and families, our College Insider, Financial Aid Organizer, and website will be updated to reflect all related changes.
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