To be considered for federal financial aid, you must complete and submit a FAFSA. Additionally, most states, colleges and universities use the FAFSA to award other types of student aid, including state- and college-sponsored financial aid, such as grants, educational loans, and work-study programs.
Even if you think your family earns too much to qualify for aid, or too little for the aid to make much of a difference, students are encouraged to complete and submit a FAFSA.
Regardless of income, most families are eligible for multiple types of aid, such as federal loans (Stafford and PLUS), and students are frequently surprised by the amount of aid for which they qualify. Filing is free, and unless you apply, you’ll never know how much assistance you may be eligible to receive.
File as early as possible, after completing your federal tax return.
Complete and electronically submit the application online through the Department of Education’s website, www.studentaid.gov
The Department of Education uses a very rigid set of criteria for determining whether a student is INDEPENDENT for financial aid consideration (which means that the custodial parents’ income and asset information is not considered in determining a student’s financial aid, and therefore not required on the FAFSA).
Regardless of whether you support yourself or not, you are still likely to be considered a DEPENDENT student for financial aid purposes unless you meet certain criteria. Exceptions are granted on a case by case basis.
However, if you have special circumstances that you feel warrant consideration, and for which you may be able to provide documentation, you may contact your school’s financial aid office.
IMPORTANT: If you are considered a DEPENDENT student and do not provide your parents’ information on your FAFSA, your application WILL BE REJECTED.
Students and prospective students of ITI Technical College can contact the financial aid office by phone (1.800.467.4484) or (1.225.752.4233), and our experienced team of financial aid officers will personally assist you. You can also contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center 1-800-4-FED-AID (1.800.433.3243).
There are several options for checking your application status:
- Check the status of your application online through the FAFSA website (www.studentaid.gov).
- Contact ITI Technical College’s financial aid office for information.
MPN and Entrance Counseling Questions
The MPN is a promissory note that can be used to make one or more loans for one or more academic years (up to 10 years). There are two types of MPNs for ITI students in the Direct Loan Program: one for Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loans and one for Direct Plus loans.
If you are an undergraduate student attending a school that is authorized and chooses to make multiple loans under the same MPN for more than one academic year, you may be required to sign only one MPN for all of your Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized loans.
If you are a parent whose child is attending a school that is authorized and chooses to make multiple loans under the same MPN for more than one academic year, you may be required to sign only one MPN for all of your Direct PLUS Loans. Note: Parents must sign an MPN for each child for whom they are borrowing. You will have to sign a credit check authorization form for each academic year.
To complete an electronic MPN for direct loans, go to www.studentaid.gov, and follow the instructions in the financial aid packet you were given when you spoke with a financial aid officer during your tour of the school.
Before your school disburses your Direct Loan, regulations require you to complete an entrance counseling session. The counseling session provides information about how to manage your student loans, both during and after college.
You will need the following information:
- Your Social Security number
- Your driver’s license number, if applicable
You may need the following information:
- Name, address, telephone number and employer for your parent
- Name, address, telephone number, and employer for your spouse, if applicable
- Names, addresses, telephone numbers and employers for two references residing at different addresses
- Name, address, telephone number, and employer for your next of kin
- Visit https://studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling/ (no “www”).
- Follow the instructions in the financial aid packet you were given when you spoke with a financial aid officer during your tour of the school.
