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University of Pittsburgh
Title IV School Code
008815
How do I apply
for financial aid?
In
order to receive financial aid, you must first apply by
completing the 2008-2009 Free Application for
Federal Student Aid - commonly called the FAFSA.
The FAFSA can be completed any time after
January 1, 2008. In fact, we encourage you to apply as
early as possible to avoid missing UPT's priority filing
deadline of March 1st, 2008.
If you
or your parents have not completed your Federal Income
Tax Return prior to completing the FAFSA, you may use
estimated income information to ensure that your
information is received by the Federal Processor before
UPT's March 1, 2008 priority filing deadline. Once you
have completed your Federal Income Tax Return, you can
update the estimated income information reported on your
FAFSA to reflect the income information that was
reported to the IRS.
You must complete the FAFSA each year that you wish to
apply for any financial aid, including Stafford and PLUS
loans.
Be
sure to keep copies of your FAFSA.
Where can
I get a copy of the FAFSA?
You can
request a paper form from the Federal Student Aid
Information Center by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID or obtain
a submittable FAFSA in portable document format (PDF, in
color or black and white), which you can get here.
You can print the PDF and fill it out by hand, or you
can type your data on the PDF before printing.
Additionally, students may complete the FAFSA through
the Internet by accessing the application at
www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Renewal applicants are encouraged to complete the
renewal application online. By completing the renewal
application, you will save yourself some time, as you
will need to update only the income information.
What can I expect after filing
the FAFSA?
Approximately seven to
ten business days after completing the FAFSA online (6
weeks if you complete the FAFSA by mail), you will
receive notification back in the form of a
Student Aid Report (SAR). SARs are important
for two reasons. First, the SAR can be used by the
parents and student/or spouse to confirm that the
information they provided on the original FAFSA form is
correct. If there is any information that is incorrect
on the SAR then you can use it to make corrections.
Second, the SAR gives you notice of what your
Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be for
the academic year. This is the only official
notification that you will receive regarding the EFC.
What is
the EFC?
The EFC can be found in the upper right hand corner on
the first page of the Student Aid Report. The EFC does
not reflect what you and your family will have to pay
out-of-pocket for your college expenses, nor does it
reflect what your family can afford to pay
out-of-pocket; the EFC is important because this number
is used by the school, the state grant agency and the
federal government to determine the types and amounts of
financial aid that you will receive. |
