How to Apply for Financial Aid

Step 1: Gather the Documents Needed to Apply

Before you can fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), there are some documents you will need to have with you when you apply. Please read and answer each of the questions below to help determine what documents you will need to fill out your FAFSA.

Were you born before January 1st, 1990?
Are you married?
Do you have children for whom you will provide more than half of their support between July 2013 and June 2014?
Do you have legal dependents (other than children and/or spouse) for whom you will provide more than half of their support between July 2013- and June 2014
Are you serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces?
Are you a Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?
Since you turned 13, have both of your parents passed-away?
Since you turned 13, were you declared (by a court/legal entity) to be a Dependent or Ward of the Court?
Since you turned 13, have you been in foster care?
Are you an emancipated minor?
Have you been under or are you currently under Legal Guardianship? (this is not to be confused with being under the naturally legal guardianship of your parents)
Are you homeless or at risk of being homeless?
Are you currently working on a master’s or doctorate program [e.g.: MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, graduate certificate] (This would mean you already have a four year bachelor’s degree and are moving on to an even higher level of education)

If you (the student) are planning on attending during the 2013-2014 year (August 2013-July 2014) and you answer “NO” to each of the questions listed above, then you are considered to be a Dependent student and will need both your and your parent(s) documents when you fill out the FAFSA

If you (the student) are planning on attending during the 2013-2014 year (August 2013-July 2014) and you answer “YES” to any of the questions listed above, then you are considered to be a Independent student and will need your (and if married your spouses) documents when you fill out the FAFSA

Now that you have determined your dependency status, you will need to gather the following documents. *Remember,* if you are a Dependent student you will need to gather these documents on both yourself and your parent(s):

Your Social Security number (it’s important that you list your name as it is on your Social Security card and correctly enter the number itself on the FAFSA!)
Your Driver’s license number if you have one
Your Alien Registration Number if you are not a U.S. citizen
2012 Federal Tax Information:
- Note: It is highly recommended that you utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when completing the FAFSA. If you filed your taxes as: Single, Single: Filing Head-of-Household, or Married: Filing Jointly and it has been 3 weeks since you filed your 2012 taxes electronically then you are eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when completing your FAFSA (provided that you have not since filed an Amended Return or moved addresses). Please see our instructions on Filling out the FAFSA: How to use the IRS Data Retrieval.
- If you are not able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, you will need:
  - IRS form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ (depending on which one you filed under)
  - Records of untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and Veterans non-education benefits
  - Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments>including stocks, bonds, and real estate (not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets.
  - Our Federal School Code: 004024 (This is the same code for each GNTC campus)

Step 2: Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

All students wishing to apply/reapply for any Financial Aid at Georgia Northwestern Technical College during the 2013-2014 school year (Aug. 2013- July 2014) must complete and submit the 2013-2014 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (F.A.F.S.A) online at www.fafsa.gov . Be sure to list our Federal School Code: 004024. All applications and documents need to be submitted prior to the Financial Aid deadlines. Please view our Financial Aid Deadlines section.

If you feel you may need help filling out the FAFSA, you may come by any of our Financial Aid offices anytime between 8:00 a.m. and no later than 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Simply be sure to bring the documents (listed under Step 1) necessary to complete your FAFSA.

NOTE: Students begin reapplying each year during the Spring semester once taxes are filed, but the application will not go affect until the Fall semester and will not expire until the end of Summer semester. Since the Summer semester is the last term in our fiscal year, New students or students who have not attended in over a year and whose first term of enrollment/re-enrollment will be the Summer semester, will need to fill out two (2) FAFSAs> one which will go into effect for the Summer semester (the 2013-2014 FAFSA) and one for the next fiscal year (2014-2015). See the table below for description.

2013-2014 FAFSA

(Good from Aug. 2013-July 2014)

Fall 2013 (Aug.-Dec.2013)

Spring 2014 (Jan.-May 2014)

Summer 2014 (May-Aug.2014)

*Prior to the start of Fall 2013:

Students have filled out and submitted the 2013-2014 FAFSA and any documents requested by Financial Aid in a timely manner.

The 2013-2014 FAFSA goes into effect & the 2013-2014 fiscal year begins.

Current Students begin reapplying for next fiscal year (2014-2015 FAFSA) once taxes are filed.

New Students (and returning student who have not attended since the previous fiscal year) who wish to attend beginning with the Summer Semester 2014, begin filing both the current year’s 2013-2014 FAFSA (May-Aug.) and the next 2014-2015 FAFSA.

*Any documents requested for Summer 2014 are turned in as soon as possible.

Financial Aid will begin sending out e-mail notifications to students GNTC e-mail accounts to notify them of any documents needed to complete their 2014-2015 financial aid file.

Students, on who documents are requested, turn-in the necessary documents for the next 2014-2015 fiscal year (which will go into effect Fall 2014).

Step 3: Turn-in any Documents Requested by Financial Aid.

Once the FAFSA is submitted, the processing center will normally have the application processed within 2-3 days, and Financial Aid will be able to pull the processed application into our system within 1-2 weeks from the time of submission (depending on workload). You may contact Financial Aid to determine your status and whether any additional documents are needed. However, when the processed FAFSA is received by Financial Aid, you will be notified via your GNTC student Email account if there are any additional documents needed to complete your Financial Aid file. Students may also view their BannerWeb account. Please review our instructions on Utilizing BannerWeb.

If documents are requested by Financial Aid you may need to bring items to our office for copies to be made. For example, a student may be requested to bring in his/her Driver’s License, Social Security card, and 2012 Official IRS Tax Transcripts. In many cases there are also forms from Financial Aid that need to be filled out and turned in. If once your FAFSA is processed, you are required to fill-out and turn-in forms; you may print-off the requested forms from our Forms and Tools page.

Notes:

HOPE Scholarship: If you are a student graduating from High School with at least a 3.0 GPA and going straight into a Degree program or a student who has completed 30, 60, or 90 semester hours that will count toward the degree program you wish to acquire, you may qualify for HOPE Scholarship funds. If you wish to receive HOPE Scholarship funds, you must fill out and turn the HOPE Scholarship Evaluation form to have your eligibility checked. For additional information regarding HOPE Scholarship, please visit our Scholarships page.

*IF you graduated High school over seven (7) years ago or received your GED over seven (7) years ago, then you have already reached the Seven Year Expiration of Eligibility date. Therefore, you will not be eligible for the HOPE Scholarship.

Federal Work-Study: If you are interested in applying for the Federal Work-Study program, you must pick-up and fill out the Federal Work-Study application. You may pick-up the Federal Work-Study application from any of our Financial Aid offices as long as positions are available.

Veteran’s Benefits: Students wishing to receive Veteran’s Benefits must apply. Veterans will need to fill out VA Form 1990, while Dependents and Spouses will need to fill out VA Form 5490 in order to apply. Please see Financial Aid for more details..

Workforce Investment Act (WIA): WIA is a federally funded work training program that assists students who are currently laid off workers or students that have very low family income. For more information on WIA: Who Should Apply and Frequently Asked Questions Regarding WIA.

Loans: Once the FAFSA has been filled-out, submitted & processed, received by Financial Aid, and once any requested documents are filled out and turned in; your Financial Aid file will be complete and we will be able to process your file to see what aid you are eligible for. Afterward, you may be eligible to apply for loans if you deem necessary. Please visit our Loans page for more information.

Step 4: Get Accepted and Registered for Classes

Students must be officially accepted by GNTC Admissions and registered in classes before any financial aid can be disbursed to their account. The GNTC Admissions Application may be filled out & submitted either before or after the FAFSA application, so long as both applications are submitted prior to the deadlines. Once students are officially accepted to GNTC, students may meet with the Academic Advisor for their program of study and register for classes. After students are accepted and registered, then Financial Aid will be able to place any funds for which students qualify on their account. Please allow 2-3 business days for aid to display on your account. You may view your awards on BannerWeb. Please see our instructions on Utilizing BannerWeb.

For information on how payments are made view our How Payments are Made section.

Step 5: Maintain your Financial Aid Eligibility

In order for students to continue receiving Financial Aid they must maintain their eligibility. To maintain eligibility students need to meet the requirements set forth by the grant & scholarship programs provided to them. Please visit our Grants & Scholarships page for eligibility requirements on specific programs. Also see our Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.

*Remember: All students wishing to receive any financial aid in consecutive aid years must re-apply by filling out the FAFSA each year during the Spring semester once taxes are filed. Refer to Step 2 if necessary.