FAFSA & CADAA

WHO SHOULD COMPLETE FAFSA / CADAA?  ALL SENIORS!

By filling out FAFSA/CADAA, students may be eligible for Grants, scholarships Work Study, or Interest Free Loans! 

In addition, many colleges require the application to be submitted before they can receive grants or scholarships from the institution.  

Even if the family's income is too high for need-based aid, the student may qualify for scholarships, work study, or low interest loans.  Other factors are considered when determining financial aid, including the number of children enrolled in college and age of parents.  For community college, all students are eligible for first year free regardless of family income - student must submit FAFSA/CADAA.

Opt-out form must be submitted if you will not submit FAFSA/CADAA

• Submit to the College and Career Center

WHEN SHOULD YOU SUBMIT FAFSA / CADAA?

The Cal Grant eligibility deadline is May 2.  Submit by this date!

What do you need to submit FAFSA/CADAA?

Checklist of important documents you need to help complete the Free Application for Federal  Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA)

RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS IN FOSTER CARE

We look forward to another year of collaboration to support students in foster care and ensure they have access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. We are ensuring that students in foster care successfully complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA), as required under Education Code 42921(e)(3)(B).

To support this effort, we would like to highlight a few key points for assisting students in completing these applications:

1. Independent Student Status:

   • Students currently or formerly in foster care should indicate on the FAFSA/CADAA that they are/were a dependent/ward of the court, were in foster care after age 13, or were in a legal guardianship.

   • This designation allows them to qualify as independent students, exempting them from the requirement to report parental income.

2. Reporting Income:

   • Payments received through extended foster care should not be reported as income on the FAFSA/CADAA, per the U.S. Department of Education’s Dear Colleague Letter GEN-13-18.

3. Deadlines and Early Application:

   • While FAFSA/CADAA applications can be submitted year-round, early submission is encouraged to maximize eligibility for aid, such as the Cal Grant, which has specific deadlines.

4. Verification of Foster Youth Status and Tax Filing:

   • College financial aid offices can automatically verify foster youth status in most cases.

   • Students who report not filing a tax return may need to provide an IRS Verification of Non-Filing. However, institutions may accept a signed statement if the IRS verification cannot be obtained and the student has made a good-faith effort.

Cal Grant

Foster youth can receive a Cal Grant for up to 8 years. [EC 69433.6, 69435.3]

• To qualify for a Cal Grant, students attending a 4-year university must submit a FAFSA by March 2, and community college students must submit a FAFSA by September 2. EC 69435.5. For those students who missed the March deadline, they should still apply for aid, as other sources such as the Pell grant and Chafee grant.

• Foster youth who were in foster care at any point after age 13 can receive a Cal Grant access award for non-tuition costs (such as rent, food, books, transportation, etc.) of up to $6,000. EC 69470(b).

For resources to support foster youth to apply for financial aid, visit https://jbay.org/resources/financial-aid-guide/

California Chafee Grant for Foster Youth

The California Chafee Grant for Foster Youth (Chafee Grant) awards up to $5,000 a year to eligible foster youth. The Chafee Grant may be used at any eligible California college or university, or career or technical school. Students attending schools in other states may also qualify. A student's receipt of a Chafee Grant award shall not exceed five years (whether or not consecutive).

Students must:

• Be a current or former foster youth who was a ward of the court, living in foster care, between the ages of 16 and 18.

• Not have reached their 26th birthday as of July 1st of the award year.

• Be enrolled in an eligible vocational school or college courses at least half-time.

• Be making satisfactory academic progress.

AllStar Internship Application Open

The AllStar Internship is an opportunity for youth advocates ages 18 - 23 with experience in foster care to make a positive influence for others with lived experience in care. AllStar interns will leave this experience with stronger personal awareness, professionalism and advocacy skills. Applications are due February 17th. https://www.fosterclub.com/allstar-internship

Track your log in information for financial aid applications!  Here is a tracking sheet you can use.

Review your Financial Aid Award Letter

Compare the financial aid award letters from each school.  If you have questions or concerns, contact the financial aid office at the college(s).  

Apply for Scholarships!

Check the financial aid office website for each school you applied to.  Do they have additional scholarships you can apply to?  

Apply for CVEF Scholarships.

Check the Scholarships page. 

Confirm your Cal Grant (Once you know what school you will be attending):

1. Confirm your graduation date and school of attendance and submit the information to CSAC. 

2. Log-into your WebGrants 4 Students at https://mygrantinfo.csac.ca.gov/.  

3. Once you are logged into the WG4S account, scroll down to the “Cal Grant” section.

4. Select the school of attendance card and click on the “School Change” Button.

5. Once you have selected your California Cal Grant eligible school, submit it to receive a confirmation message.  

1. Scams: Be aware of scam copies – A company purchased this website àcom they will charge you for the FAFSA – it is a FREE application. http://www.FAFSA.ed.gov

2. ID: Get you FAFSA ID ahead of time. You get a username and a password. If you are considered a dependent student, you need your separate ID. It can take a few weeks to get your ID. There can be a backlog at the last minute. Do not share your ID with others. This information you are putting on your FAFSA is sensitive information. Store it in Lastpass.com (you can get a free account) or a paid account is $20 per year and it keeps you ID safe.

3. Date October 1 on your senior year. Many states will run out of money early. You can put in ten colleges when you are filling out your FAFSA. You use your prior-prior taxes or two years before you apply for the loan. You need pull that out and bring out the information. If you have had a decrease in income from 2015 to now – that can be adjusted as well – addendum needs to be filled out with each college.

4. Deadlines: To maximize your scholarship opportunities fill it out by October 1 – Each school and state will set their deadlines. October 1 is the FIRST day you can apply – deadlines are months later, but why wait?

5. Which ID? Do not use your ID (parents) when you start our your FAFSA – they will give you an option to enter the student information. USE the student ID – it will automatically add your personal information.

6. Knowing the lingo on the FAFSA helps – certain questions that you automatically know, but you may make mistakes –

   1. Legal guardianship – Students will answer yes here. You are not considered a legal guardian of yourself! So the answer is NO

7. NUMBER: The number of family household members – specific definition. Many students put the wrong number down. It has no bearing on who claims the parents in a divorce situation. How many are in your household – that is in your entire family. Siblings. Read instructions carefully.

   1. The number of family members who are in college and private school. If you are thinking about just your siblings. Don’t forget to include yourself. You are also going to college.

8. Common Mistakes:

• • If it says You or YOUR – it means the student.

  • Put in your full name as it appears on your social security card – no nicknames. It will bring you delays if you are not accurate.

  • Double check your social security number.’

9. Income Information: 

• • How much income tax – not your AGI (adjusted gross income) – IRS data retrieval tool that will tell you how to fill it out.

  • Be sure to see if they are asking for your income vs. your parent’s income. Do not get them confused.

10. Parent section is color coded – you can fill out the parent information. (Even if you live on your own. It still can help you.)

11. Add More Colleges: Students may only be considering only one or two colleges. You have up to ten schools you can list. Take advantage of this tool and the other colleges cannot see the schools you are sending this to. You can always remove and add more schools.

12. Sign It! Don’t forget to sign your FAFSA this will cause an incomplete FAFSA. You sign it with your ID number. You can mail a signature page if you want. It is not necessary. You can check the status of your application at any time.

Resources

https://studentaid.gov/resources - FAFSA resources

https://www.collegecovered.com/paying-for-college/fafsa-101-your-financial-aid-faqs-answered/ - FAFSA 101 from College Covered

https://www.goingmerry.com/blog/how-to-apply-for-fafsa/ - How to Apply for FAFSA from Going Merry

https://www.goingmerry.com/blog/fafsa-questions/ - The 7 Trickiest Questions and How to Approach Them from Going Merry