You’ve submitted your FAFSA, and now what? After it’s processed, you’ll receive a FAFSA Student Aid Report (SAR).
If you place an email address around the FAFSA, you'll receive the SAR via email.
Otherwise, it'll come with the mail and could take several extra days.
What does the Student Aid Report look like…exactly what does it mean, and what will it tell you?
Information on the FAFSA Student Aid Report
The SAR offers the financial information the government received on the FAFSA.
You will have to take a look to ensure that it's correct.
There is a data release number (DRN) which you can use to release your FAFSA to additional schools you didn't originally list around the form.
You'll also visit a summary of any existing federal student education loans.
Finally, at the end, you will see whether your student is entitled to Pell Grants.
Remember that most students do not qualify, because these are restricted to low-income families.
What Is the Data Release Number (DRN)?
The DRN enables students to inquire about FAFSA customer support representatives to alter private information inside your FAFSA after you have submitted document online.
By providing the DRN, you are able to change contact information just like your phone number, housing plan, email address, and residential address.
You can also add a summary of possible schools where your computer data could be given.
Having your DRN on hand is essential especially if you have already submitted the application and became of proceed to another city and will have to improve your mailing address.
It's remember this that the DRN is not the same as your FSA ID.
Protect your FSA ID because it gives access to your individual financial details.
With data security a significant issue, it's important to keep the FSA ID safe.
Where is My Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Listed?
Knowing your EFC (expected family contribution), and how it's calculated is an important part from the process.
The number shows up on the upper right-hand corner of Page 1 of the SAR.
It’s listed like a number, with leading zeros with no dollar sign, a lot of people don’t recognize it as their EFC.
Here’s an example of the way the EFC is listed on the SAR: 018770.
This ought to be read being an EFC of $18,770, meaning this is actually the minimum the government and schools will expect your loved ones to bring about college on an annual basis.
If you see an asterisk next to your EFC, your SAR has been flagged for verification.
This doesn't mean you've done anything wrong – it just means that you will have to provide additional documentation.
Verification affects about 30% of FAFSA applications.
Keep in your mind, simply because you don’t see an asterisk alongside you EFC, it doesn’t mean that you won’t be selected for verification, afterwards, from the colleges your student pertains to.
It might be listed on the award letter your student receives or it may be sent by email.
You'll want to complete the verification worksheet quickly, just because a lot of financial aid is distributed on the first come, first served basis.
What Happens Once You Receive the SAR?
The SAR shows the data that schools and the government uses to find out eligibility for financial aid.
Whatever schools you on the FAFSA will get a duplicate from it.
If you find any mistakes around the form, you'll need to correct or improve your FAFSA.
Once you need to do, a brand new SAR will be delivered to you.
If there aren't any errors, simply keep your SAR for your records.
How Soon After Submitting The FAFSA Will The SAR Arrive?
If you provide your email (which many people do), you can expect to receive your SAR inside a couple of days of electronically filing.
If you supply a mail address, you may expect a copy of your SAR within a couple weeks (usually up to 30 days).
Don’t forget, the SAR is going to be sent to your student’s email address, not the mother and father.
So get them to on the lookout for it!