FAFSA Step 1

Questions 1 through 35 of the FAFSA collect personal identification information; such as your name, telephone number, address, Social Security Number, and so on. Also included is a question about citizenship status because you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen to receive federal student aid.

In the “Name” block, please enter your name as it appears on your social security card. The Department of Education matches each name and Social Security Number, or SSN, with the Social Security Administration. Therefore, the name provided here should match the name on your Social Security card. If you use a name (such as a nickname) other than the name on your Social Security card, you will be asked to correct the inconsistency, and there might be a delay in the awarding of your aid.

Here you must give a permanent home mailing address, not a school or office address.

Use the official postal State Abbreviation when entering your state. West Virginia’s state abbreviation is “WV”.

Generally, you must have an SSN to be eligible for federal student financial aid. If you submit a FAFSA without an SSN, your FAFSA will be returned to you unprocessed.

To apply for an SSN or to get a replacement Social Security card if yours has been lost or stolen, contact your local Social Security office.

Question numbers 11 and 12 refer to your driver’s license and the state that issued your driver’s license. Your driver's license number can be found on your driver’s license card. If you do not have a driver's license, leave Questions 11 and 12 blank.

Let’s move on to questions 13 and 14 regarding citizenship status.

If you were born in the United States, you are a U.S. citizen. You can receive federal student financial aid only if you are a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen. If you have questions regarding your citizen designation, contact the Social Security Administration regarding your status. Otherwise, the SSA may report that you are not a citizen, and you will have to provide citizenship documentation before receiving aid.

If you answer "yes" to question 13 asking whether you are a U.S. citizen, do not provide an A-Number in this box.

If you are an eligible noncitizen, enter your eight or nine-digit A-Number. Leave the first space blank if you have an eight-digit A-Number.

Your marital status directly affects how your income and assets are treated in the EFC calculation. You must report your marital status as of the date the application is completed. For question 16, you should enter the date you married, divorced, separated, or were widowed. If you never married, leave this question blank. If your current marital status is "divorced," enter the date you separated. If you were not separated, enter the date you became divorced.

Questions 17-21 relate to enrollment status. A financial aid administrator (FAA) will look at your expected enrollment status as a factor in determining your financial aid package. If you change your enrollment status (such as from full time to half time), your FAA will adjust your award to reflect this change, depending on the timing of the change, how much aid is available, etc.

You should enter your expected enrollment status for the 2003-04 school year. If applying to more than one school, you should provide the enrollment status and school terms that apply to the school you are most likely to attend. If unsure of your enrollment status, you should select "full time."

For undergraduates, "full time" generally means taking at least 12 credit hours in a term or 24 clock hours per week. "Three-quarter time" generally means taking at least 9 credit hours in a term or 18 clock hours per week. "Half time" generally means taking at least 6 credit hours in a term or 12 clock hours per week.

Questions 22 and 23 collect information about your father and mother's highest completed school level. These questions do not affect your eligibility for federal student aid. Some state and institutional programs use the information provided here to offer aid to first-generation college students.

Enter the highest grade level completed by your father and mother. "Father" and "mother" in these questions mean your birth parents or adoptive parents, but not stepparents or foster parents. Note that this definition of parents is unique to these two questions. All other questions use the definition given on page 7 of the paper FAFSA.

24. State of legal residence. The Department will disclose your FAFSA information to state agencies in your state of legal residence, to each school listed on the FAFSA, and to state agencies in the state in which each school is located. State and institutional programs may use the information provided on the FAFSA to determine your eligibility for state and institutional aid.

Your state of legal residence is also used in the EFC calculation to determine the appropriate allowance for state and other taxes paid by that state's residents.

Your residence is your true, fixed, and permanent home. If you are a dependent student, the state of legal residence is usually the state in which your parents live. If you moved into a state for the sole purpose of attending a college, do not count that state as your legal residence.

States have varying criteria for determining whether you are a resident for purposes of state financial aid. However, if you established a true, fixed, and permanent home in any state more than four years ago, you will meet its criteria. Select "Yes" if you became a resident of your state before January 1, 1999 or "No" if you became a resident of your state on or after January 1, 1999.

If you answered "No" to the question asking if you became a legal resident of your state before January 1, 1999, provide the month and year you became a legal resident of your state. Your state will use this information to determine whether you meet its specific residency criteria for state aid.

Questions 27 and 28 are questions related to Selective Service. If you are male you must be registered with the Selective Service to receive federal student financial aid. If you have not registered with Selective Service, you can enter "Yes" in the box for question 28 and Selective Service will register you. You can also register on the Selective Service’s web site at www.sss.gov.

What degree or certificate will you be working on during 2003-2004? Indicate the one-digit code for your expected degree or certificate, using the "Degree/Certificate Code List" below. If your degree or certificate does not fit any of these categories, or if you are undecided, enter "9."

Enter:	For:
1	1st bachelor's degree
2	2nd bachelor's degree
3	Associate degree (occupational or technical program)
4	Associate degree (general education or transfer program)
5	Certificate or diploma for completing an occupational, technical, or educational program of less than two years
6	Certificate or diploma for completing an occupational, technical, or educational program of at least two years
7	Teaching credential program (nondegree program)
8	Graduate or professional degree
9	Other/undecided

Next is a question about your grade level during 2003-04 school year. High school seniors entering college should enter 0, for Never attended college/1st-year undergraduate

Enter:	For:
0	Never attended college/1st-year undergraduate/ (high school seniors and/or first-time students should choose this grade level)
1	Attended college before/1st- year undergraduate/
2	2nd -year undergraduate/sophomore
3	3rd -year undergraduate/junior
4	4th -year undergraduate/senior
5	5th -year undergraduate/other undergraduate
6	1st-year graduate/professional
7	Continuing graduate/professional or beyond

Grade level does not mean the number of years you have attended college, but grade level in regard to completing your degree/certificate. For example, if you are enrolled less than full time, it will take longer for you to reach the same grade level than for a full-time student.

For question 31, if you will receive your high school diploma or earn a General Education Development (GED) certificate before you enroll in college, answer "Yes" to this question. Otherwise, answer "No."

Questions 33 and 34 ask you to indicate what types of aid, in addition to grants, you are interested in receiving.

Federal, state, and institutional programs may use the information from these questions to determine what types of aid to award. If you are not sure, you should answer "Yes" to both of these questions; you will then be considered for all types of aid that are available. Remember that you can decline any aid that is later awarded.

This question asks whether you have been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs. If you have been convicted, you are not necessarily ineligible for aid. For the paper application like the one we are using here, if you answer "Yes" to this question, you will receive a worksheet in the mail with your SAR. You can use this worksheet to determine whether the conviction affects the student's eligibility for federal student aid. If you file on the web and answer "Yes" to this question, you will be prompted to complete a worksheet on the site so you can complete the entire process online.

If you have a conviction, you should still complete and submit the FAFSA because even if you are determined ineligible for federal student aid, you may still be eligible for state or institutional aid. As previously mentioned, many schools and states, including West Virginia, use the data supplied by the FAFSA to determine students' eligibility for aid from those non-federal entities. Do not leave Question 35 blank.

We are now finished with Step One and will continue onto Step 2, Questions 36-43, which collect information about income and assets.