Unfortunately, Penn Foster doesn’t accept either in the forms of student loans or grants such as Pell Grant which is available through FAFSA. They are unable to accept the federal financial aid for their high school program and neither do any other high school nationwide.
Penn Foster has a number of convenient payment options which are available to help the students including student discounts and promotions, payment plans with 0% and overall low program costs.
Is There Any Effect When Penn Foster Doesn’t Accept FAFSA?
Of course, there’s an effect when Penn Foster does not accept FAFSA which so students cannot claim their Penn Foster tuition payments on their federal or state tax returns. As a Penn Foster student, we should be aware that Penn Foster does not participate in the United States Department of Education student air program.
They are not also an eligible institution for students to claim or qualify for various tax credits. In fact, they do not send students or graduates 1098 forms or any other paperwork needed for filling your yearly return.
How Does FAFSA Work?
You may want to know how FAFSA works to provide the students financial aid. FAFSA or The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a form which is completed by current and prospective college students to determine their eligibility for the student financial aid in the United States.
The FAFSA is different from the CSS Profile, required by some colleges. In this case, CSS is a fee-based product of the College Board as a private non-profit organization which is usually used by the colleged to distribute their own institutional funding rather than federal or state funding.
Even though some people think that they should dismiss the idea of applying for financial aid for college as they make too much money to pay tuition, however, there are a lot of people who really need the financial aid because of low family income. That’s why FAFSA comes to help them get a loan so they can enroll in their desirable-college.
Well, the main goal of FAFSA is to determine how much financial aid a student qualifies for which include both need-based and non-need-based aid. However, This qualification will determine eligibility for federal need-based grants including the Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG).
Both are subsidized federal student loans based no need, unsubsidized federal students loans that most students qualify for regardless of need, federal work-study, school-based financial aid including school-based merit aid (requires the FAFSA to be on file before any aid awards are distributed) and need-based grants and scholarship, state-based financial aid including grants, loans and scholarships.
To determine a family’s financial need, the FAFSA will ask a series of questions about the student’s parents and also the student’s income, assets and other factors like how many children there are in the family.
Then, it will come up with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) where the federal government will take into consideration how much of the cost of college the family should be paid with its own resources.
About assets, the FAFSA presume that roughly 20% of a student’s assets and 5.64% of the parents’ assets must be available to spend in any one college year. Those assets will include bank accounts and investments, however it excludes the life insurance policies, the value of retirement accounts and annuities. In this case, any equity in this family home is also excluded.
Requirements for FAFSA
To receive FAFSA, the students should meet the requirements that we’ll list as follow:
- The students have been registered with the Selective Service System for Conscription in the United States (if male between the ages of 18 and 25)
- Students should be a U.S. national, a U.S. Citizen, or an eligible non-citizen.
- They have maintained a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
- They should have a valid Social Security number
- The students have a high school diploma or GED
- The students have not been found guilty of the sale or possession of illegal drugs while federal aid was being received.
- They have signed the certification statement stating that: (1) They’re not in default on a federal student loan and do not owe money on a federal student grant. (2) Federal student aid will only be used for educational purposes.
How to Fill the FAFSA?
You’ll take multiple steps if you want to fill the FAFSA. Thankfully, this post will show you step-by-step to get financial aid, here are they:
Step 1: Tuition Payment Planning Early
You should have a plan on how to pay for your college before enrollment. If needed, you can ask counselors and the college financial aid office about the college, state and nonprofit grants and scholarships you can apply for. Make sure that you meet application deadlines. It’s highly recommended for you if you start saving before you enroll in college.
Step 2: Fill Out FAFSA Form
You can apply for federal grants, loans and work-study before each year of college with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. Your college then will use your FAFSA data to determine your federal aid eligibility. In this case, a lot of colleges and states use FAFSA data to give their own aid for the students. Once submission, you will then receive your Student Aid Report.
Step 3: Review Your Aid Offer
You aid offer which explains the types and amounts of aid a college is offering you and your expected costs for the year. If you have been approved to multiple colleges, you need to compare the costs and aid offers. Then, you can accept the aid from the school which is best for you and inform them of other sources of aid.
Step 4: Obtain Your Aid
Well, it’s a good time for you to learn at college. Your financial aid will apply your aid to the amount you owe your school and then send you the remaining balance to spend on other college costs.
Step 5: Start Repayment
When you prepare to graduate, you should be ready to repay your student loans. Don’t worry! FAFSA has a six-month grace period before you start making payments. Alternatively, you can use this time to get organized and select a repayment plan. If you begin falling behind on your payments, you can contact your loan servicer to discuss repayment options.
That’s it! You can easily apply for a loan and get started your study at the college you’re registered at.
