Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA)

Your dependency status determines whose information you must report when you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

• If you are a dependent student, you will need information for yourself and your parent(s).
• If you are an independent student, you will need information for yourself and, if married, your spouse.

For more information about which parent is required on the FAFSA, review this chart on the Student Aid website.

You will need your personal and financial information, including your Social Security Number, federal income tax returns, records of untaxed income, and details about your assets. If applicable, gather similar information for your parent(s) or spouse.

Please note that for the 2024-2025 FAFSA, you will need income information for 2022, while for the 2023-2024 FAFSA, you will need income information for 2021.

Visit the Student Aid website for a comprehensive list.

The FAFSA collects relevant tax information directly from the IRS, minimizing the need to enter income details manually. This process requires consent and approval by the applicant and any applicable contributors to the FAFSA such as their parents and/or spouse. Learn more at https://studentaid.gov/resources/irs-drt-text.

Yes, parents who do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) must still create their FSA ID. The FSA ID is required for all contributors, starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA.

Individuals without a SSN can create an FSA ID account online using the steps below.

• FSA ID Instructions
• FSA ID Instructions (Español)

Note: During the FSA ID account creation process, individuals without an SSN will be asked several identifying questions. If any identity verification questions are answered incorrectly (and only in this case), they will see an error message indicating the account was created but they still need to contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) to verify their identity.

If your parent cannot verify their identity online for the FSA ID, they must follow these steps:

1. Contact FSAIC: Reach out to the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) by phone, email, or chat.
   1. Email or chat is recommended for the fastest response. No login is required.
2. Get a Case Number: Once in contact with FSAIC, your parent will receive a case number.
3. Submit Documents to IDVerification@ed.gov: Complete the Attestation & Validation of Identity Form and include the supporting identification documents requested within the form. A case number is required for submission.

To obtain a case number via email, your parent can:

1. Visit the Federal Student Aid Help Center online.
2. Use the “Email” option under the “I’m a Parent” section.
3. Fill out the online form with parent information and a description of the issue. Select FSA ID as the “Subject”.
4. Hit “Send”. This will generate a case number which will be emailed to your parent’s email within a few minutes. If this option does not work, try the chat or call.

If your parent does not have a Social Security Number (SSN) and cannot access your 2024-2025 FAFSA, you are not alone. Currently, there is an application issue preventing contributors without an SSN from starting or accessing the 2024-2025 FAFSA form.

The Department of Education has provided helpful guidance for situations like this. For step-by-step instructions on submitting your application, please visit the Federal Student Aid website.

Possibly.  You will need to complete a TAFSA to find out.  Learn more at https://www.texarkanacollege.edu/financial-aid-non-citizens/

Financial aid regulations assume that the family has primary responsibility for meeting the educational costs of attending college. If you are considered a dependent student, your aid eligibility is determined by using parent income and asset information in addition to your information. Dependent students are required by law to provide parental information and signatures to be considered for financial aid.

A student may be considered independent if he or she:

• will be 24 or older by Dec. 31 of the school year for which financial aid is sought
• since turning age 13, was in foster care, a ward or dependent of the court and/or an orphan (both parents deceased).
• is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces or currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training.
• is married or separated.
• is providing significant financial support to dependents other than a spouse.
• is determined by a court in the state of legal residence as being an emancipated minor or in legal guardianship.
• are deemed to be a homeless unaccompanied youth or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.

Federal regulations allow the financial aid office to use professional judgment to change dependency status to “independent” on a case-by-case basis. The student must demonstrate that there is an unusual circumstance other than the fact that the student is self-sufficient or that the parents are unwilling to contribute to the student’s education. If you do not meet any of the above criteria but you believe that you should be considered independent because of truly exceptional circumstances making it inappropriate to expect a parental contribution, you may petition for a waiver of federal regulations requiring parental information. Examples of unusual circumstances are situations such as when a student’s parents cannot be located, or where an otherwise dependent student has been a victim of domestic violence or abuse and is no longer able to reside with his or her parents.

Federal Regulations have identified four conditions that, individually or in combination with one another, do not qualify as “unusual circumstances” and do not merit a dependency override. Those circumstances are:

• Parents refusing to contribute to the student’s education;
• Parents unwilling to provide information on the application or for verification
• Parents not claiming the students as a dependent for income tax purposes
• Student demonstrating total self-sufficiency.

In order to petition for independent status, please submit the Petition for Independent Status Form with supporting documents to the Financial Aid Office.

Learn more from the US Department of Education Financial Aid website.

We recognize that certain situations and events can affect a family’s ability to pay for college, and it is important that you make us aware of unusual financial circumstances that you believe are not reflected accurately on your FAFSA results. If your 2023-24 Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is currently zero, you are already receiving the maximum possible financial aid award, and this review will not result in additional funds. Please understand that we have limits on what we can do, but we will look at your individual situation carefully and thoughtfully.

Here are a few examples of situations we can consider in a Special Circumstance review:

• Marital status change such as separation, divorce, death of a spouse/parent
• An involuntary loss of employment
• A loss of financial benefit such as Social Security, workers comp, military, child support, etc.
• Significant out-of-pocket medical or dental expenses

Here are a few examples of situations we won’t consider in a Special Circumstance review:

• Voluntarily quitting a job
• Consumer debt
• Refusal of a parent to provide financial support to the applicant/student
• Anything that “might happen” in the future

Special Circumstance reviews are not a guarantee of financial aid and may not result in an increase or change in award(s). Financial Aid reserves the right to request additional documentation when considering a Special Circumstance.

If any of the criteria above applies to you, we encourage you to reach out to us by visiting the Financial Aid Office or calling us at 903-823-3267 and asking to speak with a full-time staff member.

All students who apply for financial aid are assigned a “Cost of Attendance budget” based on their FAFSA or TASFA answers. This is not a bill, and the items in the budget are not necessarily something students are being directly charged by Texarkana College. Instead, it is an informed estimate of how much each of these college-related expenses might be for a student in your major, with the number of classes you have signed up for, over the course of the entire school year.

This budget serves two purposes. It is provided to students who might want that information to help them budget for out-of-pocket expenses, and the combined budget amount also serves as the “ceiling” for the total combined dollar amount of grants, scholarships, student loans, need-based work-study employment, and other financial aid that we are allowed to offer you.

The Cost of Attendance budget already includes most common school-related expenses, but there are some that only apply to some students and are not automatically assigned to all students. If you request it and provide documentation, Texarkana College can increase the size of your financial aid budget if you have any of the following expenses:

• Dependent care (childcare) costs
• Study abroad expenses
• Cooperative education costs
• Disability-related expenses that are paid for out-of-pocket by the student (and not provided by other agencies)
• Unusually expensive vehicle repair costs (NOT including the purchase of or payments toward a new or “new-to-you” vehicle)

Keep in mind that simply increasing your budget does not necessarily increase the amount of financial aid you qualify for or will receive. If you think of your cost of attendance budget as a bucket and your financial aid funding as water, a budget increase results in bigger bucket but does not create more water (financial aid). However, the extra budget room may prove helpful to some students who have these expenses if they plan to take out student loans, especially if they are enrolled part-time rather than full-time (i.e. below 12 credit hours).