For Upperclass (Sophomore, Junior, Senior) Students and Transfers
Not sure if any of you reading this blog are current MIT students, or if you are all prospectives, but I thought in the interest of sharing information, I would post a relevant piece about the renewal FAFSA application process for upperclass and transfer students (who have already filed a FAFSA).
This comes from the Department of Education. Don't shoot the messenger!
Department of Education Electronic Announcement
Update and Reminder For 2005-2006 Renewal FAFSA Processing
Posted on 02-09-2005
We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that we made some fundamental changes to the 2005-2006 renewal application process, and it might be beneficial for you to remind your students, especially former paper Renewal applicants, that it is time to reapply.
As many of you are aware, one of the most significant changes we made to the renewal application process is that we began automatically sending E-mail Renewal Reminders and PIN Mailers to renewal-eligible students instead of sending them paper Renewal FAFSAs. Schools had the option to request that paper Renewal FAFSAs be sent to students instead of Renewal Reminders or PIN Mailers provided those students met certain criteria and schools made their requests by October 29, 2004. E-mail Renewal Reminders and PIN Mailers were sent to students between November 5 and December 17, 2004, and reminded students that they could use their PIN to reapply for aid on the Web, beginning January 1, 2005.
Because the E-mail Renewal Reminder and PIN Mailer process is new to some students, they may have overlooked the Renewal Reminder or PIN Mailer and may still be expecting to receive a paper Renewal application in the mail.
With many state and institutional financial aid deadlines rapidly approaching, we wanted to take this opportunity to ask you to urge your students to reapply as soon as possible. If your students cannot locate their Renewal Reminder or PIN Mailer and did not receive a paper Renewal FAFSA in the mail, please remind them that they can still file a 2005-2006 Renewal application via the Renewal FAFSA on the Web site using their PIN. Students who have forgotten their PIN may go to the PIN Web site (pin.ed.gov) to request a duplicate.
Your students can also file a regular, non-renewal 2005-2006 application by using FAFSA on the Web (fafsa.ed.gov) or by filing a paper FAFSA.
For more information on student Web applications and the Renewal FAFSA process in general, we encourage you to download and read the "2005-2006 Student Web Application Products Process Guide" and the "2005-2006 Renewal Application Data Process Guide." Both documents are available on the Department's Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at fsadownload.ed.gov.
If your students have questions about using FAFSA on the Web, or have specific questions about the FAFSA form, please have them call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800/4FEDAID (800/433-3243) or 319/337-5665.