Financial Aid and Tuition Here’s the thing about financial aid: Yes, you will need to complete the paperwork and the online applications, but it makes your education more affordable. If it saves you and your family money, isn’t it worth the time to apply? More than half of all Appalachian students receive some kind of financial assistance. You can help out by working part time and being smart with your money.
How to apply for financial aid Step 1. Complete the 2015-16 FAFSA by March 1. (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
This is the most important step. If you don’t fill out the FAFSA, you can’t be considered for most types of aid.
Before you fill out the FAFSA Get a U.S. Department of Education FSA ID at fafsa.ed.gov. You’ll use this ID to provide electronic signatures, review the status of your FAFSA, learn more about federal grants and loans you receive at the National Student Loan Data System (nslds.ed.gov), reapply for financial aid each year, and more. If you are providing parent information on the FAFSA, one parent must also obtain a FSA ID at FSA ID at fafsa.ed.gov.
When to complete the FAFSA Complete it as soon as possible after Jan. 1, 2015, and before Appalachian’s priority filing date of March 1. The earlier you submit the FAFSA, the better your chances that more funds will be available, (especially if you’re a North Carolina resident) because in some cases, it’s first come, first served. And if you miss the deadline, your financial aid may not be finalized by the time classes start in the fall.
Taxes If you’ve filed your 2014 income taxes, you can use the IRS data retrieval tool when filling out the FAFSA to automatically populate the income questions with your IRS tax return information. If you haven’t filed yet, use estimates. Once you file your return, make sure you go back to fafsa.ed.gov to update the information by using the IRS data retrieval tool.
Include Appalachian List Appalachian as a school to receive the FAFSA results. Appalachian’s Federal School Code is 002906.
Check back It’s up to you to go back to the FAFSA website to check the status of your application and to see if there are any processing problems. No one will contact you directly if there are issues you need to resolve, and you don’t want your processing to be delayed.
26 2015 New Student Guidebook
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Important financial aid contacts OFFICE OF STUDENT FINANCIAL AID financialaid.appstate.edu Phone: 828-262-2190 Fax: 828-262-2585
MAILING ADDRESS Office of Student Financial Aid Appalachian State University John E. Thomas Hall ASU Box 32059 Boone, NC 28608-2059
PHYSICAL ADDRESS (for FedEx or UPS) Office of Student Financial Aid Appalachian State University John E. Thomas Hall 287 Rivers St. Room 265 Boone, NC 28608
FEDERAL SCHOOL CODE 002906
FEDERAL STUDENT AID INFORMATION CENTER 800-4-FED-AID (800-433-3243) TTY: 800-730-8913 or 319-337-5665