Complete the FAFSA and mail it in early to meet our April 1st priority filing deadline. The application must be submitted to the processor by April 1st - not postmarked by this date. We suggest that you file the application in mid February or early March to meet the deadline date and to allow for any necessary corrections. PHEAA's Filing Deadline for State Grant Funding is May 1st.
You do not need to be admitted to Pitt-Johnstownbefore applying for financial aid.
You do not need to have your federal income tax returns completed before applying for financial aid. The FAFSA permits you to use estimated income figures if your tax returns are not completed prior to applying for financial aid. However, once your tax returns are complete you need to make any necessary corrections by using the Student Aid Report.
You must submit a FAFSA each year that you wish to apply for financial aid.
You can list up to ten schools on the FAFSA, so if you are not certain which school you will attend, you can send the information that you report on the FAFSA to more than one institution.
Be sure to keep copies of all important paperwork - the FAFSA, all tax information including tax returns, W-2's, Form 1099, Social Security statements, and all loan application(s). At some point, you may be asked to provide any one of these to our office or another agency to verify income information provided on the financial aid application.
How do I apply for financial aid?In order to receive financial aid, you must first apply by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid - commonly called the FAFSA. The FAFSA can be completed any time after January 1 of each year. In fact, we encourage you to apply as early as possible to avoid missing Pitt-Johnstown's priority filing deadline of April 1st for each academic year. Financial aid applications received after the deadline will be processed on a rolling basis.
If you or your parents have not completed your Federal Income Tax Return prior to completing the FAFSA, you may use estimated income information to ensure that your information is received by the Federal Processor before Pitt-Johnstown's April 1st priority filing deadline. Once you have completed your Federal Income Tax Return, you can update the estimated income information reported on your FAFSA to reflect the income information that was reported to the IRS.
You must complete the FAFSA each year that you wish to apply for any financial aid, including Stafford and PLUS loans.
Additionally, students may complete the FAFSA through the Internet by accessing the application at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Renewal applicants are encouraged to complete the renewal application online. By completing the renewal application, you will save yourself some time, as you will need to update only the income information. What can I expect after filing the FAFSA?Approximately seven to ten business days after completing the FAFSA online (6 weeks if you complete the FAFSA by mail), you will receive notification back in the form of a Student Aid Report (SAR). SARs are important for two reasons. First, the SAR can be used by the parents and student/or spouse to confirm that the information they provided on the original FAFSA form is correct. If there is any information that is incorrect on the SAR then you can use it to make corrections. Second, the SAR gives you notice of what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be for the academic year. This is the only official notification that you will receive regarding the EFC.
What is the EFC?The EFC can be found in the upper right hand comer on the first page of the Student Aid Report. The EFC does not reflect what you and your family will have to pay out-of-pocket for your college expenses, nor does it reflect what your family can afford to pay out-of-pocket; the EFC is important because this number is used by the school, the state grant agency and the federal government to determine the types and amounts of financial aid that you will receive.
