Financial Aid and Scholarships

 

Financial Aid Presentation: https://www.hesaa.org/Documents/FinancialAidPPT.pdf

 

Steps to Apply for Financial Aid (beginning October 1, 2020): 

(Note: For seniors graduating June 2021, you will be using 2019 tax information.)

 

  1. Create an FSA ID for both student and parent at www.fsaid.ed.gov. The student will use their login to access the FAFSA. The parent will use their own FSA ID to sign the FAFSA. Without this electronic signature, the FAFSA is not complete.
  2. Complete your FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to complete the FAFSA. If you are unable to use DRT, you will need your 2018 tax returns.
  3. Add up to 10 schools on your FAFSA that you have applied to or plan to apply to. These can be changed as you explore different colleges. You will not receive financial aid packages from schools that have not been added to your FAFSA. Be sure that you have provided your social security number on each college application or it will not match to your FAFSA.
  4. The U.S. Department of Education will send you your Student Aid Report (SAR) – the result of processing your FAFSA. Review your SAR, and if necessary, make changes or corrections and submit your SAR for reprocessing. You can submit corrections online at www.fafsa.gov. Your complete, corrected SAR will contain your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which determines your federal student aid eligibility
  5. HESAA will send an email to the email address listed on the FAFSA which will contain your NJ State/HESAA ID. You will be instructed to create a NJFAMS User ID and password to log into your NJFAMS Student Portal. You can find your “To Do List” and “Award and Eligibility” information as well as other functions to assist you with your state aid process.
  6. If you are selected for federal verification, your school’s financial aid office will ask you to submit tax returns and other documents, as appropriate. Be sure to meet the school’s deadlines. (To request an IRS tax return transcript go to www.irs.gov – it’s free). The State of New Jersey may also request documents to verify information reported on the FAFSA. HESAA will ask you to submit a tax return transcript and other documents as appropriate.

 

Financial Aid Links

 

Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF)

The New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) provides financial assistance and support services (e.g. counseling, tutoring, and developmental course work) to students from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds who attend participating institutions of higher education in the State of New Jersey. Undergraduate grants range from $200 annually to $2,650 annually depending on the type of institution and financial need. These grants are renewable based upon continued eligibility.

 

 

Application Process:

Each institution has their own application process in regards to their EOF Program. Indicating that you are interested in EOF on the school’s application may not be enough to be considered, and many schools have a separate EOF application to complete. Review each school’s criteria for EOF consideration.

 

Scholarship Search Links