Paulina Longoria | THE RIDER
Students can renew or submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), with the priority deadline set for Jan. 15.
The application period began Oct. 1.
“We would always recommend that [students] apply as early as the form becomes available,” said Jael Perez, associate director for Financial Aid Operations and community liaison.
“If you are not eligible to complete the FAFSA because of citizenship or visa status but are eligible to be classified as a Texas resident for tuition purposes, you may be eligible under SB 1528 to apply for state financial aid through the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA),” according to the UCentral website.
The TASFA can be completed in English or Spanish. The priority deadline to email it to UCentral is Jan. 15.
Perez said there are two main reasons for students to submit their TASFA early. The first reason is submitting the application is only the beginning of the process.
“Students can still be required to submit additional documents in order to complete their application for the upcoming year and that process can take some time,” she said. “That’s why the earlier that they submit it, then the more time they have to submit any necessary documents and still be ready for the upcoming year. The other reason, and probably one of the most important ones, is that some financial aid programs are limited in funding.”
The FAFSA FAQs on the UTRGV website provides a list of what eligible U.S. citizen students will need to complete the 2021-2022 application:
–Social Security number for student and parents (if applicable)
–Permanent Resident Card (for students who are not U.S. citizens)
–2019 Tax Returns (for student and parent, if applicable)
–2019 W-2s (for student and parent, if applicable)
–Federal Student Aid ID (for student and parent, if applicable). If forgotten, the username and password can be retrieved at https://fsaid.ed.gov/
–other pertinent 2019 income information, such as child support paid and received and benefits information.
The UTRGV Federal School Code is 003599.
According to the FAFSA FAQs, “Completing the FAFSA should now be faster and easier by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.”
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool “electronically transfers your federal tax return information into your FAFSA,” the website states.
Perez said the IRS Data Retrieval Tool allows you to import the income information for a tax filer.
“If the parent or the student filed a tax return, they’re able to retrieve that information directly from the IRS into the FAFSA application,” she said. “That is definitely the easiest thing to do because you don’t need to worry about what number goes where. It will automatically put it where it needs to go and, of course, it will be 100% accurate.”
Asked what could make the application process easier for students, Perez replied, “Definitely getting everything that you need ready. For example, retrieving the FSA ID, which is the username and password. … Also using the IRS Data Retrieval, that is highly recommended. … The No. 1 tip would be to try to do it as early as possible, and not just submitting the FAFSA but then everything that comes after.”
Karla Gonzalez, an exercise science sophomore, submitted her 2021-2022 FAFSA last Tuesday.
“Since my parents can’t afford for my college, FAFSA has helped me because [it pays] for my college,” Gonzalez said. “I’m actually super happy that I get money from the government to help me pay for my bills, for college and for my books.”
She said the application took her about 20 minutes.
“I always go to the … TRIO Student Support Services and they always help me do my financial aid there, but this time I kind of did it by myself,” Gonzalez said.
Student Support Services at UTRGV is a TRIO program “funded by the U.S. Department of Education … and dedicated to increasing the retention and graduation rates for low-income, first-generation and/or students with documented disabilities,” according to its website.
Mariana Llanas, a senior at the South Texas High School for Health Professions, plans to attend UTRGV in Fall 2021 and has already submitted her FAFSA.
She said gathering the documentation was the only difficult part about completing her application.
Asked if high school students may have a hard time with FAFSA, Llanas replied, “I don’t think so because there’s a lot of help for us online, so it’s not that hard because we have … websites and people that can help us.”
Gonzalez, Llanas and Perez said they encourage students to submit their FAFSA as early as possible to ensure they receive financial aid.
Perez said assistance to complete a FAFSA is available at UCentral for students on both UTRGV campuses.
