Changes take effect for FAFSA Application

Cayla Bush / Staff Writer

As students prepare to complete their 2016-2017 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the federal government has announced changes in the way students file.

A change that affects 83 percent of the University’s full-time undergraduates, students may no longer use a personal identification number to access their information. Instead, students will be required to create an FSA ID, along with their parents to complete the application.

According to the Federal Student Aid website, “Only the owner of an FSA ID should create or use the account. The FSA ID serves as a legal signature and should not be shared with anyone, including family, school personnel, loan servicers, or contact center agents.”

The Federal Student Aid website offers students the option to link their former PIN to their newly created FSA ID.

According the the same website, the change from a PIN to an FSA ID was mainly “to increase security. Having a username and password is much more secure than a PIN that you enter in conjunction with personally identifiable information (your Social Security number, name, and date of birth).”

The site continues to state that it is safer because students will have to access and enter personally identifiable information over the Internet.

Students can learn about the new process and create their FSA ID by visiting StudentAid.gov/FSAID before the March 1 priority deadline.

Enrollment Management & Services and Univision will also host a FAFSA information event from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, at the Graham Center pit.  

All students who will be attending school between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017 should reapply for federal need-based aid.  

[image from Flickr]