Step 1 Apply for Admission

Step 2 Complete your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) www.fafsa.ed.gov This application is free and can be completed online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. This information will be submitted to the Department of Education. You will need Davenport's school code if you wish to have your FAFSA information sent to our Financial Aid Office; Davenport's school code is 002249. The Department of Education will then determine your EFC (Expected Family Contribution), which determines your eligibility for various federal and state financial aid programs and for Davenport scholarships.

Step 3 Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) and make corrections if needed.

Step 4 Review your status on the Davenportal and review all communication and submit any requests for additional information if required.

Step 5 Review your award letter on the Davenportal.

Step 6 If you requested Stafford Loans, you may need to complete Entrance Loan Counseling and a Master Promissory Note (review the loan section under Types of Aid for additional information).

Step 7 If your Parents have applied for a PLUS loan, they will also need to complete a Master Promissory Note and a PLUS request form for processing.

Here are a few common errors that students often make when filling out the FAFSA. Please read through them carefully-- making an error can affect the needs analysis calculation used by the Department of Education in determining your eligibility for need-based aid. The errors can also delay the processing of your FAFSA information by our office because we may need to wait for you to make the necessary corrections to your FAFSA before we can determine your awards.

Social Security Numbers-if you make an error when entering your SS# it will cause delays in the processing of your FAFSA information. If you are not sure of your SS# wait to start your application until after you have an opportunity to verify it.

• If you receive a notice on your SAR (Student aid Report) or from the Financial Aid Office indicating a problem with your Social Security Number, this means that according to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) records, the name you reported on your application does not correspond with the social security number you have on the SSA’s database. If the social security number on your Student Aid Report is not correct, you need to provide us with a copy of your social security card so that we can make a correction. We cannot continue processing your financial aid without a copy of your card. If the social security number on your Student Aid Report is not correct, you need to contact your local Social Security Administration office to resolve the problem.
  
  Your social security card may not reflect your married name. If that is the case, you need to request a name change with the Social Security Administration. We are unable to disburse any federal financial aid funds without the revised card or a copy of the letter from Social Security (which notes your social security number). Please send the documentation immediately to the Davenport Financial Aid Office so that processing can continue on your file.

Divorced/Remarried Parental Info-If you have divorced parents, you should be including information for the parent that you live with the majority (more than 50%) of the time. If that parent is remarried you should also be including stepparent information. Check the fafsa.ed.gov help section for more information about who is considered to be a "parent" for purposes of completing the FAFSA.

Income Earned by Parents/Stepparent- be sure to use the actual adjusted gross income (AGI) from your tax form. Generally AGI is different from the total of income earned from work.

U.S. Income Taxes Paid-a common error is to input the amount of tax withheld for the year and not the amount of taxes you were held liable for. The FAFSA form will direct you to the specific line number on your Federal 1040 tax form. As a general reminder: the taxes paid are not the amount of your refund and are usually found on your tax form within a few lines of calculating your AGI minus deductions and exemptions.

Household Size – should be listed as everyone living in the household and is supported by yourself or your parent(s). This number can be different than the exemptions claimed on the tax return.

Number of Household Members in College – for dependent students do not include your parent(s) in this total. See FAFSA for more details.

Real Estate and Investment Net Worth - Do not include the value of the house you live in. See FAFSA for detailed information on what should/shouldn’t be included in investment net worth.

Signatures- saving FAFSA data on the web does not mean that you have submitted the form. You must submit by signing your FAFSA with a PIN or printing and sending in the signature page. Dependent students need sign along with one parent. It’s also important to note that if you need to make a correction to an already processed FAFSA, you and, if required, your parent must resign the FAFSA.

“As of Today” Questions- These questions must be answered with data as of the date that you are submitting the FAFSA and cannot be updated once the FAFSA has been submitted for the year.

If you indicate on your FAFSA that you are interested in using student loans to assist you with your educational expenses. it is important that you read through this information carefully:

Federal regulations require that all first-time Stafford Loan borrowers complete an Entrance Counseling session. The purpose of this requirement is to provide you with information about the Federal Stafford Loan program before you commit to borrowing.

Students interested in borrowing under the Federal Stafford Loan program may complete the Entrance Counseling session online. The entire session will take about 10-15 minutes to complete.

At the conclusion of the session, you will be presented with a confirmation screen indicating that you have completed the Entrance Counseling requirement. Please print this page for your records. An electronic message will be sent directly to the Financial Aid Office indicating that you have completed this requirement. Please allow 24-48 hours for us to process the confirmation.

Along with completing the entrance counseling session, you must also complete a Master Promissory Note before loan funds may be released to Davenport University. If you haven't already completed your Master Promissory Note, please follow the link above to select your preferred lender and complete the Master Promissory Note online.

To view additional information regarding Stafford Loans, Parent PLUS Loans or Alternative Loans go to the Loans page.

Once the Department of Education has processed your application, they will send you a Student Aid Report (SAR) containing a summary of the information you provided when you completed the FAFSA. This process typically takes 48-72 hours. If you provide an e-mail address on your FAFSA this information will be sent electronically. The information is released to the school(s) you listed on your FAFSA at the same time.

Based on the data you have submitted, we will determine what your financial aid eligibility will be. If we are not required to collect additional information from you at that time, we will then generate a financial aid award letter that will specify the amount and types of financial aid you have been awarded. If the Department of Education has selected you for verification (see Verification process below) you will be notified of the required documents we will need to collect from you prior to determining your eligibility for aid. It is important that you respond to such requests in a timely manner. If you are unsure of where you are in the process or have questions, feel free to contact your Advisor.

If you are a returning student, award information can be viewed by logging into Davenportal; as only new students will receive a paper award letter. Remember, you will need to reapply for financial aid every year. The FAFSA becomes available each year on January 1st for the following academic year. We recommend that you complete your FAFSA as soon as possible after this date to be considered for grants, scholarships, etc. To learn more about the type of aid that may be available to you, view the Types of Aid Heading below. Below we have listed important dates to remember with regard to your financial aid for 2009/2010:

January 1: First day FAFSA is available to complete for the following academic year.

March 1: Priority deadline for State Scholarships (Michigan Tuition Grant); you must have your FAFSA submitted by this date to determine your eligibility for MTG.

March 15: Awards for Spring/Summer are available to view on Davenportal.

August 15: Priority deadline for fall awarding of Davenport scholarships. FAFSA and all outstanding documents must be received by our office on this date to guarantee awarding for fall semester.

The Department of Education defines "verification" as a process where your school confirms the data reported on your FAFSA. According to the DOE, Davenport has the authority to contact you for documentation that supports income and other information that you reported. Schools are required to verify students that have been selected prior to disbursing aid.

If you have been selected for verification, you will be notified by the DOE on your Student Aid Report (SAR) and/or by Davenport University. Please respond to all requests for documentation as quickly as possible to prevent delays in awarding.

The following documents will be required for submission; be sure to review any outstanding document requests you receive from our office to ensure that these are the only documents needed:

• Institutional Verification Form (IVF)
• Copy of your previous year Federal Tax form
• Copy of your W2's from the previous year if you are not required to file taxes
• Copy of your parents previous year Federal Tax form (dependent students only)
• Copy of your parent's W2's from the previous year if they are not required to file taxes (dependent students only)

All copies can be submitted to your advisor who will forward all documents to the Financial Aid Office, or you can mail documents directly to Davenport Financial Aid Office, 415 E. Fulton St, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.