FAQ

FAFSA applications are available starting in October for the upcoming year. In order to receive maximum consideration for financial assistance, we recommended that you complete the FAFSA and submit it to the federal processor by February 15. Continuing students’ deadline is April 15.

Yes. In order to receive any financial assistance in the form of grants, scholarships, work-study or loans, you must be admitted to Drew University through our admissions process.

Late filers are processed with Federal Pell Grant, Federal Student loans, and Institutional aid (if available). Campus-Based aid such as Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and Federal Work-Study will not be awarded to students applying for financial aid after the recommended deadline dates.

No, you do not need to come in to the office to apply for financial aid. However, you may bring your completed FAFSA on the Web worksheet and federal income tax return to our office for review before submitting it online.

Yes. Call or email our office at 973-408-3112 or email us at [email protected] to schedule an appointment with a financial aid counselor.

Monday through Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm

Financial aid has its own vocabulary. Refer to the Federal Student Aid Financial Aid Glossary to assist you with the most commonly used terms and acronyms.

You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR), a multi-page document that confirms your application has been received by the federal processor and reports back to you the information you supplied on the application. You will receive an electronic SAR at the email address you listed on your application. You must review the data for accuracy and make any corrections needed online.

Contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243) or go to the FAFSA website and select “Check Status of a Submitted FAFSA.”

No, provided that you have applied for admission and have listed Drew University and our school code (002603) as one of the schools on the FAFSA application, we will receive the information electronically from the federal processor.

Yes. You must submit a FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA each year. The FAFSA applications are available beginning October 1 for the upcoming academic year at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

The primary factor that determines whether or not you are eligible for financial aid is financial need. Financial need is computed by determining the educational costs (tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation and other personal allowances) less your family contribution, based on federal formulas. The difference between the two numbers is your demonstrated need for financial assistance. A student that has no financial need may be eligible for a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. Parents can also apply for a Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). A graduate student may apply for a Direct Unsubsidized Loan and a Graduate PLUS Loan.

We begin sending award letters to incoming first year students in March. Returning student award letters are available to view on Treehouse in June. In order to receive notification of your need-based financial aid awards, your financial aid file needs to be complete.

Yes, please click this link for more information.

The most common mistakes include:

• Not filing the FAFSA/Renewal FAFSA application early enough.
• Not reading instructions completely.
• Not fully completing the application.
• Not using the correct social security number.
• Not using your correct name as it appears on your social security card.
• Not submitting information exactly as reported on your federal income tax returns. If the tax return differs from the SAR, corrections must be made.
• Reporting taxes withheld as opposed to taxes paid.

There is no maximum income level. Your need for financial aid is determined by many different factors, such as the number of people in your family and how many of those people are in college. Additionally, there are many different financial aid programs to assist students at all income levels. The best way to find out what you might qualify for is to complete the FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA. Merit based financial assistance is awarded by the Admission’s Office when they are admitted to Drew University.

If your natural parents are separated or divorced, and living in separate residences, use the natural parent with whom you lived with the most during the last 12 months. If you lived with neither parent, or lived with each parent an equal number of days, use the parent that provided the most financial support to you over the last 12 months. If that parent has remarried, you must also include the stepparent’s financial information on the application, and the parent and stepparent should report themselves as married on the FAFSA application.

You can’t be considered independent of your parents just because they refuse to help you with this process. If you do not provide their information on the FAFSA, the application will be considered “rejected,” and you might not be able to receive any federal student aid. The FAFSA will tell you what to do if you are in this situation. If you can answer “YES” to question #46–58, you are an independent student. Additional documentation may be submitted to our office to confirm Independent Status. If you answer “NO” to all of the questions, you are a “dependent” student. If you have extenuating circumstances, or the relationship between you and your parents has dissolved, you may be eligible for a Dependency Override. Please call our office and request to speak with a financial aid counselor to see if you qualify for a Dependency Override.

No. You must indicate your marital status as of the date you are completing the FAFSA application. You cannot update your FAFSA due to a change in your marital status. Contact the Office of Financial Aid about your change in circumstances.

Many scholarships are not based on financial need, but rather on academic ability or other achievements. Go to the scholarships link on our website for information. Federal student and parent loans also are available to all families.

Before completing the FAFSA, we encourage all families to make sure you have all the appropriate documents needed to accurately complete the application, such as a copy of your federal tax return transcript. We strongly encourage students and parents to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool to file their FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA application.

Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool is:

• The easiest way to provide your federal income tax data.
• The best way of ensuring that your FAFSA has accurate federal income tax information.
• Timely. It will keep you from having to order and provide a copy of your or your parents’ IRS tax return transcripts to your college, which can take several weeks to receive.
• Minimizes the chances that your FAFSA will be selected for verification.

Verification may take 10 to 20 working days depending on various situations. However, during busy periods, the verification process may take longer due to the increased number of student files being verified. We encourage you to complete your FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA application early and to use our assistance in helping you fill out your forms accurately the FIRST time.

If you have already received your grant monies and drop hours which change your enrollment status, you may be required to repay certain grants or student loans. If you completely withdraw from Drew University before the 61st percentile of the semester, you will be required to repay a percentage of the financial aid that you received for the semester to the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, you may owe the college additional funds that were initially credited to your account but have now been returned to the federal government by the institution.

CAUTION: If you are a financial aid recipient and are thinking about dropping hours, withdrawing from any classes or completely withdrawing from the college, please consult with a financial aid counselor. This can have a negative impact on your SAP status.