{"106191":{"#nid":"106191","#data":{"type":"news","title":"It\u2019s Time to Apply for 2012-2013 Financial Aid","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENearly all financial aid programs require reapplication each year, rather than simply renewing automatically. The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid encourages parents and students to reapply early every year to determine eligibility and set aside funds well in advance of when fee payment is due. It is important to remember that aid with limited resources is awarded exclusively to eligible students who apply by the deadlines. If you have not started the application process yet, now is the perfect time to apply for the upcoming 2012-2013 academic year. Plus, there is a new tool available to help families with completing the application form!\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe deadline for returning students, transfer students, and new graduate students is May 1 (for freshmen entering Georgia Tech fall 2012, the application deadline is March 1). \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETwo forms are required:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe \u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Application for Scholarships and Financial Aid\u003C\/strong\u003E (GT APP) is available online at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.finaid.gatech.edu\/forms\u0022 title=\u0022www.finaid.gatech.edu\/forms\u0022\u003Ewww.finaid.gatech.edu\/forms\u003C\/a\u003E and can be completed in a matter of minutes.\u0026nbsp; It\u2019s the very first link on the page.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe second is the \u003Cstrong\u003EFree Application for Federal Student Aid\u003C\/strong\u003E (FAFSA) and can be completed at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.fafsa.ed.gov\u0022 title=\u0022www.fafsa.ed.gov\u0022\u003Ewww.fafsa.ed.gov\u003C\/a\u003E. To ensure that it is processed and received in our office by the deadline, we recommend completing the online FAFSA (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.fafsa.ed.gov\u0022 title=\u0022www.fafsa.ed.gov\u0022\u003Ewww.fafsa.ed.gov\u003C\/a\u003E) 2-3 weeks before the deadline. \u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIdeally, the FAFSA should be filled out using information from a completed 2011 federal tax return. However, it\u2019s better to use solid estimates than to miss the deadline. The \u201cIRS Data Retrieval\u201d is a new tool that for downloading tax information directly to the FAFSA from the IRS. Tax data will be available through the IRS Data Retrieval option within one to two weeks after electronic submission of taxes to the IRS beginning February 1, 2012. This option will significantly reduce the amount of documentation needed to process students selected for verification.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECompleting the FAFSA and the GT APP on time ensures that your student will be considered for all available aid administered by our office. For students who only apply for the HOPE scholarship, only the GT APP is required each year. The HOPE application itself is completed once at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gacollege411.org\u0022 title=\u0022www.gacollege411.org\u0022\u003Ewww.gacollege411.org\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow is also a good time to search for independent scholarships. Current and prospective Georgia Tech students are often excellent candidates for private scholarships. Our office posts scholarship notices on its \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.finaid.gatech.edu\/scholarships\/current\u0022\u003Escholarship website\u003C\/a\u003E. In addition, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.collegeboard.com\/parents\/pay\/scholarships-aid\/21403.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eclick here\u003C\/a\u003E for helpful advice on planning a scholarship search.\u0026nbsp; It\u2019s well worth an investment of a few hours to research the options.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor any questions about the financial aid application process, contact your financial aid advisor, listed at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.finaid.gatech.edu\/contacts\u0022 title=\u0022www.finaid.gatech.edu\/contacts\u0022\u003Ewww.finaid.gatech.edu\/contacts\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Apply early and determine eligibility for next year."}],"uid":"27164","created_gmt":"2012-02-03 17:40:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:37","author":"Rachael Pocklington","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.finaid.gatech.edu\/","title":"Financial Aid"}],"groups":[{"id":"1298","name":"Parent and Family Programs"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1411","name":"financial aid"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EParents Program\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:parents@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eparents@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404.385.1396\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["parents@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}