Your first step toward being considered for any state or federal money for college is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Complete the FAFSA online at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa, a free U.S. Department of Education Web site where you can complete the application and submit it online. You may also complete the renewal application online.
Do not wait for letter notifying you that you've been accepted at Voorhees before submitting your FAFSA. Apply for financial aid as soon as possible after Oct. 1 so your application can be processed earlier.
Required Information for Filing a FAFSA
Students, parents, and borrowers are required to use an FSA Username and Password. Click here to create your username and password: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch. Your FSA ID is used to confirm your identity when accessing your financial aid information and electronically signing your federal student aid documents.
- Voorhees' school code — 003455.
- Your Social Security number.
- Your Driver's License if you have one.
- Your most recent W2s or records of any money earned from the previous year.
- Your (and your spouse's, if applicable) federal income tax returns from the previous year.
- Your parents' federal income tax returns from the previous year if you're a dependent student.
- Your records from the previous year of any untaxed income, including veterans benefits, child support received, workers compensation or unemployment.
- Your current bank statements.
- Any business or investment information, including investment mortgages, business and farm records, stocks, bonds or other investments.
- Your alien registration or permanent resident card if you're not a U.S. citizen.
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool
The IRS Data Retrieval tool is a process that helps streamline the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by allowing online FAFSA filers to pull specific tax return data directly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Voorhees College requires all new and returning eligible students to use the retrieval tool. Those who are not eligible but filed a tax return must supply a signed tax transcript obtained directly from the IRS.
Availability:
For each new academic year, the IRS data retrieval process is tentatively scheduled to be available February 1.
- Electronically filed tax return information will be available online from the IRS site in 1-2 weeks after the return has been filed.
- Data from paper tax returns will be available in 6-8 weeks.
Estimating Taxes and FAFSA Corrections:
If you elect to not use the retrieval process, you will be subject to being selected for verification. If selected for verification, you will be required to support your reported FAFSA data with a signed tax transcript obtained directly from the IRS.
Eligibilty:
Applicants filing an initial or renewal FAFSA application or making a correction are eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool if he or she meets all of the following criteria:
- Must have valid SSN
- Must have filed the previous years tax return.
- Must have unchanged marital status since December 31, of that filing year.
- The parent who is signing the FAFSA and the student are each required to use the same unique PIN# used to sign the FAFSA to retrieve their own IRS data
- The address on the FAFSA needs to match the address on the submitted tax return for the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to be successful
The following list represents who cannot or should not try using the IRS Data Retrieval tool:
- Parents with all zeroes for SSN
- Any student or parent with a marital status date of January 1, of this year or later
- Any student or parent who indicates they have not already filed a tax return or will not file a tax return
- A married independent applicant and spouse who filed separate tax returns
- Parents of a dependent student who filed separate tax returns
- The applicant, parent, or spouse, as applicable, who have filed an amended tax return
Requesting Federal Tax Transcripts Forms from the IRS:
If you need a copy of your Federal Tax return, visit http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript you may obtain a free copy on the same day. Or you may call 1-800-908-9946 and request a free copy of your tax “return” transcript. If you call you should receive your transcript 10 business days from the time they receive your request. Website requests are the fastest. Requests can also be made with IRS form 4506T, which can be obtained from the IRS web site at http://www.irs.gov/ . If you are requesting a transcript for an Amended tax return the IRS requires a fee to obtain it.
For more information about the IRS Data Retrieval tool, please call 1-800-433-3243, visit www.fafsa.ed.gov, or contact your Financial Aid counselor.
Worksheets
A number of optional but helpful worksheets are available online. We encourage you to complete these worksheets before completing your FAFSA application.
- The FAFSA on the Web worksheet allows you to enter your information before filling it out in online. You'll find it here.
- The dependency status worksheet determines if you'll need your parents' information to complete the application. You'll find it here.
- The student aid eligibility worksheet helps you determine if you're eligible for federal aid. You won't be eligible if you were convicted of certain offenses while receiving student aid, though you should complete the FAFSA application anyway because you might still be eligible for state aid. You'll find the form here.
- Other worksheets can help you determine your and your parent's income. You'll find them here.