<b>If I change schools, how do I edit my FAFSA so the money goes to
my new school? And about how long would it take for the money to
transfer schools?
— Q.T.
Student financial aid does not directly transfer between
colleges. Instead, the new college will recalculate your eligibility
from scratch based on the information on your FAFSA and the college's
financial aid application forms. Certain types of government aid are
portable, while campus-based aid such as the Federal Perkins loan and
Federal Work-Study are not. In addition, any money awarded by the
college from its own funds will not transfer. The new college might
award you the same types of financial aid as your current college, but
the amounts may differ due to the college's financial aid policies and
available funds. Transfer students, especially mid-year transfers,
often qualify for less financial aid than first-time and continuing
students.
If you are transferring in the middle of the academic year, the amount
of federal student aid for which you are eligible will be reduced by
the amount of federal student aid you received and "earned" at the previous
college. (There is a complicated formula called R2T4 for determining
how much of the aid you received at the previous college was
earned. Generally, financial aid is earned on a proportional basis
until 60% of the way through the semester, at which point the
financial aid is considered to be fully earned. Any unearned aid will
be returned by the college to the federal government. There is a
preference order for returning financial aid that typically returns
loans before returning grant funds.)
There are also cost of attendance caps on the amount of federal
student aid you can receive. If your new college is much less
expensive than the previous college, the amount of financial aid you
can receive might be reduced.
Keep your current college informed about your intent to
transfer. Depending on the college's refund policy and the return of
student aid funds to the federal government, you might end up owing
some money to your current college. You're still responsible for your
portion of the college costs, and the college's refund policy might be
less generous than the government's policies concerning the return of
federal student aid. The college will be within its rights to
withhold official transcripts
if you have unpaid bills. This could make it difficult for you to
transfer your credits to the new college.
The online FAFSA has space for you to list up to ten colleges. To send
your FAFSA information to the new college, list it in one of the ten
slots. If all ten slots are filled, replace one of them with the new
college. It will take a week or two for the new college to receive the
data from your FAFSA. You will receive a new Student Aid Report (SAR)
when the college has received the data from your FAFSA. Be sure to
submit any supplemental forms required by the new college. The time to
prepare a new financial aid package varies from college to college. If
you haven't heard from the new college more than a month after you
receive the SAR, call the college's financial aid office to ask about
the status of your financial aid application.
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