If a student is selected for "verification" they will need to submit any unsatisfied requirements requested before aid becomes official and can credit to a student's bill. Unsatisfied requirements can be viewed on the student’s WebOPUS account.
If you wish to borrow a Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan, complete the required steps:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, also known as the Buckley Amendment, helps protect the privacy of student records. The Act provides for the right to inspect and review educational records, to seek to amend those records, and to limit disclosure or information from the records. The Act applies to all institutions that are the recipients of federal funding under any program administered by the Secretary of Education. The FERPA policy and additional information can be viewed on the Registrar’s Office webpage.
If a student would like the Financial Aid Office to discuss their financial aid file with anyone else, they must sign a FERPA release indicating who their information can be shared with. The on-line FERPA release can be completed by:
Clicking on the A-Z directory on the top of the Fort Lewis College website under 'Quick Links' – click on the letter “F” – then click on FERPA (Online Consent Form).
Your FSA ID confirms your identity when you access your financial aid information and allows you to electronically sign Federal Student Aid documents. If you do not already have an FSA ID, you will need to establish one before you can submit a FAFSA application, make corrections to an existing FAFSA, or log-on to studentloans.gov to complete loan entrance or loan exit counseling.
To create your FSA ID:
Follow the steps to create your username and password
The most common verification request is the IRS Tax RETURN Transcript. If the Financial Aid Office has asked for a student and/or a parent IRS tax return transcript we can only accept Federal Tax Return information received directly from the Internal Revenue Service or hand signed copies of individual taxpayer tax returns or copies from a paid tax preparer if an individual preparer's name is provided as well as their PTIN number. A tax return with only the preparer's business name and firm's EIN number is not acceptable unless the tax filer (student or parent) has also hand signed the return.
There are three ways in which a student and/or parent can request a Federal Income Tax Return Transcript from the IRS, on-line, by mail, or over the phone. If they qualify, they can also use the IRS Data Retrieval tool in the students’ FAFSA.
Students and parents who have filed their current year taxes will be given the option to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when completing the Financial Information portion of the FAFSA application. This option is available approximately 2-3 weeks after electronically filing Federal Income Tax returns and 8-11 weeks after mailing Federal Income Tax returns.
Please note, there are two separate financial information sections on the FAFSA for dependent students. Students will use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool for the Student Financial Information section and parents of dependent students will use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool for the Parent Financial Information section.
Applicants who are completing an initial FAFSA, completing a renewal FAFSA or making corrections to their initial FAFSA and meet all of the following criteria:
Students or parents who:
If you did not or cannot use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer Federal Tax Return information to your FAFSA, you will need to obtain an official Federal Income Tax Return Transcript from the IRS and submit it to our office. If you are a dependent student, we will also need a copy of your parent(s) Federal Income Tax Transcript.
Tax filers can request Federal Tax Return Transcript information free of charge by:
Even if you have not completed your Federal Tax Returns for the applicable tax year, you should complete your FAFSA using tax estimates. Once current year Federal Income Tax Returns are filed, you can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to update the FAFSA by logging back onto your FAFSA using your FSA ID number assigned to you during FAFSA completion. Students will use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool for the Student Financial Information section and parents of dependent students will use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool for the Parent Financial Information section. If you are not eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, you will need to submit and official IRS Tax Return Transcript to our office.
On the National Student Loan Database System you can find your total student loan debt, get contact information on your federal loan servicer, and complete exit counseling. To sign in:
Fort Lewis College does not have designated aid for summer, which means that summer financial aid is usually limited to only Federal Direct Loans, and in some cases a Federal Pell Grant. To apply for financial aid for a summer term, a student must:
A student’s financial aid eligibility amount is based on the number of credit hours they enroll in each summer session (module). Any changes made to their summer enrollment can cause their eligibility to change. Changes to summer enrollment after aid has disbursed can result in the student having to repay some aid they received. Students MUST consult with the Financial Aid Office before making any adjustments to their summer schedule to avoid having to pay back any of their summer aid.
Please contact the Financial Aid Office with any additional questions you may have. Summer aid request forms are usually available beginning in March.