How do I apply for Financial Aid?Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a Renewal FAFSA and return it to the Federal Processor as soon as possible after January 1st. Be sure to submit your FAFSA/Renewal FAFSA to the Federal Processor in time for them to process it (about four weeks) and transmit the results to St. John's University by our March 1st, on-time application deadline. You may prefer to apply online using FAFSA on the Web. We strongly encourage this method of applying since it is faster and generally more accurate because the online version has built-in edits. Apply for financial aid at the same time, or even before, you apply for admission.When should I apply? St. John's University has an "On-Time" financial aid filing deadline of February 1st. This means that the Office of Student Financial Services must receive the results of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or your Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or your Renewal FAFSA from the Federal Processor by March 1st for your application to be considered "on-time". Meeting the deadline gives you priority for all funds. Late applicants are considered for whatever aid remains when their application file is complete. The St. John's University Federal School Code must be included: 002823.Why should I apply by the "On-Time" Deadline? Students who have a complete file by the "On-Time" deadline are more likely to receive funds by the time school starts in the fall. Students who apply by the priority date are also more likely to receive funds from all programs for which they are eligible. After the priority dates, funding in many programs, especially campus-based programs such as Federal Work Study, SEOG and the Perkins Loan Program may be exhausted. Applying early is always to the student's advantage.Do I need to reapply each year? Yes. Each year you must file either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a Renewal FAFSA. You must also maintain satisfactory academic progress in order to qualify for aid each year.What happens after I apply? Once you complete and mail your FAFSA to the processing center, your FAFSA will be processed and you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR). The results of your FAFSA willbe electronically sent to the Office of Student Financial Services. The FAFSA will be reviewed and a Financial Aid Award Letter will be prepared and mailed to the student describing all of the eligible financial aid sources.Whom do I call if I do not receive my SAR? If you need answers right away to questions about Federal Student Aid you may call the Department of Education at (800) 4-FED AID.When completing my Financial Aid Application, can I estimate my income? Yes, you may estimate by using the previous year's income. We recommend that you try to estimate your income as close as possible to your actual income so that your financial aid eligibility is not greatly affected by any income changes.What is verification? Verification is a review process where the Department of Education has requested that the Office of Student Financial Services review all of the information that the student has completed on their financial aid application.Is it required that I submit my/my parent's Federal Tax Return? No, unless you have been selected for Federal/Institutional Verification. In fact, unless the Office of Student Financial Services requests tax returns from the student or student's parents we do not want them submitted.If my parents are divorced or separated, whose financial aid data should be used when I am completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)? If your parents are separated or divorced use the parent with whom you lived the most with in the past 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 past 12 months. If that parent has remarried you must also include the stepparent's financial information on the application and parent and stepparent should report themselves as married on the FAFSA.How do I apply for a Federal Direct Student Loan?The first step in applying for a Federal Direct Student Loan is to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For new or first-time borrowers once you file your FAFSA form, you will receive a Financial Aid Award Letter indicating the amount of your student loan eligibility along with instructions on when and how to apply for your loans. For continuing student borrowers, if you have previously borrowed under the Federal Direct Loan program at St. John's, the loan amount(s) indicated on your award letter will automatically be processed and forwarded to Department of Education for approval. You will not need to complete a new Master new Promissory Note each year. If you do not wish to have your loans processed for the full amount offered please complete a Loan Change Request Form.Will our savings and other assets be considered when our financial need is being determined? Family assets such as stocks and bonds, net business worth and savings are taken into account in determining the Expected Family Contribution toward a student's education. Eligibility for Federal Financial Aid funds is determined by rules set by the government that provide, among other things, allowances for retirement needs in computing this contribution.