Application Procedures - Massasoit Community College

Students who wish to be considered for all forms of financial aid must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). at : Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The priority deadline is July 1 for each academic year (November 15 for students beginning in spring semester).

To begin, you and your custodial parent, if applicable, will need an FSA ID which serves as your electronic signature. Follow the link to create one. Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID). If you need assistance creating an FSA ID, please watch this step by step tutorial or contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243.

Here are a few important things to remember when applying for Financial Aid:

Priority deadline to complete FAFSA is July 1. Applicants who submit the FAFSA by the priority deadline will receive priority consideration for limited financial aid resources and should receive their financial aid award decisions prior to the semester billing deadline. Applications received after the priority deadline will be considered based on available funding, but late applicants may not receive award decisions prior to the start of classes.
Remember to list Massasoit’s school code (002177) in the “School Selection” section of the FAFSA.
Use the IRS Retrieval Tool which allows the IRS to directly download your IRS 1040 figures into your FAFSA. It is the easiest way to go!
Complete a new FAFSA each academic year.
It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that all information is accurate and complete.

Why should I use the IRS Data Retrieval tool?

Submit your sensitive data in the fastest and most secure way possible!
Your FAFSA will also be far less prone to error which will save you from having to provide tax documents later. If you are selected for the verification process and you use the IRS Data Retrieval tool, our office will waive the requirement to submit tax documents. Other documentation must still be submitted, but you will no longer need to send your sensitive tax information through the mail.

What happens after my FAFSA is completed?

Approximately 1-2 weeks after you complete the FAFSA, you will receive an email from the federal processing center informing you to check your processing status on the FAFSA website. If you did not provide an email address, the FAFSA processor will mail you a Student Aid Report (SAR). Carefully review your status and follow the instructions if you need to make any corrections.
Our office will receive your information as long as Massasoit Community College, school code 002177, is listed in the “School Selection” section AND you have submitted a Massasoit Admissions Application along with your Social Security Number (SSN). If we cannot match the SSN on your FAFSA to an SSN on file at our school, your FAFSA cannot be brought into our system for review.
All registered and returning students should check the status of their Financial Aid application on MyMassasoit portal to view Required documents and Tentative Awards. Awards are based on anticipated full-time enrollment and will be posted there once the student’s file is complete.

What is verification?
Each year students and their families apply for financial aid by submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Some applicants are asked to provide supporting documents to verify the information on the FAFSA through a process called verification. The supporting documentation is used by the financial aid office to double check the FAFSA information and make corrections if needed.

If you are chosen to verify the information provided on your FAFSA, documentation will be required to complete your file. Documentation may include, but is not limited to: Independent or Dependent Verification Worksheet, signed copies of Federal 1040 Tax Returns or Federal Tax Return Transcripts (if the DRT was not used), W-2s, High School Credential, Identity Confirmation.

If you didn’t use the IRS Data Retrieval option when you filed your FAFSA you will need to verify your tax information. The easiest option is to go back onto the FAFSA to use the DRT tool to choose the option.

How will I be notified that my FAFSA was selected for verification?
You will be notified by the FAFSA processor that you were selected on your Student Aid Report (SAR). Next to the EFC will be an asterisk referring to a comment in the student section of the SAR that tells the applicant that he/she will be asked by the College to provide documentation for verification.

In addition, once Massasoit has imported your FAFSA, we will mail you up to four letters informing you of any documentation that you must provide to complete verification.

Why was I selected for verification?
There are various reasons why a FAFSA applicant may be selected for verification. Perhaps the FAFSA included estimates of federal income tax information and the actual information now needs to be confirmed. Or maybe the FAFSA was submitted with data that appears inconsistent or unusual or includes the type of information that is frequently misreported. Finally, you may have been selected for verification through a random process used to get a sampling of how accurately families fill out the FAFSA. You are in good company, though. Each year nearly 600 of our applications are selected for verification.

What is the deadline to submit Verification Paperwork for the 2023/24 year?
All verification documents must be received and processed by Massasoit Community College no later than 120 days after the last date of enrollment for the 2023-24 year or September 21, 2024, whichever is earlier.

What happens if I do not provide the verification information requested?
If you do not provide the verification documentation, you are not eligible for federal or state or institutional financial aid. So, please submit the requested verification information promptly to avoid a delay in your financial aid application processing.

What information will be verified?

For each award year, the Secretary of Education publishes in the Federal Register a notice announcing the FAFSA information that an institution and an applicant may be required to verify and what documentation is acceptable for verifying. Each student will be notified by Massasoit of their specific requirements.

NOTE: Federal regulations stipulate that an institution may require an applicant to verify any FAFSA information that it specifies. On occasion, the College may therefore require a student to verify any FAFSA information and to provide any reasonable documentation.

Given the large number of financial aid applications we receive, it may take an extended time before we work on your aid application; however, we process the completed applications in the order we receive them. Sometimes while reviewing the verification information we find inconsistent information or errors that must be resolved which may create delays in processing.

What can I do to help the verification process go quickly and smoothly?

Promptly provide all verification information.
Carefully read the Verification Worksheet. When completing the worksheet respond to every question. Do not leave any lines blank. If the correct answer is zero, write in a 0.
Make sure the Verification Worksheet is signed by the student and, for dependent students, one of the parents whose information is reported on the FAFSA.
When you submit your verification documentation, make sure to include the student name and Massasoit Student ID number at the top of your W2 forms, 1040 forms or on the IRS tax transcript.
Make sure that you provide all of the W-2 earnings statements you received from employers. The total earnings shown in box 1 of the student W-2’s must match the Wages, Salaries & Tips line of the 1040 or the IRS tax transcript. The same goes for parents.
- If you are missing a W-2, contact your employer for a replacement copy.
- Sometimes people receive earnings reportable on the tax return where a W-2 is not required from an employer. In this circumstance, include a written description of the amount and source of income and include any supporting document you may have regarding this income.
Do not submit incomplete materials. Wait until you have all your verification materials before submitting your verification packet.
Do not submit unrequested documents such as tax year comparison reports or state tax returns.
Keep your originals – send us copies.
In some circumstances we may need to request additional information from you, so watch carefully for new correspondence from us. We recommend you routinely view your financial aid information online through your MyMassasoit login. Login information is given to you the first time you register.

Can I send copies of my tax returns?
Yes. If students are ineligible to use the IRS data retrieval tool, students may submit a signed copy of the IRS tax return or a copy of an IRS Tax Return Transcript. For the security of your information please DO NOT email any documents with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) on it.

What happens if the school suspects fraud?
Individuals who have purposely misreported information or altered documentation to fraudulently obtain financial aid funds will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General, as required by federal regulations.

After course participation has been confirmed, and award adjustments have been made (if necessary) for students that are in less than 12 credits, financial aid is disbursed to student’s accounts. Financial aid disbursements occur weekly, typically on Wednesday evenings, throughout the semester. Students may receive numerous disbursements throughout the semester if certain types of aid are not eligible to be disbursed at the time the first disbursement of the semester has been made. This typically occurs when a student that has been awarded a loan has not completed loan requirements, or when state financial aid funds have not yet been received by Massasoit. This may also occur when a student has a loan for a single semester, as loans must be disbursed in two installments.

Federal, state, and institutional aid administered by the Financial Aid Office is applied directly to a student’s account to pay for institutional charges such as tuition, course fees, and book advance charges. Non-institutional charges, such as mandatory health insurance, library fines, calculator rentals, etc. will only be paid by federal and state financial aid if the student has provided authorization, which can be done via the MyMassasoit portal.

Students whose financial aid exceeds their institutional and eligible non-institutional charges will receive these funds in the form of a refund so that they may be used to pay other educationally related expenses. Students will be mailed a check within 14 dates after the credit balance is created, or the excess funds will be deposited electronically into the bank account specified by students that have authorized direct deposit.

If the credit balance is the result of a students’ parents borrowing a Federal Direct Parent Plus Loan, the refund will be issued to the parent borrower unless authorization to release funds to the student was granted on the institutional Parent PLUS Loan application.

Please note: Borrowers have the right to cancel all or part of their student loan(s) prior to disbursement and within 14 days after disbursement by contacting the Financial Aid Office. Students may also return all of part of their loan to the lender within 120 days of disbursement.