Gretna Career College understands that filing for financial aid can be a challenge, so we have included some steps that can assist you in completing the FAFSA. Although we have included these steps, the financial aid staff is still available to answer any questions that you may have.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Start by clicking FAFSA
- Register for a PIN – You’ll first get assigned a PIN that will act as your electronic signature for your online financial aid documents. Please request that the PIN be emailed to you.
- Complete a 2011-2012 FAFSA using your 2010 federal tax information. – You can fill this form out online and submit it using your PIN as your signature. Gretna Career College school code is 030951
- Processing – It will take 3-5 days for your FAFSA to be processed. Once it has, you will receive an emailed Student Aid Report (SAR). You need to review the information to make sure it is correct and keep a copy for your records. You’ll also be given a number that represents your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC).
IMPORTANT: In order to find out the true dollar amount you will receive for school, you must complete the entire Financial Aid process. While your EFC number will help determine the amount of aid you will receive from the government, don’t be discouraged if you think this number is too high! This is only one factor out of many that contribute to determination of your financial aid award.
Additional Documentation
You may be asked to submit additional documentation once your file has been submitted to our Financial Aid Department. Your FAFSA may be “selected for verification” by the Federal Government, which is a normal part of the financial aid process. If you are selected, you will be asked by a Financial Aid advisor to supply supplemental documentation in order to verify data on your FAFSA. In order to complete the process in a timely manner, we highly recommend having the following documents ready for submission:
-
1040 Tax Form – A signed copy of your most recent federal tax filings (and your spouse’s if applicable). If you are unable to locate a copy of these documents, you can request free Tax Transcripts from the IRS. Please call the IRS Tax Transcript Request Line at 1-800-829-1040
-
W2’s – Your most recent W2’s (and your spouse’s if applicable)
Please note: Students under the age of 24 are considered Dependent students and will need to submit their parent’s personal and financial information in addition to their own. If you have questions about your dependency status, call (504) 366-5409 to speak with the Financial Aid Department.
This step takes you through a brief tutorial about receiving financial aid, in particular student loans. Entrance loan counseling is a required part of the financial aid process and must be completed successfully in order to receive federal student loans.
The Master Promissory Note is a legal and binding document between you and the government. Your signature is your promise to repay your student loans.
Receiving your Award
Once you have provided all the required information and our financial aid advisor has calculated the types and amount of financial aid you are eligible for, you will receive an award letter that indicates how much financial aid you may receive through the Federal Student Aid program. Your award letter will break down the type of funds, such as federal grants, student loans, state grants, parent loan, etc., for which you are eligible. At that time, you decide which funds you would like to accept and which funds you do not need.
