The University of Tennessee - Martin

Most mistakes are made because students and/or parents either don't follow or don't understand the application instructions. While few errors will cause you to have to start all over, most errors will significantly delay the processing of either your FAFSA at the federal level, your award at the college level, or both. Please read the instructions that accompany the application. Then, if you are not clear on a question, take the time to call either your school or the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED AID (1-800-433-3243). The few extra minutes it takes could save you weeks of delays!

Common Application Errors:

     About Yourself:

• Be sure your Social Security Number is accurate and written clearly on the form. The processing center and UT Martin use this number to drive the application process; an error here can cause serious delays.
  
  
• If you have not completed your first bachelor's degree by July 1 then this question should be answered with a "no." Read this carefully.

     Your Plans:

• Check the terms that you will be enrolled and the type of enrollment. Full-time equals 12 hours or more (9 hours or more for graduate and professional students); three-quarter time, 11-9 hours; half-time, 8-6 hours; less than half-time, 5-1 hours; and not enrolled equals 0 hours. Your enrollment requirements may differ with the type of aid that you are receiving.
  
  
• You should enter any veterans' educational benefits that you will receive during the academic year. This includes reservists, national guardsmen, previous active duty, and dependents of Veterans. This information can affect your aid eligibility if not reported correctly.

     Household Information:

• If you are a dependent student list the marital status of the parent that you live with. This means if your biological parents are divorced and you live with your mother who has remarried, then her status is "married." Given this same scenario, when completing the income information, both the mother's income and her husband's must be listed on the application.
  
  
• The number of people that you list as being part of your household should be people that are being supported by that household. A sister or brother who doesn't live at home, for example, is not considered part of the household although they are certainly part of your family.

     Income:

• All income information needs to be completed. If the income is not applicable to you please place a zero. A blank indicates to us that you meant to check a number and forgot to fill it in. Since we can't be sure what that number should have been, we will request verification which delays the process.
  
  
• Earned Income Credit, if reported on your tax return, must be included on the FAFSA. This is also true of IRA or Keogh payments you and/or your parents made during the year.
  
  
• The form allows an exclusion. Please refer to the worksheet before completing this line. For most of our students the only income that would be applicable here is the money earned from Federal Work Study. Remember this is only the amount for the tax year. For a dependent student's parent, this allows you to indicate child support that the parent paid for children not residing with that parent. These are the two most common exclusions.
  
  
• Do not leave any questions blank!

     Asset information:

• Again, do not leave any of these questions blank. A zero indicates none or not applicable. A blank indicates you skipped the question to check a figure and didn't come back to it. Many people who think they do not have to complete this section cause their aid to be delayed when we have to request it. If you complete the section but were not required to, the information will not be used in the calculation.
  
  
• We base your cost of attendance on your housing code. If you do not complete this question we may assume a cost less than what you may be eligible to receive.

     Releases and Signatures:

• UT Martin's Title IV Code is 003531. For the processing center this is as important as your Social Security Number. Regardless of what you list our name as - UT Martin - we will receive your information if the code is correct. Of course the same is true if the code is wrong; then the information will go to that code's school and NOT be sent to UT Martin. If you do not list UT Martin's code to receive your FAFSA information, we cannot process any financial aid for you.
  
  
• Important change: your information will be sent to the state agency unless you indicate "no." This information may be used when considering you for state-funded grants and/or the Stafford Loan program.
  
  
• Last, but certainly not least, an unsigned form is the same as no form at all. If you are married, your spouse must also sign the application. If you are a dependent student, or if your parents' information was required on the form, then your parents must also sign the form.