The process for returning students who apply for financial aid and/or scholarship is similar to when you were a new applicant. All students must reapply for financial aid/scholarship every year. The instructions included below will guide you through your reapplication for scholarship and financial aid. Be sure to fill out the forms completely and turn the documents in by the deadline. The deadline for turning in the documents to the Office of Financial Aid is April 15, 2012.

Required Financial Aid Materials Checklist

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• Verification Worksheet 
• Statement of Educational Purpose 
• If you have not used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA website, you will need to order tax transcripts, and have them sent here, here are the methods to order.

• Request Method	Where	What	How	When	Direct to Third Party
  Online	www.irs.gov	Paper	Mailed	5-10 Days	NO
  Telephone	1-800-908-9946	Paper	Mailed	5-10 Days	NO
  IRS Form 4506T-EZ	www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506tez.pdf	Paper	Mailed	5-10 Days	YES

  
  
• Any other information we deem necessary after preliminary review

IT WILL CAUSE A DELAY IF YOU DO NOT...

• SIGN and DATE all application materials. Regulations require signatures; therefore missing signatures may create processing delays and may even require that the forms be returned to you.
• Answer ALL questions. If a question does not apply to you, enter N/A or 0. Questions left blank may require you to be contacted for the answer and a reprocessing of the form.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• If you are applying for renewal of the need-based merit MSM Scholarship, you are required to complete the entire financial aid process. If you are applying for renewal of the no-need, merit-only President’s Award (and no other aid), please direct a letter to the Office of Financial Aid indicating such. Please keep in mind that the President’s Awards generally range from $1000 - $5000 maximum.
• If you or your parents feel that the family 2012 income will be drastically different from the reported 2011 income on the FAFSA, you must submit a letter of explanation to Amy Anderson, Associate Dean of Enrollment Management. Reasons for drastic change in income include unemployment, separation, divorce, serious illness or death. In the letter please project, to the best of your ability, the new 2012 anticipated taxable and nontaxable income from any and all sources. Please provide documentation of these circumstances such as a letter from your employer, medical documents, a separation agreement, or a divorce decree.
• We highly recommend that you make photocopies of all application materials that you submit to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. Create a file at home that will resemble the file we have in our office. This will make any conversations we have more productive and beneficial.

AND LAST…

Please, ASK QUESTIONS if you do not understand any part of our application process. We understand that the scholarship/financial aid process is, at times, frustrating and intimidating, and we want to assist and support you from start to finish. It is our goal to make applying for scholarship and financial aid as pleasant and painless as possible. When students and parents ask how  they can speed up the process, we always begin by saying, “provide all the required information by the required deadline, and be as accurate as possible when completing your forms – if you do your part, we are able to do our part.” If you have suggestions or comments, or if you experience problems, please call our office at 917-493-4463. Financial Aid counselors are available to assist you. If necessary, you may schedule either a phone or in-person appointment.