2. Financial Aid 101: The Federal Student Aid PIN
You will need a Federal Student Aid PIN in order to sign the FAFSA electronically as well
as to sign on to the www.studentloans.gov website to complete Entrance Counseling and
MPN.
If you do not have a PIN, you can apply for one when completing the FAFSA or online at
www.pin.ed.gov. The PIN application must be verified by the Social Security
Administration before the PIN is considered active. You have limited use of your new PIN
until it has been verified by the SSA (can sign a new FAFSA but cannot access other
websites).
You have the option to select your own 4-digit PIN, so you can make it something easy to
remember.
If you already have a PIN, but forgotten it, you can “Request a Duplicate PIN” online at
www.pin.ed.gov.
3. Financial Aid 101: Applying for Financial Aid
The application process and a lot of other great tools are provided on our public website. From the
Ottawa University homepage (www.ottawa.edu), click on the “Adult Campuses” on the top of the
main page. Hover over “Tuition and Financial Aid” and select “Applying for Financial Aid”.
To apply for financial aid, you must complete the following online processes:
1. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at
www.fafsa.ed.gov. (Ottawa’s school code = 001937)
2. The Direct Loans Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note
(MPN) online at www.studentloans.gov.
3. The Student Loan Worksheet and Loan Request Forms. You will need
your Portal user Id and Password.
• You must also provide any additional documents requested by the financial aid department in a
timely fashion, which may include: signed copies of your Federal tax returns, W-2s, Non-tax filer
form, Verification Worksheet, Monthly Expense Statement, Selective Service verification, proof
of citizenship, etc. Failure to submit ALL requested documentation will result in you being unable
to use financial aid until requested materials are received.
4. Financial Aid 101: Applying for Financial Aid
WARNING:
DO NOT enter your information at www.fafsa.com
First word of FAFSA is FREE – fafsa.com charges money to
use their site. This is a third-party site not affiliated with
the federal government.
Make sure you are using the correct link:
www.fafsa.ed.gov
(Needs to end in .gov)
5. Financial Aid 101: The “FAFSA”
The FAFSA application must be
completed once per year and
requires tax information to be
entered from the previous year.
For example, the 2013-2014
application requires 2012 tax
information.
The FAFSA is required to
determine your eligibility for
Federal grants and loans and is
the first step you should
complete when applying for
financial aid.
6. Financial Aid 101: Applying for Financial Aid
What items do I need to fill out the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA)?
Records of Taxable &
Untaxable Income Received
• W-2 Forms
• Federal Tax Returns
You may also need the
following records if such
financial circumstances are
applicable to you.
• Investment Records
• Business/Farm Records
Note: Once you complete the FAFSA application, the Department of
Education could select your application for verification and additional
documentation may be required (i.e., IRS tax return transcript).
7. Financial Aid 101: The Entrance Counseling and MPN
All new students using
Financial Aid for the first
time, must complete the
Entrance Counseling and
Master Promissory
Note(MPN).
You must sign in with your
PIN to access these items.
The Entrance Counseling
only has to be completed
once.
The MPN is valid for 10
years.
