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Frequently Asked Questions -- Applying
For Financial Aid (U.S. Students)
What is
IDOC?
IDOC is short for the College
Board's Institutional Documentation Service. Macalester uses
IDOC to collect the tax returns of Regular Decision and Transfer
financial aid
applicants as well as returning Macalester students. Applicants
are
asked to submit tax returns through
IDOC rather than sending them to Macalester. Tax documents are
scanned by the IDOC service and made available to Macalester.
IDOC speeds delivery and analysis of tax return information and, if
more than one of an applicant's schools uses IDOC, simplifies the
financial aid application process.
What
is an IDOC cover sheet and when will I receive one?
An
IDOC cover sheet must be included when you send your tax returns and
other documents to the IDOC service. The IDOC cover sheet
provides identity information to IDOC and ensures that your documents
will be delivered to Macalester and associated with your financial aid
application. IDOC cover sheets are sent by post and/or by e-mail
beginning in early February.
You must file a Financial Aid PROFILE to
receive an IDOC cover sheet.
How can I obtain a replacement IDOC cover
sheet?
If you need a duplicate IDOC cover sheet, visit idoc.collegeboard.com.
Why is Macalester's aid application
priority filing date so early?
Priority filing dates for prospective students applying under the
regular decision plan are set in early February. We understand
that it is often difficult to meet these dates because tax documents
are often unavailable untl late January (or later, in some
cases). Our priority filing date is set so that we can receive
and analyze the financial aid applications of several thousand
applicants and deliver financial aid application results at the same
time that admission decisions are delivered (usually in late March).
Returning students who complete their aid applications
by the priority filing date should receive a response to their aid
application in
early June. There's no penalty (other than our potentially
delayed response) if you complete your financial aid application after
the priority filing date but before the beginning of the school
year. Of
course, you will not receive financial aid until after you complete
your aid application. You may experience validation difficulties
if your aid application is not complete well in advance of the
beginning of fall semester.
What if I miss the financial aid
application priority filing date?
You should go ahead and complete your aid application as soon as
possible. In general, we will give full consideration to late
financial aid applications. But it is possible that we may not be
able to deliver aid
application results at the same time that admission decisions are
delivered.
My tax return has not yet been
completed. May I file the FAFSA and/or PROFILE with estimated
figures?
Yes, please file the FAFSA
and/or PROFILE with estimated income figures no later than the priority
filing date. Both the FAFSA and PROFILE include a question
where you can indicate that you are using esimates.
Macalester will correct any errors when your final tax
return is received and, if you decided to enroll at Macalester or are a
returning Macalester student, will transmit the corrections to the
FAFSA processor on your behalf. If your FAFSA information is
being released to other schools, it may be important for you to update
your FAFSA information yourself after you have a final tax return.
My tax return has not yet been
completed. Do you want the previous year's tax return?
Not unless you are applying for admission under one of the Early
Decision plans. If your tax return will not be prepared until
after April 15, contact our office for guidance.
My tax return has not yet been
completed. Do you want an estimated tax return?
No. We cannot use an estimated tax return for financial aid
purposes.
Must I wait until I send my tax
return to the IRS before I send it to Macalester?
No. As long as your tax return is in its final form, it can be
used for financial aid application purposes.
I will not file a tax return.
What should I do?
Parents or students who are not required to and will not file a tax
return should complete a non-filer statement located on the IDOC cover
sheet. Early decision applicants may visit our forms
page to download the non-filer statement.
I filed my tax return
electronically. What form must I submit?
If you used tax preparation software (like Turbotax or Taxcut), use the
software to print out form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ, as applicable.
Sign the document and send it to us. Forms 8453 and other
summaries of electronic filing are not acceptable for
financial aid purposes.
If you cannot obtain form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ, call
(800) 829-1040 to request a tax transcript from the IRS.
I do not have a copy of my
tax return. What should I do?
You can call (800) 829-1040 to request a tax transcript from the
IRS. There is no charge for a tax transcript.
How can I find out what is missing
from my financial aid application?
Prospective students should visit the Macalester
Admissions web site and log in using the ID and password previously
provided to you. Financial aid application status is shown at the
bottom of the page. You may also send an e-mail inquiry to finaid@macalester.edu or phone
651-696-6214.
Returning applicants should log in to 1600grand.macalester.edu and click the Student Life tab.
I filed my FAFSA, but
Macalester does not have record of receiving the results. What
should I do?
First, check to see that Macalester was listed as one of the schools
you sent your results to. You should review your Student Aid
Report (SAR) to see which schools were listed on your FAFSA. You
may access your SAR on the FAFSA web
site or call 800-4FED-AID to inquire about which schools have
received your FAFSA results.
If Macalester is not listed as a school on your SAR,
you should submit a revised FAFSA and list Macalester's code (002358)
in the school section (click here for more
information). You may revise your FAFSA online or call the Federal
Student Aid at 800-4FED-AID for assistance.
If Macalester is listed in the school section of your
SAR:
- There is a period of time from January 1 to around January 15 when Macalester does not have software necessary to load
FAFSA results (our software vendor usually delivers the necessary
updates in mid-January). If your SAR does list Macalester in the
school section, we will eventually be able to receive and load your
FAFSA results. If necessary, you may replace Macalester with
another school's code. If Macalester is listed on the SAR, replacing
Macalester's code with another school's code will not prevent
Macalester from loading your FAFSA results.
- After January 15, please contact our office if
Macalester is listed on your SAR but you have received notice from
Macalester that your FAFSA results are missing. We will help
troubleshoot and locate your FAFSA results.
I was not able to include Macalester
as
one of the schools on my FAFSA. How do I get the FAFSA results to
Macalester?
Click here for instructions.
When will I receive financial aid
application results?
Admitted students will usually receive financial aid application
results within a few days of receiving their admission letter. If
the aid application is not complete at the time of admission, financial
aid results will be mailed within approximately one week after the date
that the aid application is completed.
The first batch of returning student aid application
responses will be sent in early June. If you complete your
financial aid application by the priority filing date, our response
will be
delivered in early June.
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