How do I speak to someone at FAFSA?

For parents completing the FAFSA form, review FAFSA tips for parents. If you're having trouble resetting your password, finding your username, or unlocking your account, you can recover your account. If none of these tips work, contact us at 1-800-433-3243 for assistance.

Can FAFSA be filled out online?

We recommend filing online because the process is faster and easier.

Which online site allows students review their financial aid status?

Check the status of your form by logging in to your StudentAid.gov account and selecting your FAFSA submission from the “My Activity” section of your account Dashboard. If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, you can check its status after it has been processed.

What is the role of the financial aid office?

Primary responsibilities of the office include: Tuition payment options (federal and state student loans, grants, scholarships and work study) Loan entrance and exit interviews. Complete certifications for federal Pell Grants and federal Direct Loans credit to a student's tuition and fee account.

Does FAFSA answer the phone?

You can also check the status of your FAFSA form by contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 . To check on the status of financial aid being disbursed (paid out) to you or your account, check with your school's financial aid office.

Why is FAFSA taking so long?

The delays are a result of overhauls made to the aid application system that were mandated by laws passed by Congress in 2019 and 2020 . The overhauls were intended to make the FAFSA simpler, easier to use, and to make more lower-income students eligible for more aid.

How to see how much FAFSA will give you?

Log in to StudentAid.gov using your account username and password. Select your processed FAFSA submission. Select “View FAFSA Submission Summary.” Select the “Eligibility Overview” tab .

How long will my FAFSA be in review?

If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, your form will be processed within 7 to 10 days . Once your form is processed, you'll receive a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR), which summarizes the information you provided on your FAFSA form. Review your SAR and make sure all of the information is complete and accurate.

Do I have to pay back financial aid?

You are generally required to repay your student loan , but in certain situations, your loan may be forgiven, canceled, or discharged.

FSA, an office of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) , is the largest provider of student financial aid in the nation. At FSA, our more than 1,400 employees help make postsecondary education possible for more than 9.7 million students each year.

How does the financial aid office calculate your financial need?

Financial need is the difference between the cost of attendance (COA) at a school and your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) .

Who should I talk to about financial aid?

FSAIC responds to inquiries from a variety of communication channels, including phone calls to 1-800-4-FED-AID , live online help (chat), email.

Can someone help me with my FAFSA?

The U.S. Department of Education sponsors the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC). The FSAIC operates a toll-free hotline to answer questions about federal student aid, the FSA ID and the FAFSA. The FSAIC can be reached by calling 1-800-433-3243 or 1-334-523-2691 .

Why is my FAFSA not working?

Try accessing the site late at night or early in the morning when it's not as busy . Contact the FSA Office. If you're still having trouble, ask the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Office for help. You can reach them at customerservice@studentaid.gov or call the FAFSA phone number at 800-4-FED-AID.

Virtual Financial Aid Office (2024)

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Virtual Financial Aid Office

The Office of Financial Aid is pleased to provide the Virtual Financial Aid Office! We will be hosting Zoom meetings (see below for days and times) to answer your general inquiries

Virtual FA office hours:

Mondays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and Wednesdays, 2-5 p.m. Please check back here periodically for updates regarding schedule changes.

Students do not need an appointment as these are "walk-in" hours to assist with any general financial aid questions.

How it Works

An Important note about ZOOM Accounts

All students, continuing and prospective, are required to have a ZOOM account to be able to login to the Virtual Financial Aid Office. Continuing students should use their CUNY ZOOM account and prospective or recently admitted students will need to have a personal zoom account (see the instructions below). For quality assurance purposes and for protection of your privacy we strongly recommend that you use your own ZOOM account and do not login with a friend’s or relative’s ZOOM account.

Due to current security settings and requirements you will need to login to ZOOM using your CUNYfirst Single Sign On (SSO) credentials or, if you are a prospective or recently admitted student and do not yet have a CUNY ZOOM account,your personal ZOOM account before you will be able to accessthe Virtual Financial Aid Office ZOOM session. This is a layer of security that is required by the university and it is there to protect students and prevent zoom bombing.Please see the "Visit the Virtual Financial Aid Office" section below for steps on how to access theZOOM session for continuing and prospective students.

After you have logged into ZOOM with your CUNYfirst SSO credentials or personal ZOOM account you will be able to access the ZOOM session by clicking on the link below. Once you have entered the waiting room, please enter only your EMPLID in the chat. This will allow the meeting host to queue students in the order in which they have entered the waiting room. Each student will then be assigned to a breakout room for a maximum of 10 minutes to speak with a financial aid representative about general inquiries such as finding about financial aid that is available, help with financial aid “To-Do” list items, and reviewing pending aid. More specific inquiries may have to be referred to an appointment with a financial aid advisor for further assistance.

Visit the Virtual Financial Aid Office

Instructions for Current and Continuing Students

Step 1:Click here for instructions on how login to ZOOM with your CUNYfirst Single Sign On (SSO) credentials

Step 2:Access the session here:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88101332615?pwd=TWo0NGpwbUl2L0VsVmNwZXN2QnV5QT09

Instructions for Prospective and Recently Admitted Students without a CUNY ZOOM Account

Step 1: Since you do not yet have a CUNY ZOOM account, if you do not yet have a personal ZOOM account, using your personal email address create a free one at https://zoom.us/freesignup/

Step 2:Access the session here:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88101332615?pwd=TWo0NGpwbUl2L0VsVmNwZXN2QnV5QT09

A Note to Parents and Guidance Counselors

The Virtual Office of Financial Aid is open to prospective and continuing students who have questions related to their financial aid record or general financing questions. Both the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 as amended prohibit any staff member within the Office of Financial Aid from disclosing any specific information about a student’s record or information about an FAFSA applicant to anyone but the student or applicant (unless documented authorization is on file). Therefore, parents or guidance counselors seeking information on behalf of student’s or applicants can only be given general information unless the student/applicant is present with you thereby giving their consent to disclose such information.

Additional Resources

A considerable amount of general information is available online at the links below. We encourage you to visit them for additional information:

Federal Student Aid Portal – A one stop location for information about Federal Student Financial Aid Programs and for FAFSA filing.
NY State Higher Education Services Corporation Paying For College Page – Has considerable information about NY State Financial Aid programs such as TAP, APTS, Excelsior Scholarship and other programs.
The Brooklyn College Office of Financial Aid Webpage (some highlights are below):
- Information Guides
- Undergraduate Financial Aid
- Graduate Financial Aid
- FAQ
- Financial Aid TV (FATV) Videos

A Note to Entities and Agencies External to the University

If you are acting on behalf of an entity, agency, organization etc. that is seeking to contact the Office of Financial Aid for an inquiry please do not use the Virtual Financial Aid Office, as that is a student only service. Instead, please visit our Contact Page for more information on whom to contact.