2012 - 2013 FAFSA application is now available at www.fafsa.ed.gov ELAC School code: 001222 There are many changes to the 2012-2013 financial aid regulations, please follow these tips for smoother application processes.

New Financial Aid Regulations impact 2012-2013 award year

Financial aid regulations that impacted the 2012-2013 award year:

• Copy of your Federal Tax return is no long considered as acceptable documentation to verify your income. You may need to request an IRS Transcript through the IRS office for the income verification processes.
• Life time limit for the Pell Grant has been changed from 18 full time semesters to 12 full time semesters. If you need basic skill course, it might be best to visit your counselor to see if you can take none credit courses to satisfy the requirement to preserve your maximum Pell Grant time frame. The Life time Pell Grant limit is apply to all continue and new students.
• Student who does not have a High School Diploma must either completed the GED, or passed the High School Proficient Exam in order the meet the High School requirement criteria.
• You may need to provide proof of receiving food stamp as part of the income verification processes.
• You may need to provide information in regarding to the amount of child supports you paid.

Tips for applying 2012-2013 FAFSA

To avoid delay in the application process, following the tips below will help a smoother transaction:

1. File yours and/or your parents' 2011 Federal tax return early.
2. When completing the FAFSA Application, utilize the IRS data retrieval feature will help the verification of income processes.
3. If you file the FAFSA before your file the Federal Tax Return, you can request an ISIR correction by visiting the http://www.FAFSA.ed.gov site to retrieve your FAFSA data before submitting your application to our campus. Update the income information by selecting "IRS Data Retrieval" to retrieve income information directly through IRS data into your FAFSA application.
4. Complete your correction before the March 2 priority and Cal Grant deadlines.
5. Log on to the LACCD site to select your LACCD Home school, complete your Ed Goal, Complete your Authorization statement and check on your document status to expedite the campus application processes.

Please note, a copy of the Federal Tax Return is NO longer considered as acceptable document for the income verification process. You MUST request an IRS transcript. Please follow the IRS Tax Return Transcript Request direction to request an IRS transcript. Remember, the priority processing deadline within the LACCD campuses is May 1, 2012. You must submit all of your documents before this date to receive financial aid disbursement by the first week of fall 2012 term.