Why are they asking this information?
This question inquires about a student’s additional financial information and is broken into five categories.
How to answer this question / fill out this section
If a student receives income from any of these categories, they must check each applicable box.
- Child support: Check this box if you (and if married, your spouse) paid child support to a dependent whom you do not have primary custody. This may be court order as a result of a divorce or separation.
- Taxable earnings from need-based employment programs: Such as Federal Work-study and need-based employment portions of fellowships and assistantships.
- College grant and scholarship aid reported to the IRS: Check the box if you received outside scholarship/grant sources. This is not a scholarship offer that a college will offer to you whether merit or need-based. You can find this figure on your tax return as a deduction as part of your Adjusted Gross Income.
- Combat pay or special combat pay: Check the box if you can find this figure on your tax return as a deduction as part of your Adjusted Gross Income. Do not report untaxed combat pay, which would be reported on your W-2.
- Cooperative education program earnings: Check the box if you’ve earned money from cooperative education programs (also known as co-ops) while working in a experiential learning environment outside of a classroom.
Additional considerations
If students are married and have a spouse, they should also report their spouse’s information (such as taxable earnings from need-based employment programs and combat pay) along with their own.