Applying for Financial Aid

Guttman Community College disburses both Federal and New York State financial aid to all eligible students. To be considered for financial aid eligibility, you must take the first step and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). At Guttman, we are ready to answer all your questions about how to apply for Financial Aid and guide you through the entire application process.

Need assistance completing your Financial Aid Applications?

Below you will find some useful guides and tutorials on how to complete the FAFSA. Also, Financial Aid Advisors are available to assist you with your Financial Aid applications. If you need one-on-one assistance completing your Financial Aid applications, you can make an appointment on Starfish with your Financial Aid Advisor or call us at 646-313-8011.

To complete your 2022-2023 FAFSA and New York State Aid Applications you will need:

• Your FSA ID and password – click here if you need to create/reset/retrieve your FSA ID .
• Your HESCPIN and UserID.
• Your 2020 W-2 forms, federal & state income tax returns including all applicable schedules, and other records of money earned.
  • If you are a dependent student, you will also need:
  • Your parents’ 2020 W-2 forms, federal & state income tax returns including all applicable schedules and other records of money
  • If your parents did not work in 2020, records of any untaxed income, bank statements and records of investments (if applicable).

To complete your 2021-2022 FAFSA and New York State Aid Applications you will need:

• Your FSA ID and password – click here if you need to create/reset/retrieve your FSA ID .
• Your HESCPIN and UserID.
• Your 2019 W-2 forms, federal & state income tax returns including all applicable schedules, and other records of money earned.
  • If you are a dependent student, you will also need:
    • Your parents’ 2019 W-2 forms, federal & state income tax returns including all applicable schedules and other records of money
    • If your parents did not work in 2019, records of any untaxed income, bank statements and records of investments (if applicable).

Apply for Financial Aid as soon as you have chosen to attend Guttman. You do not have to wait until you have received your admission letter to apply for Financial Aid.  Remember to list Guttman as one of your college choices on your Financial Aid applications.

Guttman School Codes:

• FAFSA – 042101
• NYS Aid Applications (TAP, Excelsior…) – 1421

Below you will find some useful tutorials on how to complete the FAFSA. If you need one-on-one assistance completing your financial aid applications, you can make an appointment on Starfish with your Financial Aid Advisor or call us at 646-313-8011.

There are THREE EASY STEPS to applying for financial aid:

STEP #1: FILL OUT YOUR FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA)

• The FAFSA
•  form is available online as of October 1st every year.
• Follow the instructions on the fafsa.ed.gov website and create an FSA ID. If you are including your parent(s) income, they will also need to create an FSA ID.
• Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool
  You should always try to use the IRS Data Retrieval option when completing your FAFSA to have your income tax information (and your parents’ if required) imported from IRS records to your application automatically. Using IRS Data Retrieval should make it easier for you and your family to complete the income sections of the FAFSA and it reduces the likelihood of manual errors. If you do not use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when you file your FAFSA, you may have to submit your and/or your parents’ IRS Tax Return Transcripts to the Office of Financial Aid before your awards can be finalized.
• You must add Guttman’s Federal school code 042101on your FAFSA when completing your application.  About one week after submitting your FAFSA, you should receive an email confirmation with a link to your Student Aid Report (SAR) from the U.S. Department of Education. The SAR is an online document acknowledging the processing of your FAFSA. Be sure to review the document for accuracy.

STEP #2: COMPLETE YOUR NEW YORK STATE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP) APPLICATION FOR NEW YORK STATE AID

• New York State (NYS) residents attending a NYS school can link directly to the TAP application from the FAFSA submission confirmation page.
• If you exited the FAFSA before completing the TAP application and you listed a New York State address and a New York State college on the FAFSA, New York’s Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) will automatically receive your information in about three days. HESC will then send you an email with directions to complete the TAP application online.
• The TAP application can also be found here.
• Make sure you complete the TAP application and add the Guttman TAP code 1421.

STEP #3: PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR “TO DO LIST”

• Make sure to check your “To Do List” which can be viewed on your Student Center in CUNYfirst at https://home.cunyfirst.cuny.edu
• Your “To Do List” will show what you need to submit to the Financial Aid Office.
• An unresolved “To Do List” item will stop you from receiving your financial aid awards.
• The Financial Aid Office will send you a missing information e-mail if more information is required.
• Make sure you respond promptly to any e-mail requests for information.

WHAT KINDS OF FINANCIAL AID ARE AVAILABLE AT GUTTMAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE?

Guttman students receive financial aid from various sources, such as federal, state, city, and outside organizations.

The following are the kinds of financial aid Guttman students typically receive:

• Grants – money that does not have to be repaid
• Loans – money that you borrow and agree to pay back with interest
• Work-Study – money that you earn from a job obtained through the Financial Aid Office
• Scholarships – money that is awarded on the basis of academic merit

Below are some useful links to view tutorials on how to complete the FAFSA and create your and/or your parents’ FSA ID: