Sending External Form Request to collect the MyStudentData.txt file

This article was developed to describe the steps involved in sending an external form request to collect a "MyStudentData.txt" file.

NOTE: This article assumes you have experience using the form builder within the CRM. If not, please visit our article on Custom fields and the Form builder.

The article is organized into the following sections:

• Create a New Form
• Add Fields
• Make it an External Form
• Request Message
• Send an External Form Request
• What the Client Sees
  • Email Message
  • External Form Request Page

Create a New Form

Start by going to the Contacts Tab, click Custom Fields in the Navigation Bar, and then click Form Builder.

Click on the field under "Create A New Form" and create a name for a new form. In our example, we named it "NSLDS My Student Data File 1". Click the small green and white checkmark to proceed.

Add Fields

Now, add the fields you want to collect along with the My Student Data file under the "Add Fields to Form" section on the right side of the page.

Click in the "Select Some Options" field and a dropdown menu appears with several options for you choose. In our example, we are requesting the contact's Date of Birth, First and Last name, Adjusted Gross Income, Spouse's Adjusted Gross Income, Family Size, and Filing Status.

After clicking the "Add Fields" button shown above, the following page will then open. These are all used in the internal calculator so we suggest at least including these on the form.

Make it an External Form

Back on the right side of the page, under the Form Options section, select the checkbox for "External Form". You can decide if you would also like to make it an "Intake Form"; the option makes it an available form when editing a contact, but most likely these fields are already available on your default intake form.

Click Save Form on the navigation bar. Now click on the underlined text "External Form" (highlighted by the red arrow shown above) adjacent to the check box under the form options. This will take you to the page to set up the form requests message.

Request Message

Here you can set up messages appearing in the External Form Request email and portal. We have added some basic information and some text as a placeholder for our example so you can see where the information is located on the email and external form page. You will also want to check the box for "NSLDS File Upload". This adds the upload feature to the browser to have the file uploaded into the internal calculator. Once finished editing, click the "Save Form" button.

Send an External Form Request

Now that we have our External Form Request setup, we can send it to contacts to collect the NSLDS My Student Data File. Start by going to the Client Dashboard and locate the Send External Form Request button under the client snapshot.


Once you click the "Send External Form Request" Button another layover will appear to select the form you wish to send. Select the appropriate form from the dropdown menu and verify the email address it is being sent to is correct, then click "Send Request".

What the Client Sees

Email Message

Displayed below is the email the client receives when the request is sent.

External Form Request Page

Below is how our External Form appears for the client. You can see the 'Display Title' and 'Sub Header' at the top of the page where we set up the external form's message. Also at the bottom right, above the "Save Information" button, is where the 'Disclaimer' appears. Notice under the "Upload Your NSLDS Loan File" section there is a link included to log in to NSLDS.ed.gov and download the file.

Once the customer has completed the form and clicked "Save Information," field information will be transferred to the contact in the CRM, and the uploaded file will be saved in the background. The next time you calculate student loans, the file is already saved there, ready to go!

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