Financial Aid Night

1
Financial Aid Night

• Welcome and Opening Prayer
• Agenda
• Where are we now?
• Nitty Gritty of the forms and process

2
Where are we now?

• SATs done
• Last chance 1/28 - deadline is 12/20
• Essays started or finished
• Applications started/finished

• Some . . . . . How do we get them going?
• Dec 13th deadline explanation
• Goal - Have everything done and mailed before mid
  year exams

3
Whats next?

• Make a list of schools student is applying to
• Check to see which forms are needed for Financial
  Aid
• Secure forms
• Begin organizing paper work for filing for
  financial aid
• Attend meeting . . .

4
MATERIALS TONIGHT

• Power Point Presentation
• Packet of Run off Materials
• FAFSA worksheet
• CSS Profile info

• Magazines
• Paying for your college education
• Funding your education

5
Financial Aid - Basic Premises

• A student has the primary responsibility for
  contributing to their education to the extent
  that they are able
• Parents are responsible for contributing to their

• childrens education to the extent that they
  are able.
• Each family has different circumstances and has
  different need

6
Types of Aid

• Gift aid Grants and scholarships (need-based or
  merit-based)
• Self-help aid Loans and employment (need-based
  or non-need-based)

7
Goals of Financial Aid

• Primary goal is to assist students in paying for
  college and is achieved by
• Evaluating familys ability to pay educational
  costs
• Distributing limited resources in an equitable
  manner
• Providing balance of gift aid and self-help aid

8
Family
Expected Family Contribution Your expected
family contribution or EFC is established by the
federal processor. Your EFC is the amount of
money the student and parent can be expected to
contribute to college costs each year.
9
Financial Aid Basic Formula

• Cost of Attendance (COA)
• minus
• Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
• equals
• Financial Aid Eligibility(NEED)

10
NEED
Definition of Need Your financial need varies
based on the cost of attendance. (COA) Need is
the cost of attendance minus your expected family
contribution (EFC). (Remember it is what you and
your child can contribute)
For FAFSA tips and tools
visit www.fastweb.com
11
Need

• Demonstration of Need
• Establish Cost - Use FastWebs Cost Calculators
• to figure out the cost of
• - Tuition and Fees - Books and Supplies
• - Room and Board - Personal and
  Transportation Costs
• Determine Family Contributions (EFC)
• - To get an early estimate of your EFC, use the
  Financial Aid
• Estimation Calculator at www.finaid.org
• What is left is your NEED

12
I have need . . . What is next?

• Must apply for some assistance
• Where will the money (aid) come from?
• What kind of aid is available?
• How do I apply for that money (aid)

13
SOURCES OF MONEY (AID)

• FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
• Federal Loans -45.5
• Federal Tuition Tax Credits 5.2
• Federal Grants 10.4
• Federal Work Study 2.6
• State Government 4.9
• Institutions/Colleges 19
• Organizations -3.5
• Non Federal Loans 9.2

14
Federal Government Aid Must File FAFSA

• Grants - Based on need
• Loans - most aid
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Stafford Loan
• Federal Plus Loans
• Work Study- federal
• Tax Credits -

15
Federal Work Study

• Funded by government
• Jobs on campus - minimum wage
• Money paid directly to student
• Dont count on it to help pay bill
• 10 to 15 hours a week
• helps pay for the pizza!

16
State Government- Must file the FAFSA

• 4.9 of money given is from states
• Grants/Scholarships based on need
• MA more generous than NH
• Each state varies with amounts - typical MA is
  1000

17
Institutions/CollegesFunding

• 19 of money given is from the colleges
• They have the right to decide who receives their
  aid and how they receive it
• Various types of aid given by colleges and
  universities
• Grants, Scholarships, Talent/Athletics, Community
  Service
• Loans and some Campus Jobs

18
Organizations/Other-3.5 of all aid

• Check your Business, company, union
• National Competitions
• Local cities and towns best source of smaller and
  attainable scholarships

• Civic/religious groups
• ethnic organizations
• CCHS
• Share your info and let us know if you see any
  advertised

19
Scholarships

• Use the Internet to find scholarship
  opportunities
• FastWeb www.fastweb.com
• Over 600,000 scholarships listed
• 1 billion dollars in aid available
• Free
• On-line applications
• Expert Advice
• E-mail updates when new awards become available
• Help and How-tos
• Printable information request letters

20
Scholarships

• Scam Warning Signs Beware of all companies that
  do any of the following
• Require a fee of any kind
• Refuse to release their telephone number and
  
• provide only a P.O. Box where you can mail your
  
• check
• Offer an award for which you did not apply
• Promise to do all the work for the student
  
  
• More...

21
Scholarships

• Scam Warning Signs (continued)
• Guarantees you will win an award
• Claim that you cannot get the information they
  
• supply anywhere else
• Require personal financial information such as a
  
• credit card or checking account number to
  verify
• or hold the scholarship
• Charge an up-front fee for a loan

22
How to get Money from Colleges

• 1. Must start with filing the FAFSA
• 2. Might have to file CSS Profile
• 3. Might have to file a particular Colleges
  Financial Aid form
• YOU NEED TO CHECK EACH COLLEGE AND FIND OUT WHICH
  FORMS THEY USE

23
FAFSA

• Collects familys personal and financial
  information used to calculate students EFC
• Available in English and Spanish
• May file FAFSA in one of two ways
• Electronically via FAFSA on the Web
• Paper FAFSA

24
Application Process

• Submit FAFSA prior to schools deadline
• Most aid awarded on first-come, first-served
  basis
• To ensure maximum consideration for federal,
  state, and institutional aid, check information
  from each school to determine
• Required application materials
• Application deadlines

25
FAFSA on the Web

• Web site www.fafsa.ed.gov
• 2006-07 FAFSA on the Web available on or after
  January 1, 2006
• Pre-Application Worksheet
• Available prior to January 1st
• Questions follow order of FAFSA on the Web

26
FAFSA on the Web

• Good reasons to file electronically
• Built-in edits to help prevent costly errors
• Skip-logic allows student and/or parent to skip
  unnecessary questions
• More timely submission of original application
  and any necessary corrections
• More detailed instructions and help for common
  questions
• Ability to check application status on-line
• Simplified renewal application process

27
PIN Registration

• Web site www.pin.ed.gov
• Can get PIN before January 1, 2006
• Not required, but speeds processing

• May be used by students and parents throughout
  aid process, including subsequent school years

28
Paper FAFSA

• 2006-07 FAFSA8-page booklet containing
• Instructions
• 103 questions in 7 steps
• Worksheets A, B, and C
• Pre-addressed envelope to mail completed form and
  return-receipt postcard

29
Applying for Federal Money

• File FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student
  Aid
• Even if you think you will not qualify it helps
  to get lower interest loans and perhaps money
  from colleges, local and national groups

30
FAFSA Step One
General student information (questions 1-13)

• Name and address
• SSN and date of birth
• Telephone number
• Drivers license and state
• E-mail address

31
FAFSA Step One
General student information (questions 14-24)

• Citizenship
• Marital status
• State and date of legal residence
• Selective Service status
• Degree type
• Grade level

32
FAFSA Step One
General student information (questions 25-31)

• Receipt of high school diploma and first
  bachelors degree
• Self-help preferences
• Parent(s) educational background(s)
• Drug conviction status

33
Step 2 student income and assets

• This answers the question about filing taxes
• Questions asks For 2004 have you completed your
  IRS income tax return?
• Options are
• a. I have completed my return
• b. I will file, but I have not yet completed my
  return
• c Im not going to file
• So you can estimate answers (using end of year
  pay stubs etc)

34
FAFSA Step Two

• Students (and spouses, if married) financial
  data (questions 32-36)
• Federal income tax return status and type
• Federal adjusted gross income (AGI)
• Federal income taxes paid

35
FAFSA Step Two

• Students (and spouses) financial data
  (questions 37-42)
• Exemptions claimed and income earned from work
• Worksheets A and B untaxed income
• Worksheet C income excluded from EFC calculation

36
FAFSA Step Two

• Students (and spouses) financial data
  (questions 43-47)
• Total cash, savings, and checking
• Net worth of investments
• Net worth of businesses and investment farms
• Veterans educational benefits received during
  award year

37
Step 3 To determine status of student

• Dependent vs. Independent
• All students are dependent meaning you as parents
  need to submit your information in Step 4
• Rare circumstances for Independent and you would
  be working with counselor and schools for that

38
FAFSA Step Three

• Students dependency status (questions 48-54)
• If all no responses, student is dependent
• If yes to any question, student is independent

39
Step 4 Parents General Information, Income and
Assets

• What is parents marital status?
• Married/single, divorced/separated, single,
  widowed
• Terminology here is important and dictates how
  you answer the rest of the questions in this
  section

40
Definitions Who is considered a parent?

• If the students parents are both living and
  married to each other, answer the questions about
  both parents
• If the students parent is widowed or single,
  answer the questions about that parent only.

41
Who is the parent (continued)

• If the students parents have divorced or
  separated, answer the questions only about the
  parent the student lived with most in the last 12
  months If the student did not live with one
  parent more than with the others, answer only in
  terms of the parent who provided the most
  financial support during the last 12 months
• If the students parent is widowed or divorced
  and has remarried, answer the questions about
  that parent and his or her current spouse.

42
Step 4 questions to watch out for

• Make sure social security numbers are correct
• Read directions on how to determine the number of
  people in your household
• Question will be here again about did you file a
  return or will you etc
• Parent/Student worksheet questions are important
  to fill in they do not get mailed in but you
  need to have them on file
• More info that gets plugged into the form

43
FAFSA Step Four

• General demographic information for parents of
  dependent students (questions 55-64)
• Marital status
• SSNs, last names, first initials, and dates of
  birth

44
FAFSA Step Four

• Financial and household data for parents of
  dependent students (questions 65-69)
• Household size
• Number in college
• State and date of legal residency

45
FAFSA Step Four

• Financial data for parents of dependent students
  (questions 70-77)
• Federal tax return filing status
• Taxable income, exemptions claimed, and income
  earned from work

46
FAFSA Step Four

• Financial data for parents of dependent students
  (questions 78-80)
• Worksheets A and B untaxed income
• Worksheet C income excluded from EFC calculation

47
FAFSA Step Four

• Financial data for parents of dependent students
  (questions 81-83)
• Total cash, savings, and checking accounts
• Net worth of investments
• Net worth of businesses and investment farms

48
FAFSA Step Five

• Household data for independent student, and
  spouse if married (questions 84-85)
• Household size
• Number in college

49
FAFSA Step Six
List of up to 6 schools to receive FAFSA data
(questions 86-98)

• Federal school code for each school
• Housing plans for each school
• Enrollment status

50
What if the info needs to go to more than six
schools?

• After submitting the FAFSA either by mail or
  online, you will receive a report back and then
  you can add schools
• Directions for submitting more are found online
  or on the paper form directions

51
Step 7 Read, sign and date

• Paper form fill in the information, make sure
  both parent and student sign
• On the web form may be signed electronically as
  long as you the parent and your son/daughter have
  a pin number
• If no pin number you can print out a signature
  page and send it (chance of getting lost or
  forgetting this)

52
FAFSA Step Seven
Signatures and Certifications (questions 99-103)

• Student
• Parent
• Preparer
• (if applicable)

53
ERRORS can be COSTLY!

• Errors on the FAFSA or supplemental forms may
  DELAY application processing and result in the
  LOSS of financial aid funds.
• Read the instructions and complete all forms
  carefully!

54
Frequent FAFSA Errors

• Parent and student Social Security Numbers
• Divorced/remarried parental information
• Income earned by parents/stepparents
• Untaxed income
• U.S. income taxes paid
• Household size
• Number of household members in college
• Real estate and investment net worth

55
CAUTION!

• Avoid being charged a fee to file the Free
  Application for Federal Student Aid
• Completion and processing of the FAFSA are FREE
• If filing via FAFSA on the Web, be sure to go
  directly to www.fafsa.ed.gov
• Contact financial aid office for help completing
  the FAFSA

56
Whats Next? FAFSA Processing Results

• Central Processing System (CPS) notifies student
  of FAFSA processing results by
• Paper Student Aid Report (SAR) if paper FAFSA was
  filed and students e-mail address was not
  provided
• SAR Information Acknowledgement if filed
  electronically via FAFSA on the Web and students
  e-mail address was not provided

57
FAFSA Processing Results

• CPS notifies student of FAFSA processing results
  by
• E-mail notification containing a direct link to
  students on-line SAR if students e-mail was
  provided on paper or electronic FAFSA
• Student with PIN can view SAR on-line at
  www.fafsa.ed.gov

58
Making Corrections

• If necessary, corrections to FAFSA data may be
  made by
• Using FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.ed.gov) if
  student has a PIN
• Updating paper SAR (SAR Information
  Acknowledgement cannot be used to make
  corrections) or
• Submitting documentation to schools financial
  aid office

59
Applying for Institutional Aid

• File FAFSA - all schools
• File CSS Profile - some schools
• File College Financial Aid Form -
• File all three
• File just two
• Need to do the research for all of your schools

60
Institutional Financial Aid Form

• Some schools still ask their own information
• Forms found in with the applications
• Fill in and return directly to the Financial Aid
  Office of the College.
• Follow deadlines exactly

61
CSS Profile

• 1. Register for your customized PROFILE
  Application at www.collegeboard.com
• Form is specific information that colleges want
  to determine eligibility for nonfederal aid
• Ask more than Federal Government
• Must be done online as of this year
• Registration fee 5 - 18 for each college that
  needs the information

62
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE

• PROFILE collects more comprehensive family and
  financial information
• Allows schools to receive information earlier in
  the cycle and to ask customized questions
• Colleges and programs rely on PROFILE data to
  award nonfederal funds to the neediest students
• PROFILE supports Institutional Methodology (IM)

63
PROFILE Registration

• PROFILE requires a simple registration step.
• Online www.collegeboard.com

64
PROFILE Online

• Provides faster service to applicants and to
  schools
• Provides live online help via chat room
• Includes edits and online help to ensure complete
  and accurate information
• Accessed through
• www.collegeboard.com

65
20062007 Student Fees

• PROFILE Registration
• 5
• PROFILE Reporting
• 18 for each school code designated

66
Profile

• Once you register online you are able to print
  out the pre-application worksheet It is 15
  pages
• Much of the info is similar to the FAFSA but
  there are pieces that ask for more details and
  more info
• College specific information is added when you
  decide which colleges are going to need the
  Profile

67
Profile Sections -

• Registration Page general info about student
• Section A Student Information
• Section B Students 2005 Income and Benefits
  (again the filing of taxes, a little different)
• Choices
• estimated will file (type of form)
• From a completed IRS form ( again which type)
• Tax return will not be filed

68
Profile sections

• Section C Students Assets
• Section D Students Trust Information
• Section E Students 2005 Expenses
• Section F Students expected Summer/School Year
  Resources for 2006-2006
• They will expect student to work during summer
  2006

69
Profile Sections

• Section G Parents Household Info
• Get to put in if there are others in college, if
  you are in college
• Marital status
• Section H Parents Expenses
• Get to add tuition you pay for elementary school
  and high school (not this senior)

70
Profile Sections

• Section I Parents Assets
• More info than FAFSA home and mortgage,
• Section J Parents 2004 Income and Benefits
• Last years tax info
• Section K Parents 2005 Income and Benefits
• Estimated etc questions

71
Profile Sections

• Section L Parents 2006 Estimated Income and
  Benefits
• Section M Family Member Listing
• Section N Parents Information
• Section on Parent Loan Information info to get
  you list of available loans

72
Profile Sections

• Section O Information about Noncustodial Parent
  new and different this year
• The Noncustodial parent is the parent who does
  not have custody of the applicant or who provides
  less than 50 of the applicants financial
  support. His or her information will be
  repported in Section O by you

73
Noncustodial Parent

• Many institutions will also require that the
  noncustodial parent complete a noncustodial
  PROFILE (NCP) which is used to evaluate the
  financial strength of the NCP(and his/her current
  spouse).
• Once you submit info the program will tell you if
  you need to have this form done by the NCP

74
Noncustodial Parent

• When you receive notice you must give the
  information to the person Now online and there
  will be directions for both you and the NCP
• If the location of the noncustodial parent is
  unknown, provide as much information as possible
  in Section O. Use Section P to further explain
  your household situation. You may need to
  provide additional documentation to the financial
  aid office at the schools to which you are
  applying

75
Profile Sections

• Section P Explanations/Special Circumstances
• Profile Worksheets Keep
• Section Q Supplemental questions that a
  particular college might ask will appear after
  you submit names of schools - Might not be any-

76
Now What?

• Profile is analyzed and reported back to colleges
  - They apply their own formula to award aid
• You will receive confirmation of what you have
  sent
• Always check and update information

77
Applying for Aid from Organizations/Other

• Many require that you file the FAFSA
• Not necessarily for a need based award, just to
  see that you tried - also remember it is based
  on who else applies - your need might be more
  than theirs

• Individual forms and requirements
• Read thoroughly - make sure that the student
  really qualifies
• Community service is a big part of many of them -
  15 hours are not enough

78
Timeline for Financial Aid

• Reminders Missing a filing date with either the
  Federal Government or the College will
  automatically put you at a great disadvantage

79
Tasks

• January
• Work and finish taxes ASAP
• If unable to do taxes estimate
• Fill in accurate info on FAFSA and CSS Profile
• Meet all deadlines
• Forms cannot be mailed prior to Jan 1

• February
• Forms should be mailed by 15th - the 1st is
  better!
• Make copies of everything before mailing

80
Tasks

• March
• Make sure you receive your SAR
• Check, correct, copy, r
• Check info on Profile also

• April
• Receive Financial Aid Packages
• Compare packages, make sure you know which school
  is really giving you the most free aid
• Call the Financial Aid Office at the college of
  your choice if there are special circumstances etc

81
More tasks

• May
• May 1st deadline, you must notify schools of
  where you will be going
• Let other schools know if you are not accepting
  their financial aid or admissions offer
• Look into Bank Loans

• June
• Begin the budgeting process for college payments
• Save summer earnings for your incidentals
• Celebrate - you made it!

82
Use resources

• Internet
• www.fafsa.ed.gov
• www.collegeboard.com
• www.fastweb.com
• www.finaid.com
• www.nacac.com
• www.educaid.com

83
Use Resources

• Internet
• College Financial Aid Offices
• Publications handed out from school