Presenters: Carly J. Kestner, Director of Financial Aid and

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BLUEFIELD COLLEGEFinancial Aid Webinar

• Presenters
• Carly J. Kestner, Director of Financial Aid and
• Mark L. Hipes, Director of Traditional Admissions

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OVERVIEW

• What is financial aid?
• What aid is available?
• Where does it come from?
• How is financial aid calculated?
• How do I apply?

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WHAT IS FINANCIAL AID?

• Scholarships
• Grants
• Loans
• Work-Study

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WHAT AID IS AVAILABLE?

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

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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

• Federal Government
• Pell Grant Max for 2013-14 is 5,550
• SEOG Up to 800 at Bluefield College
• Stafford Loans - 5,500 for most Freshmen
• Work-Study Up to 1,000 -1,200 at Bluefield
  College
• State Government
• TAG Grant for full-time Virginia Residents- Award
  for 2012-13 is 2,800, potential increase 3,100
• 2 Year Transfer Grant for qualifying VA residents
  -1,000

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How is financial aid calculated?

• PELL- the EFC range to receive Federal Pell Grant
  funding is 0-4995. Awards range from 577 to
  5,550. Student who qualify are limited to 6
  years of full-time enrollment funding.
• SEOG- limited funding awarded to students with
  high need as calculated by federal government.
• FWS (Workstudy)- limited funding awarded to
  students with need. Offered first to students who
  meet our priority deadline of March 15.
• Interest-Subsidized Direct Loan- students with
  need after all other aid has been applied, up to
  3,500 can be awarded to a freshman.
• Unsubsidized Direct Loan- student does not have
  to demonstrate need to qualify. Up to 2,000 for
  freshmen qualifying for the full subsidized loan.

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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

• Bluefield College (Freshman)
• Merit Scholarships are determined by an equal
  evaluation of test scores (SAT and ACT) and GPA,
  and determined at admittance. Annual award
  of
• LANSDELL SCHOLARSHIP 8,000
• HARMAN SCHOLARSHIP 6,000
• TRUSTEES SCHOLARSHIP- 4,000
• DEANS SCHOLARSHIP- 2,000
• ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP- 1,000

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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

• PRESIDENTIAL SPIRE SCHOLARSHIPS Students will
  be asked to come to campus for an interview and
  to compete by writing an essay. Minimum GPA of
  3.75 and 1100 SAT or 25 ACT to participate in the
  competition. The Presidential is a full
  tuition scholarship. 2 will be awarded.The
  Spire is an additional 2,000 scholarship in
  addition to the merit awards.

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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

• Bluefield College (Transfer)
• Merit Scholarships are determined by the
  transfer GPA. Annual award of
• LANSDELL SCHOLARSHIP (3.25 GPA and
  above)5,000
• HARMAN SCHOLARSHIP (2.75-3.24 GPA) 3,000
• TRUSTEES SCHOLARSHIP- (2.25-2.74 GPA) 2,000

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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

• Bluefield College Resources (All New Students)
• Bluefield College Access Grant students not
  receiving athletic talent money and who
  demonstrate financial need qualify. Amounts vary
  based on academic ranking and need.
• Athletic Scholarships NAIA, Division I
• Fine Arts Scholarships

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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

• Other Sources of Assistance
• Church
• Place of Employment
• Civic Organizations
• Local Banks
• Veterans Administration- Montgomery G.I.
  Bill, Post 9-11, Yellow Ribbon
• Virginia Baptist Foundation
• Baptist General Association of Virginia
• Rehabilitative Services
• SCHEV www.schev.edu

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Private Scholarship Search

• FREE Internet scholarship search engines
• FinAid on the Web www.finaid.org
• The College Board www.collegeboard.com
• FastWeb www.fastweb.com
• GoCollege (The Collegiate Websource)
  www.gocollege.com

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HOW DO I APPLY FOR AID?

• Get a PIN (to electronically sign your federal
  application) at www.pin.ed.gov
• Complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.govApplica
  tions for 2013-14 can be completed as early as
  January 1, 2013
• Our School Code is 003703
• Virginia residents complete the 2013-14 Virginia
  Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) applicationForm
  available on our website at www.bluefield.edu/form
  s

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Documents needed to complete the FAFSA

• Social Security Card Drivers License
• 2012 Federal Tax Return information, which can be
  accessed at the time you file the FAFSA by
  selecting IRS data retrieval
• Allow 2-3 weeks for a tax return submitted
  electronically
• Allow 4-6 weeks if you filed a paper tax return
• It is best to file your tax return early, and
  prior to submitting the FAFSA! But do not wait
  to file if this causes you to miss our March 15
  priority FAFSA filing date.

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Documents needed to complete the FAFSA

• Statements or Summary of Assets as of the date
  you file the FAFSA
• Untaxed Income Sources- Workers Compensation,
  Settlements, Child Support, Deferred Pension
  Plans

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Frequent FAFSA Errors

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

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Independent Status Definition

• Criteria to qualify as Independent include
• At least 24 years old by December 31 of award
  year covered by the FAFSA
• Graduate or professional student
• Married
• Has children or dependents (other than a spouse)
  for whom the student provides more than half of
  support
• Orphan or ward/dependent of the court
• Veteran of U.S. Armed Forces
• Determined to be independent byfinancial aid
  administrator based onunusual circumstances

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MEET THE DEADLINES

• Our priority filing date for the FAFSA on the Web
  is March 15, 2013.
• Our priority deadline for submitting all
  remaining financial aid documents and forms is
  June 1, 2013.
• The state on-time cutoff to file the Virginia TAG
  application is July 31, 2013.

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IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• Read all materials and instructions carefully.
  Most correspondence will come via to you email.
  Contact us if there is anything you dont
  understand.
• Keep a copy of all of the forms that you
  complete, including the FAFSA on the Web, the
  VTAG application, and any other scholarships for
  which you apply.
• Get your student involved in the process.
• Utilize MyBC.

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IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• Dont get caught up in scams
• Meet the deadlines
• Information Release Form
• Find all of BCs forms and quicklinks at
  www.bluefield.edu/forms

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IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• Call or email the Financial Aid Office if you
  have questions!
• 1-800-872-0175