Money Matters:

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• Money Matters
• Financing Your Education
• Presented by
• Susie O'Donnell and Cree Bradford
• Student Finance Consultants, Student Financial
  Services

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Financing Your Education

• How to apply
• How eligibility is determined
• What aid is available?

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Application Process

• Submit the Free Application for Federal Student
  Aid (FAFSA) prior to your schools deadline
• Freshmen Late January
• Continuing Late March
• To ensure maximum consideration for federal,
  state, and institutional aid, check information
  from each school to determine
• Required application materials (FAFSA, Profile)
• Application deadlines

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Free Application for Federal Student Aid

• Collects familys personal and financial
  information used to calculate the students EFC
• May file the FAFSA in one of two ways
• FAFSA on the Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov
• Paper FAFSA only available via calling
• 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243)

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FAFSA on the Web

• Web site www.fafsa.ed.gov
• 2008-09 FAFSA available on or after January 1,
  2008
• Pre-Application Worksheet built-in edits to
  help prevent costly errors

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To Register for a PIN www.pin.ed.gov
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Independent Student Definition

• At least 24 years old by December 31 of award
  year covered by FAFSA
• Graduate or professional student
• Married
• Has legal dependents other than a spouse
• Orphan or ward/dependent of the court
• Veteran of U.S. Armed Forces
• Currently serving on active duty in US Armed
  Forces for purposes other than training

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What Information is Reported?

• Student income and asset values
• Parent income and asset values
• Income reported is from previous years federal
  tax return
• Untaxed income (social security, child support
  received, voluntary contributions to retirement
  plan)
• Household size
• Number of dependents attending college at least
  half-time

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Reporting Income

• Income based on federal tax return
• For 2008-09 school year, use 2007 tax return
• Okay to estimate until you have filed your return
• Wages (from W-2), AGI, Taxes Paid, Business
  Income, Capitol Gains, Social Security
• Untaxed Income and Exclusions to Income
  (Worksheets A, B, C)

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Reporting Assets

• Cash, Savings and Checking acct. balances as of
  date FAFSA signed
• Net Investment and Real Estate values, including
  college savings, trust funds, vacation
  properties, etc.
• Do not include primary residence or funds held in
  retirement accounts (IRA, 401K, etc)
• Investment farm value
• Net Business value

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Corrections

• If a correction to applicant data is needed, the
  correction may be made
• Using FAFSA on the Web if student has a PIN
• On the paper SAR
• By the school

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Frequent FAFSA Errors

• Divorced/remarried parent information
• Income earned by parents/stepparents
• Untaxed income
• U.S. income taxes paid
• Household size
• Number in postsecondary education
• Real estate and investment net worth

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How Will My School(s) Receive my FAFSA?

• Can list up to 10 schools on FAFSA on the web
• up to 4 schools via paper FAFSA
• FAFSA data will be electronically transmitted to
  all schools listed
• Each School is required to review the data for
  all admitted students, and to calculate
  eligibility for federal student aid

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EFC for Dependent Student

• Determined by the FAFSA
• Parent contribution from income and assets
  (as adjusted if more than one household member
  in college)
• Student contribution from available income and
  assets
• Estimated Family Contribution (EFC)

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Cost of Attendance (COA)

• Tuition and Fees
• Room and Board
• Books and Supplies
• Personal Expenses
• Travel Expenses
• Loan fees

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Definition of Need

• Cost of Attendance (COA)
• Estimated Family Contribution (EFC)
• Financial Need

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What About Cost?

• 2007-08 Direct (billed) expenses
• Tuition 31,700
• Fees 360
• Room and Board 8,265
• 40,325

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What Types of Financial Aid ?

• Grants
• Scholarships
• Loans
• Work-Study

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Federal Aid

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal ACG Grant
• Federal SMART Grant
• Federal SEOG
• Federal Work-Study
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Stafford Loan
• Federal Plus Loan
• Detailed descriptions in The Student Guide

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Federal Pell SEOG Grants

• Pell Grants 400 - 4310/year
• -EFC up to 4110
• SEOG Supplemental Educational Opportunity
  Grant Varies from school to school. UPS award
  amount is 1800 per year.

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NEW Federal Grants!

• Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
• Freshmen and Sophomores only
• 750 first year, 1350 Second Year
• Rigorous High School Curriculum
• Must have a Pell Grant (EFC less than 4110)

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Federal SMART Grant

• SMART Grant
• Juniors and Seniors
• Must be majoring in Science, Math, Engineering,
  Computer Science, or critical foreign language
• 4000/year
• GPA 3.0 or greater
• Must have Pell Grant award (EFC less than 4110)

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Stafford Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized)

• Subsidized Stafford Must demonstrate need
• Unsubsidized Stafford Need is not a
  consideration
• Base annual loan limits (combined subsidized and
  unsubsidized)
• 3,500 for 1st year undergraduates
• 4,500 for 2nd year undergraduates
• 5,500 for each remaining undergraduate year
• 20,500 for each year of graduate/professional
  study

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Stafford Loans

• 6.8 fixed interest rate
• Loan fees up to 3
• Six-month grace period
• 10 year standard repayment period

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Work-Study

• From both State and Federal funding sources
• Undergraduate or graduate students are eligible
• Employment may be on or off campus. Hours
  average 12 hours/week
• Earnings average 2900 per year
• Hourly Wage Rates FWS on campus 7.84-8.99
• Hourly Wage Rate off campus (avg.) 9.50

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State Financial Aid

• Washington State Need Grant 2899-5798/year
• State Work Study SO, JR, SR

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Puget Sound Scholarships

• Deans 3,000
• Presidents 6,000
• Trustee 8,000-9,000
• Awarded at point of admission (separate
  application not required)
• Selection based on academic record and
  standardized test scores
• Renewable for 4 years with min. GPA of 2.5 FR
  Year and 2.8 SO JR years

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Other Puget Sound Aid Programs

• Grants for students with demonstrated merit and
  need
• Talent Scholarships Music, Theatre, Art,
  Forensics. Avg. 1,000 - 4000/year
• Music Scholarships do not require that you be a
  Music Major!
• Academic Scholarships Must submit separate
  application. Business, Leadership, Science,
  Humanities
• Application Deadline February 25
• Can have combination of merit scholarship (one
  only), academic scholarship, talent scholarship,
  and grant (if there is need).

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Private Scholarships!

• Private Scholarships are available from a wide
  variety of sources, including clubs, community
  organizations, credit unions.
• Rotary, Elks, Lions, Kiwanis, PTA, Credit union,
  etc.
• Can be based on merit alone or on a combination
  of merit and financial need.
• Average Private Scholarship approx. 1500

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Scholarships

• There is a direct correlation between time spent
  on scholarship applications and searches and
  scholarships won!
• You might earn 2500 working throughout the
  summer day in and day out. BUT.
• You could spend 20 hours on a few scholarship
  applications and earn the same amount!

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Locating Private Scholarships

• High School Counseling Office
• Local businesses and civic organizations
• Parents places of employment
• Online Search Engines
• Bookstores and Libraries

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Private Scholarship Search

• Free Internet scholarship search engines
• FinAid.org www.finaid.org
• Scholarship Help www.scholarshiphelp.org
• The College Board www.collegeboard.com
• FastWeb.com www.fastweb.com
• TIP use a separate Hotmail email account

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Other Options

• Monthly Payment Plan
• Balance is divided into 10 monthly payments
• Fee (UPS) is 160
• Consider a combination of the PLUS parent loan
  and a payment plan

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PLUS Loans

• Borrowers are parents of dependent undergraduate
  students or graduate students
• Annual loan limit cost of attendance minus other
  aid
• 8.5 fixed interest rate
• Loan fees up to 3
• Repayment begins 60 days after loan is fully
  disbursed

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Special Circumstances

• Some Examples
• Loss of employment, or reduction in income
• Unusually high out-of-pocket medical expenses,
  not including insurance premiums
• Tuition for siblings attending private K-12

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Where Do I Go From Here?

• Obtain and review admission and financial aid
  materials from each school to which you are
  applying
• Meet all application deadlines
• Complete FAFSA and any other application
  materials, such as the College Scholarship
  Services PROFILE application, required by the
  school or your state agency
• Investigate other sources of aid

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Good Luck!