Financial Aid 101

Steve Booker, Director of Financial Aid

What is Financial Aid? Paying for college is primarily the

responsibility of the family Financial aid consists of funds provided to

students and families to help pay for postsecondary educational expenses

Most aid is need-based but some is based on academic talent or achievement (merit scholarships)

Types of Financial Aid Scholarships Grants Loans Employment

Gift Aid

Self-Help Aid

Sources of Financial Aid Federal government States Institutions Private sources

Scholarships Money that does not have to be paid

back Awarded on the basis of merit, skill,

or unique characteristic Considered ‘Non-Need’

Scholarship Sources State

Florida Bright Futures Awards Florida Academic Scholars Fund - $103 per credit Florida Medallion Scholars Award - $77 per credit Florida Vocational Gold Seal Award - $77 per credit, 2 yr

Institutional Merit-based awards Talent-based awards

Athletic aid Performance scholarships

Music, Art, Theatre, etc. Private Sources

www.fastweb.com www.scholarships.com

Grants Money that does not have to be paid back Usually awarded on the basis of financial

need In general, FAFSA is required

Grant Sources State- 2015-2016 Academic Year

Florida Resident Access Grant - $3,000 Florida Student Assistance Grant - $2,610 max

Federal- 2015-2016 Academic Year Pell Grant - $5,775 max Supplemental Ed Opportunity Grant (SEOG) -

$4,000 max Institutional Florida Pre-Paid Plan

Loans Borrow to help pay college expenses Repayment usually begins after education

(federal loans have a six or nine month grace period depending on loan type)

Only borrow what is really needed Look at loans as an investment in the future

Loan Sources Federal:

Federal Stafford Loan Subsidized versus Unsubsidized

Subsidized Maximums $3,500, $4,500, $5,500

Perkins Loan- no longer available, program expired October 2015

Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS loan)

Private: Always consider federal loans first!

EmploymentAllows student to earn money to help pay educational costs A paycheck; or Non-monetary compensation, such as room

and board

Employment Sources Federal College Work Study

Need-based Experiential Income is excluded from future FAFSA

Institutional work programs State work programs (Florida Work

Experience Program)

Applying for Financial Aid: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

A standard form that collects demographic and financial information about the student and family.

Filed electronically or using paper form.

Information used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution or EFC.

Colleges use EFC to award financial aid.

FAFSA

January 1st

What is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Factor Stays the same regardless of college Two components

Parent contribution Student contribution

Calculated using data from a federal application form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and a federal formula (EFC Formula)

College Costs

Direct Costs Tuition Required Fees Room and Board

Indirect Costs Books and Supplies Personal Misc

How is financial need calculated?

Cost of Attendance (direct and indirect costs)

– Expected Family Contribution (from FAFSA)

Gross Financial Need

Cost Comparison

Private University

60,000 (COA)- 10,000 (EFC) 50,000 (Need)

Public University

20,000 (COA)- 10,000 (EFC) 10,000 (Need)

TimelineJanuary/February Complete all admission requirements Complete federal tax returns Complete the FAFSAFebruary/March Complete verification of information (if necessary) Respond to any questions from the Financial Aid OfficeMarch/April Receive financial aid award letter Reply to offers of aidMay 1 Confirm admission decision Complete all steps necessary to secure offered aid you

intend to accept Notify Financial Aid Office of outside scholarships

Benefits of Filing Electronically

Avoid unnecessary questions Built-in edits to prevent costly errors Timely submission Detailed instructions and “help” Ability to check application status on-line Simplified application process in the future Use Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data

retrieval

IRS Data Retrieval

Submit real-time request to IRS for tax data IRS will authenticate taxpayer’s identity IRS sends real-time results to applicant Choose whether or not to transfer data

IRS Data Retrieval

Available early February 2016 for 2016–17 processing cycle

Participation is voluntary Reduces documents requested

Frequent FAFSA Errors 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

Special Circumstances Cannot report on FAFSA Send written explanation to financial aid

office at each college Examples:

Change in employment status Medical expenses not covered by insurance Change in parent marital status Other

Net Price Calculator (NPC) Every college must provide an NPC More detailed, but it’s only an estimate

IMPORTANT: On the Horizon…Changes to the FAFSA for 2017-18

Students will be able to submit a 2017-18 FAFSA as early as October 1, 2016, rather than beginning on January 1, 2017

Students and parents will report income information from an earlier tax year (2015 instead of 2016)

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*Slide obtained from the U.S. Department of Education

Helpful Websites www.fafsa.gov File the FAFSA online. www.studentaid.ed.gov Information and links. www.fastweb.com Private scholarship

database. www.scholarships.com Outside scholarships. www.nasfaa.org/AnnualPubs/CashforCollege.PDF www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org http://www.fasfaa.org/cgs

**Portion of slides provided by NASFAA.