Transcript Everything you wanted to know about Financial Aid…

Everything you wanted to
know about Financial Aid…
A crash course in
the FAFSA and the
Financial Aid
process
Financial Aid
• Funds provided to students and families to help
pay for college expenses
• Offered as gift aid or self help
– Gift aid, generally scholarships and grants,
does not need to be repaid
– Self help could be in the form of loans or work
study
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid
– Must be completed each year
What You’ll Need When Filing
• Parents’ and student’s 2014 income tax
return.
• Parents’ and student’s 2014 W-2 forms.
• Current asset information (examples –
checking account, savings account,
investments, business and farm net worth).
• Parents’ and student’s Social Security card
and driver’s license.
What You’ll Need When Filing
• www.fafsa.gov
• PIN/UserID for the student and ONE parent
• School Codes/Names
• Time
• Your student
The Process of Filing
• Apply for a PIN online www.pin.ed.gov
• Fill out the FAFSA, save and submit
– IRS Data Retrieval Tool
• FAFSA results are sent to schools of choice
AND your State Education Association
• Schools process and create a Financial Aid
Award Letter
• Communicate any changes with the School
Be Careful…
• Don’t leave fields blank (especially drug
related offenses)
• Round to the nearest dollar
• Check your SSN and DL
• Taxes paid (use your 1040, not your W2)
• Marital Status
• Sign and date (student and parent)
• List your colleges of choice
EFC and COA
• Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the
“result” of the FAFSA. This number is based on
your income/asset data and gives schools an idea
of the funds you may have available to help pay
for school
• Cost of Attendance (COA) includes both direct
and indirect costs related to attending each school
• COA – EFC = Financial Need
• Very few schools meet 100% need
Go with the Flow
Once you’ve filed the FAFSA online
Admissions
The first step is to apply and be
accepted. Your admissions application
will serve as your financial aid
application.
Corrections May Be Needed
Sometimes information needs to be
corrected before the FAFSA can
finish processing and be sent to us.
Verification
The FAFSA has some built-in formulas, so
sometimes we need to check the information
you used to file before completing an award
letter.
Lenoir-Rhyne Scholarships
Instead of applying for our
scholarships, many of our scholarships
are applied to you! We‘ll let you know
what you qualify for as deadlines
approach.
Ready to Award
Once families are ready to be
awarded, we will send an initial
financial aid award letter to
you.
What we need to start…
Tax Transcripts
Proof of Child Support, Food Stamps
Verification Worksheet
Show Me the Money!
• Federal Aid (Pell and TEACH grants)
• State Grants (for NC residents and schools
only)
• Institutional Scholarships and Grants
– Academic
– Need Based
– Talent Scholarships
The L Word: LOAN
• Federal Direct Loans
– Subsidized
– Unsubsidized
• PLUS
• Other options
Outside Scholarships
• www.scholarshipexperts.com
• www.brokescholar.com
• www.fastweb.com
• Guidance Counselors
• Friends and Family
Thank you for being here!
• FERPA
• Questions?
Nick Jenkins
Director of Financial Aid
(828) 328-7300