Transcript Financial Aid Basics Leslie Limper Director of Financial Aid Reed College Tonight’s Agenda • Overview of The Financial Aid Process • How do I apply? •

Financial Aid Basics
Leslie Limper
Director of Financial Aid
Reed College
Tonight’s Agenda
• Overview of The Financial Aid Process
• How do I apply?
• What is financial need?
• Cost of Attendance (COA)
• The Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
• Types of Financial Aid
• Sources of Financial Aid
• Resources for additional information
The Financial Aid Process
• Application for admission
• Application for financial aid (FAFSA)
• Supplemental applications (CSS Profile, institutional and
scholarship applications)
• Determination of eligibility
• Notification of award
• Acceptance of award
• Disbursement of award
Initial Considerations
• Merit vs. Need
• Need Blind vs. Need Aware
• Early Decision vs. Early Action vs. Regular
Decision
• Level of Parental Involvement
• Beyond the Freshman Year
FAFSA: Free Application for Federal
Student Aid
• For the 2014-15 academic year, the FAFSA
may be filed beginning January 1, 2014
• Colleges may set FAFSA filing deadlines
• Collects financial information used to
calculate the family’s expected family
contribution
• May be filed electronically, or paper version
may be obtained by calling 1-800-4FEDAID
FAFSA on the Web Home Page
www.fafsa.gov
Don’t Go There!
www.fafsa.com
Student Financial Aid (SFA) PIN
• Web site: www.pin.ed.gov
• Sign FAFSA electronically
• Can request PIN before
January 1, 2014
• Not required, but speeds
processing
• May be used by students and
parents throughout aid
process, including
subsequent school years
FAFSA Completion Challenges
• Correct Social Security Numbers
• Definition of a parent
• Student independency criteria
• Assets
Unmarried and Married:
Who are The Parents?
• Never married, living separately: Include the legal
custodial parent only
• Never married, living together: Include both legal
parents (note: do not include partners who are not
the student’s parent)
• Same sex couples in a state-recognized marriage:
Include both parents or legal parent and stepparent
Separated, Divorced, Remarried:
Who is The Parent?
1.
Who did the student live with more during the past 12
months? NONE/EQUAL, then
2.
Who provided the most support in the past 12
months? NONE/EQUAL, then
3.
Who provided the most support during the most
recent year that student actually received support?
WHO LAST CLAIMED STUDENT?
Remember, include information for stepparent if currently
married to The Parent.
Student Independency Criteria
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Born before January 1, 1991 (age 24)
Married
Graduate student
On active service in the US Armed Forces or a veteran of the US
Armed Forces
Provide more than one half of the support for applicant’s children or
other dependents
Orphans, wards of the court, or in foster care
Emancipated minors (requires a court order)
In a legal guardianship (requires a court order)
Unaccompanied minors who are homeless or at risk of being
homeless
Made independent as a result of documented special circumstances
Assets
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Assets include:
• Current cash, savings, and checking balances
• Investments (including stocks, bonds, trust funds, 529
plans)
• Rental properties and second homes
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Assets do not include:
• Primary residences
• Family owned businesses (under 100 employees)
• Family owned farms
• Retirement accounts
Supplemental Financial Aid
Applications
• College Scholarship Service PROFILE (CSS
PROFILE)
• Non-Custodial PROFILE (NCP)
• Institutional supplemental forms
College Scholarship Service
(CSS) PROFILE
• Available in the fall of a student’s senior year (useful
for ED and EA admission programs)
• Used by private, usually selective colleges to
determine eligibility for need based institutional
grant funds
• Allows families to more completely describe their
financial commitments (medical, private elementary
and secondary school expenses)
• Fee-based ($25 for first report, $16 for additional
reports)
CSS Profile (IM) vs. FAFSA (FM)
• Includes home equity as an asset
• Does not allow losses to offset earned income
• Non Custodial Parent Profile (NCP) calculates a
contribution from the non-custodial parent based on
financial information submitted by that parent
Special Circumstances
• Cannot report on FAFSA
• Send explanation to financial aid office at
each college
• College will review special circumstances
• Request additional documentation
• Decisions are final and cannot be appealed to U.S.
Department of Education
Special Circumstances
• Change in employment status
• Medical expenses not covered by insurance
• Change in parent marital status
• Unusual dependent care expenses
• Student cannot obtain parent information
What is Financial Need?
Cost of Attendance (COA)
–
Expected Family Contribution
(EFC)
= Financial Need
What is Cost of Attendance
• Direct costs
• Indirect costs
• Direct and indirect costs combined into cost
of attendance
• Vary widely from college to college
What is the Expected Family
Contribution (EFC)?
• Amount family can be expected to contribute for one
year of educational expenses
• Stays the same regardless of college, although
colleges may use a different analysis for their
institutional funding
• Two components
• Parent contribution
• Student contribution
• Calculated using FAFSA data and a federal formula
What is the Expected Family
Contribution (EFC)?
• Considers parent and student income
• Considers parent and student assets
• Considers number of family members
• Considers number of children in college (excludes
parents in college)
• Does NOT consider an individual family’s monthly
financial commitments, such as mortgage, living
expenses, consumer debt, etc.
Examples of Financial Need
Private
College
Cost of
Attendance
EFC
Demonstrated
Need
4 Year Public
Community
College
$43,000
$23,000
$16,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$38,000
$18,000
$11,000
Types of Financial Aid
• Scholarships (Merit)
• Grants (Need)
• Loans
• Employment
Scholarships
• Money that does not have to be paid back
• Awarded on the basis of merit, skill, or a unique
characteristic
Grants
• Money that does not have to be paid back
• Usually awarded on the basis of financial need
Loans
• Money students and parents borrow to help pay
educational expenses
• Repayment usually begins after education is finished
• Only borrow what is really needed
• Look at loans as an investment in the future
Student Loans
• Federal: Fixed interest, may be subsidized
by federal government depending on need,
no credit test for student
• Private, alternative: Offered by private
lenders, interest/fees based on credit score,
often require credit worthy co-signer
Parent Loans
• Federal PLUS: Parents can borrow for
dependent student
• Non custodial parent can borrow for
dependent student
• Step parent can borrow if step-parent’s
financial information is reported on FAFSA
• Parents can borrow up to cost of attendance,
less any other financial aid
Employment
• Allows student to earn money to help pay
educational costs
• A paycheck
• Funds not available until student works and
turns in a time sheet
Sources of Financial Aid
• Federal government
• State (Oregon Student Assistance Commission)
• Colleges and universities
• Private sources, civic organizations, and
churches
Federal Student Aid Programs
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Supplemental
Educational
Opportunity Grant
• Federal Work-Study
• Direct Loans
• PLUS Loans
Oregon
• Oregon Opportunity Grant (FAFSA)
• Oregon Student Assistance Commission
(www.oregonstudentaid.gov)
Colleges and Universities
• Need based grants
• Merit based scholarships
• Athletic
• Music
• Theatre
• Other special talent or interest
The Perfect World
An ideal financial aid package would ensure that
financial aid applicants are not deterred by cost of
attendance at their first choice college
The Real World
A student’s financial aid package is influenced positively or
negatively by the availability of funds, annual award
amounts and limits, as well as institutional priorities,
such as:
• Enrollment goals
• Academic profile
• Diversity (economic, ethnic)
• Extracurricular activities (sports, music, theatre, etc.)
• Legacy
Award Notification
• A financial aid “package” sent to the student by the
school(s) in paper or electronic format
• May require written acceptance
• May include loan information
• Requires careful scrutiny since content and format
vary
• Financial Aid Shopping Sheet may help standardize
format
Additional Considerations
• “Need” is a federally defined concept and may
not reflect a family’s actual financial situation
• Schools may not be able to meet all of a family’s
federally defined “need” with financial aid
• Future indebtedness should be carefully
considered when accepting loans
• Families should report to the school any special
circumstances that will affect their ability to pay
for college
Net Price Calculators
• Mandated by federal law
• “Net Price” is the total Cost of Attendance minus all
grant aid
• Some schools will also include information on loans
and work
Net Price Calculators
• Accuracy of net price result is only as good as
the accuracy of the information you enter
• Results will vary from college to college
• Use caution when providing personally
identifiable information such as name, date of
birth, or email address
• Comparative net price information can be found
at: http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
Resources for Additional
Information
• College web sites
• Federal Student Aid at http://www.studentaid.gov
• https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org
• http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator
Scholarship Searches
• http://apps.facebook.com/mycollegedollars
• www.fastweb.com
• http://go.salliemae.com/scholarship/
• http://www.careerinfonet.org/scholarshipsearch/
What Can I Do Now?
• Apply for a PIN for student AND parent
• Use Net Price Calculators on college web sites to get
an estimate of your expected family contribution
(EFC) and eligibility for financial aid OR visit
www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov
• Make a spreadsheet of all admission and financial
aid application requirements and deadlines.
• Visit www.oregonstudentaid.gov and start your
OSAC scholarship application.
Questions?