Financial Aid: FAFSA and Beyond Tony San Nicolas, Assistant Director Saint Mary’s College of California

Financial Aid: FAFSA and Beyond What is Financial Aid? Types of Financial Aid What is the FAFSA? FAFSA Beyond the FAFSA 2017-2018 ‘early’ FAFSA

What is Financial Aid? Financial Aid is any grant or scholarship, loan, or paid employment offered to help a student meet his/her college expenses. Such aid is usually provided by various sources such as federal and state agencies, colleges, high schools, foundations, and corporations.

Scholarships and Grants Need based Merit based Types of Financial Aid Scholarships and Grants Need based Merit based Employment opportunities Federal work study Other

Federal Parent PLUS Loan (6.31%) Other Types of Financial Aid Loans Student Federal Subsidized (3.76%) Federal Unsubsidized (3.76%) Private, alternative (per credit) Federal Parent PLUS Loan (6.31%) Other Personal bank/credit union (per credit) Home equity (per credit/equity)

Financial Aid Dependent on FAFSA Scholarships and Grants Need based Merit (some merit based scholarships do require FAFSA) Employment opportunities Federal work study Loans Student Federal Subsidized (3.76%) Federal Unsubsidized (3.76%) Federal Parent PLUS Loan (6.31%)

So…What is the FAFSA? FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This online application is used by postsecondary institutions to determine students’ eligibility for grants, scholarships, loans, and federal work study.

FAFSA

TIMING OF TAXES, CAN USE COMPLETED 2015 TAXES Getting Started Create FSA ID for student (on website) Create FSA ID for parent (at least one, custodial, on website) Tax documents and/or W-2s for student (if applicable) Tax documents and/or W-2s for parent (both or custodial) OR Use IRS data retrieval tool on the FAFSA online application DISCUSS TIMING OF TAXES, CAN USE COMPLETED 2015 TAXES FAFSA CAN BE RE-DONE

Beyond the FAFSA: Verification Department of Education (DOE) selects approximately 30% of FAFSAs for process of ‘verification’: Confirmation of figures, data, information submitted Additional documents required Failure to meet the verification requirements can result in delay or forfeiture of financial aid DISCUSS TAX FILING TIMING, CAN USE COMPLETED 2015 TAXES

Beyond the FAFSA: Special Circumstances Adjustments based on ‘special circumstances’ may be made to information on a case-by-case basis Special circumstances may include: Dependency status Income and assets Child support Number in household or college Private elementary/secondary tuition Medical or dental expenses (not covered by insurance)

Beyond the FAFSA: Special Circumstances Contact individual Financial Aid Offices (FAO) for additional guidance and required forms A detailed explanation should include: Student’s name and other identifier (SSN, Student ID#) Specific financial details Time period involved Supporting documentation Adjustments may vary from college to college

Beyond the FAFSA: Resources Studentaid.gov Information on ‘all things’ federal financial aid https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/ Fastweb Registration website for scholarships Majority for HS seniors http://www.fastweb.com/ Cal Grant For California HS students (GPA GPA verification form and FAFSA required (deadline March 2nd) http://www.csac.ca.gov/ College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile Required by some private institutions (Not Saint Mary’s) Similar information required as FAFSA, more in depth https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile http://www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/2016/01/30/2016-guide-to-college-financial-aid-the-fafsa-and-css-profile/#4d4686c84a45

Beyond the FAFSA: Net Price Calculators Available on all college websites ESTIMATES financial aid Based on current year ‘Cost of Attendance’ Can include need based and merit based scholarships or grants from each school FAFSA Estimator

Financial Aid ‘Life Cycle’ Complete Net Price Calculators At websites of colleges considering Complete FAFSA (at fafsa.gov) At website fafsa.gov Review Student Aid Report (SAR) Generated by FAFSA completion, Summary of FAFSA, Make corrections to FAFSA if needed Receive Award Letters From colleges accepted to Submit documents for appeals/verification If applicable, to colleges accepted to, early the better Receive Revised Award Letter If applicable, from colleges accepted to MAKE COLLEGE ATTENDANCE DECISION

2017-2018 ‘early’ FAFSA Can do FAFSA by October 2016 since is based of 2015 tax information Can know financial information sooner Minimizes issues/delays because of taxes Must use 2015 taxes, special circumstances via appeal

Assistant Director of Financial Aid Saint Mary’s College of California Questions Tony San Nicolas Assistant Director of Financial Aid Saint Mary’s College of California (925) 631- 4370 afs3@stmarys-ca.edu