Financial Aid 101 Mary Lou Bledsoe Financial Aid Director What? What is Financial Aid and what is FAFSA? Who? Who can get Financial Aid? How? How do I apply for Financial Aid? When? When are deadlines and what happens next? Where? Where can you get more info? Financial Aid Director Tarrant County College – Northeast Campus fahelp@tccd.edu

What is Financial Aid? Financial aid is money provided by the federal and/or state government, institutions and other sources to help students pay for college This can consist of different programs Grants Loans Scholarships Work-Study Programs

Free Application for Federal Student Aid What is FAFSA? Free Application for Federal Student Aid The FAFSA is the form students and families complete annually to apply for federal financial aid (e.g., Pell Grant, federal loans, work-study). Applicants submit information about their income, assets, and household makeup, which is used to calculate federal financial aid eligibility.

WHO gets federal student aid Every student who meets certain eligibility requirements can get some type of federal student aid, regardless of age or family income. Basic General Eligibility Requirements are: Have a H.S. Diploma or GED U.S. Citizen or Eligible Non-Citizen Register for Selective Service (Male Students) Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress Enroll for an eligible degree or certificate program Enroll at least 6 hours for most programs

How do I Apply? Changes to the FAFSA Starting in Fall 2017 Every Financial Aid Program begins with the FAFSA Create an FSA ID: Student, parent and borrowers should create FSA ID at: www.StudentAid.gov/fsaid FSA ID is used to confirm identity and electronically sign your federal aid documents. Complete the FAFSA at: www.fafsa.gov Do not pay to process this free application Changes to the FAFSA Starting in Fall 2017 Students will be able to file FAFSA or “Early FAFSA” beginning Oct. 1 – a full three months earlier than previously allowed. For the first time, applicants will use prior-prior year tax information when reporting personal and family income (previously, prior year tax information was used). For 2017 – 2018 Available October 1, 2016

Early FAFSA Changes Change #1: Earlier FAFSA Launch 2016-2017 FAFSA available Oct. 1, 2016, at fafsa.gov Change to October 1 will be permanent Change #2: Earlier Income Required Only 2015 tax/income information required IRS Data Retrieval Tool available immediately

Whom Do the FAFSA Changes Affect? What Do I Need to Do Differently? Students applying for federal student aid for the 2017-2018 academic year will be the first to file FAFSA on the new timeline and to use prior-prior year tax data. The Class of 2017 will be the first high school cohort affected. All returning college students will also follow the new procedures. To make sure you are considered for federal student aid: Complete the FAFSA using 2015 tax information. File your FAFSA as soon as possible. The form will be available October 1.

Application Process Looking for Instructions Need Help? Read the Help and Hints on the right side of the screen Available for every question Need Help? Click on the button at the bottom of the page

IRS Data Retrieval Tool Links your processed Tax Return to FAFSA Faster processing of your financial aid Participation is voluntary Reduces documents requested by financial aid

IRS Data Retrieval Tool Be sure to provide the EXACT information as shown on your tax return

IRS Data Retrieval Tool After you’ve been allowed into the IRS website, you’ll see the option for your tax information to be transferred You just click at the bottom of the page to ‘Transfer My Tax Information into the FAFSA’ A confirmation will follow

When are the Deadlines? You may file your FAFSA at anytime, BUT Institutions will publish a Priority Deadline. Will deadlines be earlier due to early FAFSA? We expect that most state and school deadlines will remain approximately the same as in 2016–17. However, several states that offer first come, first served financial aid will change their deadlines from “as soon as possible after January 1” to “as soon as possible after October 1.” So, as always, it’s important that students check their state and school deadlines so that they don’t miss out on any aid. State deadlines: visit fafsa.gov School deadlines: see schools’ websites

Senate Bill 1528 Students Undocumented Students Eligible for State Grant Programs Only Different Application Process Complete Paper TASFA or FAFSA Depending on the institution Submit to Financial Aid Office Include all required documents Submit copy of Affidavit that was admitted as Senate Bill 1528 Receive this documentation from the Registrar’s Office

How the Aid is calculated… The Financial Aid Office uses the following to determine students financial need: Cost of Attendance (COA) and Expected Family Contribution (EFC) COA-EFC = financial need COA: is determined by the school EFC :is figured by the federal processor from the information provided on the FAFSA.

Examples of Cost vs. EFC TCC TCU Dependent Student living at home Total Need 9078 TCU Undergraduate Student living in dorm Cost $52050 EFC 1300 Total Need 50750

Financial Aid Programs Gift Aid: Funds that do not have to be repaid Federal Pell Grant (EFC 0 -- 5234) Federal SEOG (EFC 0 -- 5234) Other (TPEG, TEOG, Book Scholarship, Book Cards) Stars of Tomorrow (TCC Only) T-STEM Challenge Scholarship Program Scholarships State Grants

Up to $4,000 over a maximum of six semesters. Stars of Tomorrow Up to $4,000 over a maximum of six semesters. 12+ semester hours, $800 9-11 Semester hours, $600 6-8 semester hours, $400 To qualify for the Stars of Tomorrow program, students are required to: Apply for Admission at TCCD Apply for Free Application for Student Aid Meet Stars of Tomorrow program requirements Be a resident of Tarrant County for tuition purposes Have graduated and attended school within one year of graduation Graduate Recommended in the top 50 percent of any public or private high school or Distinguished or be exempt from Texas Success Initiative (TSI). Eligibility for home-schooled students who reside in Tarrant County and graduates of high schools who do not have a class rank system is based on TSI exemption through approved tests. Meet the following family income thresholds (as reported on the FAFSA) Submit the Financial Aid and Foundation Scholarship application No. in Household 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Family Income $38,000 $67,000 $72,000 $77,000 $82,000 $87,000 $92,000 $97,000

T-STEM Challenge Scholarship Program TEXAS- Science Technology Engineering Math Merit-based award Meet these requirements • Be a declared major in a STEM instructional program • Submit a scholarship application at http://www.tccd.edu/financialaid • Submit an official high school or GED transcript to any TCC Registrar’s office • Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in high school math and science courses • Agree to complete 30 hours in 2017-2018 (Fall, Spring, Summer) • Complete 80% of coursework per semester • Men between the ages of 18 and 25 must be registered with the Selective Service System Amount • $2,500 per academic year ($1,250 per Fall/Spring) Deadline • Selection begins August 1, 2017 Contact Student Financial Aid Services for more information at: • Northeast Campus 817-515-4243 • Northwest Campus 817-515-4243 • South Campus 817-515-4243 • Southeast Campus 817-515-4243 • Trinity Campus 817-515-4243

Financial Aid Programs Cont. Self-Help: Must be repaid or must work for funds Federal and State College Work-study Allows students to work on or off-campus Federal Subsidized Stafford and Unsubsidized Loans Subsidized loans have deferred interest while in school Unsubsidized loans no deferred interest

Know Your Limits Pell Loans Repeated Classes Maximum Timeframe 12 Full-time Semesters 6 Years of Study Loans Aggregate Limits-$23,000 Subsidized >150% timeframe, subsidy is lost No Subsidized Loans for graduate students Repeated Classes ONLY pay once for previous passed classes (A, B, C, D) Maximum Timeframe 99 Attempted Hours (Associates Degree) 48 Attempted Hours (Certificate Program) 150%

Satisfactory Academic Progress All Students: Must have a 67% completion rate of all hours attempted Completed hours/Attempted hours Must be at least 67% Must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 Maximum Timeframe a student is eligible for financial aid Cannot exceed 150% of the published program length Appeal process for students who do not meet standard depends on school’s policy Effective July 1, 2011

Where to Get More Information Contact Financial Aid (817) 515-4243 1-800-4-FED-AID Website tccd.edu StudentAid.gov Collegeforalltexans.com Collegeboard.com Fastweb.com Social Media Twitter.com/FAFSA Facebook.com/FederalStudentAid YouTube.com/FederalStudentAid Email fahelp@tccd.edu studentaid@ed.gov