Financial Aid: Planning and Awareness Paxton-Buckley-Loda Andrew Reddington Associate Director of Financial Aid Illinois Wesleyan University

Financial Aid Terms Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Student Aid Report (SAR) Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Prior-Prior Year (PPY) Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) CSS PROFILE Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC)

Principles of Financial Aid Ability to Pay vs. Willingness to Pay Parent’s Responsibility Student’s Responsibility A family’s ability to pay must be evaluated in an equitable and consistent manner. Determining Financial ‘Need’

Merit vs Need-based Scholarships are typically based on “Merit” Academic, fine arts, athletic, leadership qualities Awarded by colleges and universities, organizations, businesses, clubs Renewable and Non-renewable Grants typically based on “Need” State and Federal programs Colleges/Universities Evaluated each year

Filing the FAFSA Register for an FSA ID Student Needs One One Parent Needs One Register at www.studentaid.ed.gov Parent and Student Must use Separate Email Addresses Use IRS Data Retrieval Tool (if possible)

Prior-Prior Year 2017-18 FAFSA is available Oct. 1, 2016 FAFSA previously wasn’t available until January 1st 2017-18 will use 2015 tax information instead of 2016 FAFSA will then be based on the Prior-Prior Year’s (PPY) tax information

IRS Data Retrieval Tool Imports Tax Info to the FAFSA Available approx. 2 weeks after taxes are filed with IRS using electronic transmission Not done after Congratulations Notice Can be used as a component in verification May not work in all family situations

Problematic FAFSA Questions Student’s Social Security Number Dependency Questions Taxes Paid (not amount withheld on W-2) Signatures Untaxed Income Investments and Business/Farm Value carefully read what is included and excluded

Determining the Family Contribution Parent Contribution + Student Contribution Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

Determining Family Contribution Family Income (AGI plus untaxed income) Family Size Number of Children in College Parents Assets Age of Parents Student’s Income Student’s Assets Other…..

Special Circumstances: Appeals Professional Judgments can be used by the school to modify FAFSA information for certain circumstances Reduction of Income - (retirement, furloughs, etc…) Loss of Employment Medical Expenses - (not covered by insurance or FSA’s) Non-Reoccurring or One-Time Income Elder or Disability Care Expenses - (not covered by insurance or FSA’s) Other

Determining Financial Need Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution Financial Need

Meeting the Need Gift Assistance Loan Assistance Employment Grants Scholarships State Grants (MAP Grant) Federal Grants – Pell and SEOG Loan Assistance Federal Direct Loans Other Loans Employment Campus Work Study (On/Off Campus)

Grants Federal Grants State Grants Institutional Need Based Grants Pell Grant SEOG Grant (Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant) State Grants MAP Grant (Monetary Award Program) Other Programs Institutional Need Based Grants Need Based Grants from Colleges and Universities

Federal Direct Loans Seen as lowest interest rates on student loans The FAFSA must be completed to qualify Current interest rate is 3.76% Repayment begins 6 months after the student graduates or falls below half-time No Repayment While Student is in School

Subsidized vs Unsubsidized Financial Need Subsidized = need based Unsubsidized = not based on need Interest Accrual Subsidized- Government pays interest while student is attending at least half-time status Unsubsidized - Interest Always Accrues Origination Fee = 1.069% (of the principle)

Federal Direct Loan Limits Freshman- $5500 (Sub. max.$3500) Sophomore- $6500 (Sub. max. $4500) Junior- $7500 (Sub. max. $5500) Senior- $7500 (Sub. max. $5500)

Other Payment Options Parent PLUS Loan Private/Alternative Loans Fixed Interest Rate – Currently 6.31% 4.276% Origination Fee (Government Fee) Ex: $1,000 Loan- School Receives $958 Repay While Student is in School (120 payments/10 years) Private/Alternative Loans Based on Student/Co-signer Credit Worthiness Interest Rates are Variable or Fixed Most do not Require Payment While Student is in School Payment Plans Breaks up Balance into Monthly Installments May or May not Have a Fee to Set Up

College Savings Plans (529’s) Billed by the University to the plan provider College Illinois 529 Prepaid Plans Out of State 529 Plans

Comparing Colleges and Costs A B C Cost of College 20,000 35,000 50,000 EFC 3,000 3,000 3,000 Remaining Cost 17,000 32,000 47,000 Breakdown: Grant 9,500 24,500 39,500 Loan 5,500 5,500 5,500 Job 2,000 2,000 2,000 Total Aid 17,000 32,000 47,000

Notes Can accept or decline any portion of a FA proposal Understand scholarship renewal qualifications Be aware of scholarship scams Juniors - use calculators on websites, don’t file FAFSA Consider possibility of graduation in 4 vs 5 years

Helpful Tips Use IRS Data Retrieval on FAFSA Read Instructions carefully Know state and institutional deadlines for applications (IWU is Nov. 1st) Use a completed Tax Return if possible Make copies of all the forms you send

Suggested Websites www.finaid.org www.collegezone.com www.collegeboard.com www.fastweb.com www.fafsa.ed.gov www.studentaid.ed.gov www.iwu.edu

Andrew Reddington areddin1@iwu.edu (309) 556-3276 Contact Info Andrew Reddington areddin1@iwu.edu (309) 556-3276

Question Time!!