Senior Student/Parent Night Thursday, September 15, 2016

Important Senior Items and Dates Senior Fee – Due September 23 FAFSA Opens – October 1 Prom – Proposals Due Next Thursday Childhood Pictures and Senior Picture – Due December 16 Robing Ceremony – End of April (Working on April 27) Yearbook – Ads & Questionnaire

Important Senior Items and Dates MANDITORY Graduation Practice – Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at 2 p.m. Luncheon – 2 – 3 p.m. Practice – 3 – 6 p.m. Graduation – Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 7 p.m. St. James Baptist Church Project Graduation - May 25, 2017 Millennium Youth Entertainment Center 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. I Need a Fundraising & Donation Committee

Financial Aid

Topics We Will Cover Tonight Types of Financial Aid Applying and Determining Aid Financial Aid Timeline

What You Need to Know: Must file every year in college Can file October 1st of your senior year FSA ID – Federal Student Aid ID (Parent/Student) The earlier the BETTER!!

New Opening Date

How Do Individuals Apply? Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) www.FAFSA.gov

The next screen shows us the FAFSA “Home” page.

Types of Financial Aid Grants: Money that is mostly awarded on the basis of need and DOES NOT have to be repaid. Work Study: Programs of on or off-campus jobs for students who demonstrate financial need. Hours are limited. Loans: Money that is borrowed that must be repaid with interest. Scholarships: Awards that are based on need, merit, or achievement.

Defining “Financial Aid” What? Free/Pay Back? Merit/Need? How? When?

Defining “Financial Aid” What? Free/Pay Back? Merit/Need? How? When? Scholarships Loans 4 types of financial aid a student can receive for college? Grants Work - Study

Defining “Financial Aid” What? Free/Pay Back? Merit/Need? How? When? Scholarships FREE But student must meet requirements Mostly Merit Sometimes need Private Institutional Apply! NOW! Loans Subsidized Unsubsidized Grants Work - Study

Defining “Financial Aid” What? Free/Pay Back? Merit/Need? How? When? Scholarships FREE But student must meet requirements Mostly Merit Sometimes need Apply! Private Institutional NOW! Loans Neither – almost anyone can get these loans October 1st Pay Back FAFSA Subsidized Unsubsidized Grants Work - Study

Defining “Financial Aid” What? Free/Pay Back? Merit/Need? How? When? Scholarships FREE But student must meet requirements Mostly Merit Sometimes need Apply! NOW! Private Institutional October 1st Loans Neither – almost anyone can get these loans Pay Back FAFSA Subsidized Unsubsidized Need But money will go to those who apply first October 1st Grants FREE FAFSA/TASFA Work - Study

Defining “Financial Aid” What? Free/Pay Back? Merit/Need? How? When? Scholarships FREE But student must meet requirements Mostly Merit Sometimes need Private Institutional Apply! NOW! Loans Neither – almost anyone can get these loans October 1st Pay Back FAFSA Subsidized Unsubsidized Need But money will go to those who apply first October 1st Grants FREE FAFSA/TASFA Neither, you work for it! Work - Study Combination FAFSA October 1st

TASFA Texas Application for Student Financial Aid For undocumented students Print, Fill out, and Mail to universities www.collegeforalltexans.com

Important Financial Aid Terms PIN – Personal Identification Number FSA ID – Federal Student Aid ID SAR – Student Aid Report EFC – Expected Family Contribution COA – Cost of Attendance

FAFSA-Free Application for Federal Student Aid fafsa.gov Fill out and submit form online Students and Parents work together Will take ~30 minutes with correct information in front of you If you have already filed taxes you can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool - information is auto filled for you (no mistakes) – “Link to IRS” button List all schools you applied to Never pay ANYTHING to file the FAFSA

Disclaimer: The student and parent cannot share the same FSA ID Disclaimer: The student and parent cannot share the same FSA ID. The student must apply for an FSA ID and the parent must apply for an FSA ID. An FSA ID serves as part of a person’s identification, as well as their electronic signature, and should only be used by that individual. That also means that the student and the parent should not use the same email address linked to the FSA ID.

What do you need to fill out the FAFSA/TASFA? 1. ID, Driver’s License, SSN 2. Student W-2 and Tax Return 3. Parents 1040, W-2, and 1099 Tax Forms 4. Parents Bank Statements and Mortgage Info 5. Records of Stocks, Bonds, and Investments 6. Untaxable benefits documentation (Social Security, Veterans Benefits) 7. Business/Farm Records 8. Unusual family circumstances and costs (Child Support)

SAR – Student Aid Report Results/Summary of information filled out on the FAFSA You and each of the schools you listed will receive a copy Indicates your family’s Expected Family Contribution and if there were any errors

EFC – Expected Family Contribution Based on your financial information from the FAFSA, the federal government estimates how much your family can contribute to the student’s college expenses each year 0 – 99,999 Get an estimated EFC NOW: FAFSA 4caster

Verification University will ask for additional documents W-2, 1099, Income Tax Returns Universities are required to verify 30% of applicants Lower Expected Family Contribution increases your odds of being verified How do you decrease your odds of needing to verify? Use the “Link to IRS” button on the FAFSA. How will you know? * next to Expected Family Contribution on FAFSA/SAR Student Portal

COA – Cost of Attendance Different for every school Includes: Tuition and fees Room and board Books Transportation Personal expenses COA Examples UT - $26,346 Texas A & M - $27,202 Texas State - $21,604 Tarleton State - $18,366 Rice - $40,566 St. Edwards – 40,408

Need COA – Expected Family Contribution = Need Ways to cover need: Scholarships, Grants, Work Study, Loans

IMPORTANT FACTS Pay your bills first. Questions 41 and 90 ask about how much cash students and parents have in savings and checking accounts at the moment you are filling out the FAFSA. But notice that there are no questions on the FAFSA about your debts or bills. Put the amount that is in your account AFTER you pay your monthly bills Questions 42, 43, 91 and 92 ask about the student’s and the parents’ investments. But many filers don’t realize that the value of any retirement accounts, as well as the home you live in, should not be included in these boxes Questions 24 and 25 ask about the highest level of education your parents completed. Some states and colleges offer extra aid to children of parents who haven’t earned college degrees. Strategize your college list. FAFSA reports your entire college list to each university.

Between Oct. 1st and Jan. 1st Spring of the Senior Year Financial Aid Timeline Fall of the Senior Year Submit the FAFSA or TASFA Between Oct. 1st and Jan. 1st Receive your Student Aid Report & EFC Parents/guardians & students file taxes - 2015 Verification? Colleges calculate student need with the following formula: Cost of Attendance (COA) – EFC = NEED Junior Year Colleges send Financial Aid Packages Student should receive decisions from all colleges Spring of the Senior Year Compare financial aid awards Make final decision and accept financial aid award Appeal?

What Next? Accepted Admission to a College/University…now what? FERPA Release Direct Deposit Authorization eProxy Authorization Federal Online Orientation

Beware of Scholarship Scams Watch out for the following claims: “For a fee, we provide a comprehensive list of scholarships.” “Billions of dollars of award monies going unclaimed.” “We have a money-back guarantee.” “We need your credit card or bank account number.” “We will do all the work.” AVOID fafsa.com

Questions?