What You Need to Know About Financial Aid

Topics We Will Discuss Tonight What is financial aid? Cost of attendance (COA) Expected family contribution (EFC) Financial need Categories, types, and sources of financial aid Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) Special circumstances

What is Financial Aid? Financial aid consists of any funds provided to students and families to help pay for postsecondary educational expenses. Scholarships, grants, loans, work-study.

What is Cost of Attendance (COA)? Direct costs - Actual charges such as tuition, fees, on-campus housing, etc. Indirect costs - Off-campus housing, transportation, miscellaneous expenses. Direct and indirect costs combined into cost of attendance Varies widely from college to college

What is Expected Family Contribution (EFC)? Amount family can reasonably be expected to contribute Stays the same regardless of college Two components Parent contribution Student contribution Calculated using data from a federal application form and a federal formula

What is Financial Need?

Categories of Financial Aid Need-based aid - Grants, Subsidized Loans, some Scholarships, Federal and State Work- Study programs Non-need-based aid - Unsubsidized Loans, Scholarships awarded based on merit, Some on- campus employment opportunities.

Gift Aid: Scholarships Money that does not have to be paid back Awarded on the basis of merit, skill, or unique characteristic Some scholarships are awarded based on financial need and most are not.

Gift Aid: Grants Money that does not have to be paid back Usually awarded on the basis of financial need

Self-Help Aid: Loans Money students and parents borrow to help pay college expenses Repayment usually begins after education is finished Only borrow what is really needed Look at loans as an investment in the future

Self-Help Aid: Work-Study Employment Allows student to earn money to help pay educational costs A paycheck; or Nonmonetary compensation, such as room and board Student may opt whether or not to work or number of hours to work

Sources of Financial Aid Federal government States Colleges and universities Private sources Civic organizations and churches Employers

Federal Government Largest source of financial aid Aid awarded primarily on the basis of financial need Must apply each year using the FAFSA

Federal Student Aid Programs Federal Pell Grant Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Federal Work-Study (FWS) Federal Direct Student Loans (Direct Loans) Subsidized Unsubsidized Federal PLUS Loans

Federal Aid Availability – Pell Grant Pell Grant - Depends on EFC. For 2017-18 EFC Range 0-5328 Minimum award $606/year - Max award $5920/year Award amounts vary based on enrollment status. You do not have to be a full-time student, but the award will be prorated. Max Lifetime award is 12 Full-time semesters or 6 years

Federal Aid Availability – Loans Student’s must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours. Student’s loans are not credit based and are in the student’s name only. Current Interest Rate – 4.45% fixed.

Federal Aid Availability – Parent PLUS If these student loan amounts are not enough to cover, a parent can apply for a PLUS loan. Parent PLUS loan amounts can be given up to the student’s cost of attendance minus any other financial aid received. Parent PLUS loans are credit based, if denied the student can get the independent level loans for their grade level. Current Interest Rate - 7% fixed.

More Information Available www.studentaid.gov

States Residency requirements usually apply Award aid on the basis of both merit and need Use information from the FAFSA and/or state aid applications Deadlines vary by state Check PDF FAFSA or FAFSA on the Web website

www.kansasregents.org From this website you can: Get information about different scholarship and grant programs offered through the State of Kansas Apply for State of Kansas Scholarships online There is an application fee of $12

Colleges and Universities Award aid on the basis of both merit and need Aid may be gift aid or self-help aid Use information from the FAFSA and/or institutional applications Deadlines and application requirements vary by institution Check with each college or university

Private Sources Foundations, businesses, charitable organizations Deadlines and application procedures vary widely Begin researching private aid sources early

Civic Organizations and Churches Research what is available in community To what organizations and churches do student and family belong? Application process usually occurs during spring of senior year Small scholarships add up!

Employers Companies may have scholarships available to the children of employees Companies may have educational benefits for their employees

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) A standard form that collects demographic and financial information about the student and family The FAFSA application can be completed online at www.fafsa.gov For 2018-2019 parents and students will need 2016 income information.

FAFSA Information used to calculate the expected family contribution (EFC) Amount of money a student and his or her family may reasonably be expected to contribute towards the cost of the student’s education for an academic year Colleges use EFC to award financial aid

FAFSA May be filed at any time during an academic year, but no earlier than October 1st prior to the academic year for which the student requests aid For the 2018–19 academic year, the FAFSA may be filed beginning October 1, 2017 Most colleges set FAFSA filing deadlines

www.FAFSA.gov Make sure you are at the correct website – FAFSA.gov The application is FREE – if you are being asked to pay, you are at the wrong website.

www.FAFSA.gov Click on the Link “Create an FSA ID”

FSA ID Sign FAFSA electronically Not required, but speeds up processing May be used by students and parents throughout aid process, including subsequent school year Only the owner should create a FSA ID https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm

Signatures Required Format for submitting signatures Student One parent (dependent students) Format for submitting signatures Electronic using FSA ID Signature page Paper FAFSA

www.FAFSA.gov Good reasons to file electronically: Built-in edits to prevent costly errors Skip-logic allows student and/or parent to skip unnecessary questions Option to use Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Retrieval Tool to import tax data

www.FAFSA.gov Good reasons to file electronically: More timely submission of original application and any necessary corrections More detailed instructions and “help” for common questions Ability to check application status online Simplified application process in the future

Information needed to complete the FAFSA

General Student Information Student’s legal name and Social Security Number Citizenship status Marital status Student email address Student’s legal state of residence Student tax, income, and other financial information

Student Dependency Status A dependent student provides income information for themselves and their parents on the FAFSA. An independent student provides income information for themselves on the FAFSA. Most students under age 24 will be considered dependent for FAFSA purposes.

Reporting Parent Information

Parent information needed Parent legal name, social security number, date of birth, marital status. If parent doesn’t have an SSN it is okay to put all zeros. Tax, income, and other financial information from 2016. Household size and Number in College – including the student Receipt of means-tested federal benefits such as Medicaid, WIC, Free/Reduced Lunches, TANF, SNAP, and SSI Assets Untaxed income

IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) While completing FAFSA, applicant may submit real-time request to IRS for tax data IRS will authenticate taxpayer’s identity If match found, IRS sends real-time results to applicant in new browser window Applicant chooses whether or not to transfer data to FAFSA

IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) Changes for 2018-2019 To enhance the security and privacy of the sensitive personal data transferred into the FAFSA form from the IRS, the student and parent information will not be displayed on the IRS DRT website or on the FAFSA web pages. Instead of the transferred information, students and parents will see the words “Transferred from the IRS” in the data entry fields throughout the online FAFSA form and on the Student Aid Report (SAR). Because the transferred information is not displayed, students and parents will be unable to make any changes to the transferred income items on the FAFSA form.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) Everyone who is eligible is encouraged to use the DRT Some will be unable to use IRS DRT and will need to manually enter income information from federal tax returns and W-2 forms. Examples include: No Social Security Number (SSN) was entered Student or parent marital status on tax return is different from the FAFSA. Student or parent marital status is married, but filed taxes separately Parents are unmarried, but living together.

www.IRS.gov If you are unable to use the DRT go to www.irs.gov and click on “Get My Tax Record” to have your 2016 IRS Tax Return Transcript mailed to you or download it in real-time. Retain the copy of your 2016 Tax Return Transcript in case the school requests it. Non-Tax Filers (Parents and Independent Students) – Request a letter of non-tax filing from the IRS in case the school requests it.

Additional Information College and housing information Degree Information High School Completion

Frequent FAFSA Errors Social Security Numbers Divorced/widowed/remarried parental information Income earned by parents/stepparents Untaxed income U.S. income taxes paid Household size Number of household members in college Assets

FAFSA Processing Results Students will receive a confirmation page as soon as they submit the FAFSA online. This page will show: EFC Estimated Award Information – Actual award information will come from the school School information

FAFSA Processing Results Student’s will receive an email from Department of Education with processing information and instructions on how to view the Student Aid Report (SAR) Student with FSA ID may view the status of their FAFSA processing and their SAR online at www.fafsa.gov

FAFSA Processing Results Application data is sent to colleges listed on FAFSA approximately 10 to 14 days after FAFSA is submitted. Some schools refer to this data as an ISIR. College reviews FAFSA data Requests additional documentation as needed Send award notification information to the student If you haven’t heard from the Financial Aid office within 2-3 weeks of submitting your FAFSA, you should follow-up.

Making Corrections If necessary, corrections to FAFSA data may be made by: Using FAFSA on the Web (www.fafsa.gov) if student has a FSA ID; Submitting documentation to college’s financial aid office Paper correction on the SAR – may delay processing Parent and student income information transferred from IRS DRT cannot be changed.

Special Circumstances Cannot be documented using FAFSA Send written explanation and documentation to financial aid office at each college College will review and request additional information if necessary Decisions are final and cannot be appealed to U.S. Department of Education

Special Circumstances Change in income Change in employment status Unusual medical expenses not covered by insurance Change in parent marital status Unusual dependent care expenses Student cannot obtain parental information

Student’s Graduating in December Need to complete the 2017-2018 FAFSA application using 2015 income data right away. Processing can take several weeks. Follow-up with the school, don’t wait for them to contact you. Need to complete scholarship applications. Contact the school you plan to attend for instructions. Send graduation information and transcripts to the school you plan to attend. They cannot award federal aid if they don’t have documentation that you have graduated.

Questions You can call the Financial Aid office at 316-322-3121 or email finaidmail@butlercc.edu Our office can help you even if your student is not going to attend Butler.