Presented by: Margarita V. Naumchik Financing Education Presented by: Margarita V. Naumchik Financial Aid Counselor, University of Washington-Bothell

Questions I will be answering: What is Financial Aid? How & when do you apply for Financial Aid? How much will your degree cost? How is financial need determined? Scholarships: Where do you find them and when do you apply? Other Questions??

Types of Financial Aid Gift Aid “free money” Grants Federal, state, or institutional money Scholarships Loans Need & Non-Need Low Interest Deferred Repayment Employment Work-Study Institutional On or Off Campus

How & When to apply for aid? All aid is awarded based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (otherwise known as the FAFSA) or Washington State Federal Student Aid (WASFA) Can be filed electronically at www.fafsa.gov or http://readysetgrad.org/WASFAelig For the UW, the priority filing deadline is January 15th 2019-2020 FAFSA available October 1, 2018. Use 2017 income information. You must submit the FAFSA or WASFA EACH school year!

Priority Application Each school has a different definition for “priority” applications. Check with all schools of interest for their specific priority application date List all schools interested in on FAFSA Get your FAFSA submitted early (for UW priority consideration, prior to January 15th) Submit any institutional applications/forms for financial aid

FAFSA Myths My parents and I must have our taxes done before we can complete the FAFSA IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) I can file my FAFSA as an independent student (without my parents information) if my parents do not claim me as a dependent on their taxes I’m 18 years old, so I don’t need my parents’ information when completing the FAFSA The FAFSA, and financial aid in general, is processed the same way at every school My financial aid eligibility will be the same regardless of when I submit my FAFSA

Independent Status 24 years old Married Support Child/Dependent more than 50% Have BA/BS Orphan/ Ward of Court Military Veteran Emancipated Minor Homeless Not living with parents or not being claimed by them on tax forms does not make individual an independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid. http://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/filling-out/dependency

Parents…. If parents are divorced or separated the parent with whom the student lived with the most during the previous 12 months completes the FAFSA Step-parent’s income and assets must be included if the parent is remarried

The Financial Aid Formula Cost of Attendance (COA) Tuition Room Board Books Living Expenses Transportation Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Parent income Parent assets Student Income Student assets # in college Parents’ age # in household Financial Need The maximum amount of aid a family may received

What’s Included: tuition, books, room & board, transportation, and personal expenses. 4-year Public Community College 4-year Private Tuition $10,690 $3,756 $38,980 Room & Board $10,833 10,140 $11,158 Books & Supplies $825 $1,098 Transportation $1,524 $1,140 $1,470 Personal $2,265 $2,271 $2,676 Total AY $26,407 $18,132 $55,382

Award Letters!

Financial Aid Award Think of It as a “Package” It is not really important which source (Pell, State Need Grant, College Bound) pays for which expense (tuition, housing). Ask yourself, “Are my college expenses covered?” If the answer is yes, then you received the best financial award you were eligible to receive. Each campus will determine which funds pay which expense. College Bound may/may not be listed on your award letter. Could be the college/university doesn’t know student is eligible.

Evaluating the Award Letter Read carefully What are the next steps? Are more forms required? Grants and scholarships Are they renewable? For how many years? Loans How much will you need to borrow to cover expenses until you earn your degree/certificate? Out-of-pocket expenses Does the offer meet the needs for your personal budget?

Special Circumstances Change in employment status after filing FAFSA. Medical expenses not covered by insurance. Change in parents’ marital status after filing FAFSA. Unusual dependent care expenses. These cannot be reported on the FAFSA therefore: Parents or student should send an explanation to financial aid office at each college or university. College will review special circumstances and may request additional documentation.

UW Bothell Scholarship UW Bothell Scholarship General UWB Scholarship Managed by Financial Aid office Application available twice a year in Autumn and Spring quarters Merit Scholarship Awarded by departments Check with your department to see how to qualify for one External Scholarships Parent’s place of work, Local civic organizations/businesses in which student may participate, Local library resources, Free online searches (you should never have to pay money to get money, if so, it’s probably a scam)

Free online scholarship resources fastWeb www.fastweb.com Pacific Northwest Scholarship Guide www.collegeplan.org/cpnow/pnwguide/pn wguide.htm SRN Express (Scholarship Resource Network) www.srnexpress.com/index.cfm College NET www.collegenet.com/about/index.html

Questions??? Margarita V. Naumchik 425-352-5240 finaid@uwb.edu http://www.uwb.edu/students/finaid/