Financial Aid Navigating Neil Leibundguth Assistant Director of Financial Aid

Agenda Application Tips Scholarship Search FAFSA Details Special Circumstances Your Questions

Application Tips Prioritize your applications College applications FAFSA CSS Profile (if required) College scholarship applications External scholarship applications Deadlines are important and it is always best to apply early!

Reasons to apply early Less waiting for decisions Additional scholarships. You could miss out. Chances of admission may decrease Aid offered by colleges may decrease More time for the rest of process

Do your research Visit each campus Meet with a financial aid counselor Think about what really concerns you and ask us – we’re on your side!! Use a net price calculator to get more out of your visit

Net Price Calculators Estimates your EFC based on a few questions Estimates aid from the school and government sources Compares cost and aid to provide “net price” Useful planning tool but estimates are only as good as data provided

Other tips for … Seniors Juniors Finish applications and BRAG! Sign up for ACT/SAT Don’t wait to request recommendations Start scholarship search now. Use seniors as a resource. Finish applications and BRAG! Visit each campus Make college and scholarships part of every conversation you have with an adult

Outside Scholarships Most scholarships for high school seniors have deadlines in Jan. – April Start locally, think globally Never pay for services that “guarantee” they will find you scholarships Set realistic goals and stick to them

Online Scholarship Searches Only use free searches Answer optional questions – this will increase number/quality of results Set up a free email account (i.e. Gmail, Hotmail, etc.) to use exclusively for scholarship searches Never provide a social security number or credit card number

Why every student should file a FAFSA Required to participate in federal loan programs Colleges simply cannot provide a student with a complete picture of the aid available to help pay educational expenses without a FAFSA. Colleges focus resources on students who file the FAFSA because these students are perceived to be actively seeking assistance. Every school may use this information differently With financial aid, the only thing that is guaranteed is that you will get nothing if you don’t apply!

$0 25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid Universal application 99% of students file online Students must re-apply each year Determines Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Regardless of EFC, all students are awarded financial aid $0 25

Other FAFSA Tips Both the student and one parent need an FSA ID to sign the FAFSA electronically. Create your own FSA ID using your email Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool and do not make changes to the imported information Make it a family affair

fafsa.gov

Reporting Assets on FAFSA Protected Assets Your home Retirement Accounts Value of Life Insurance Unprotected Assets Investment real estate Trust funds Money market funds Mutual funds Certificates of deposit Stocks and bonds 529 College savings plans Business value (if you employ 100+ people) Only “unprotected” assets must be reported on the FAFSA

FAFSA Required Tax Data Even if you are filing the FAFSA after 2017 tax information is available The 2018-19 FAFSA should be filed using your 2016 tax data Parents and students must use the prior-prior tax year (2017) data to file the FAFSA 2017 FEDERAL TAXES 2018 FEDERAL TAXES 2019-20 FAFSA

Early FAFSA This means… Everyone can file earlier. 2019-20 FAFSA will be available Oct. 1, 2018 Everyone should be able to file with actual tax data. No more estimates! And most everyone can and should use IRS data retrieval to import tax data.

Special Circumstances Yes. Initially, you must use prior-prior year, but schools may adjust FAFSA data in certain situations. Do I have to file using 2017 tax data? 2017 FEDERAL TAXES 2018 FEDERAL TAXES 2019 INCOME ESTIMATE 2019-20 FAFSA

Special Circumstances File the FAFSA using prior-prior year tax data Contact each school to talk about their process Provide documentation to each Financial Aid Office. Schools are allowed to adjust FAFSA results for: Changes in household size (divorce, death, etc.) Medical, dental or dependent care expenses not paid or reimbursed by insurance Private education expenses (K-12) Reductions in income or unemployment of a parent

How is financial need determined? Cost of Attendance (Variable) EFC (Constant) Financial Need How is financial need determined?

CSS / Financial Aid Profile Used to Award Institutional Aid Only Required by some private colleges and scholarships. The Profile collects and uses information about assets, liabilities, and income not reported on the FAFSA, such as non-custodial parent income. The CSS Profile is available as of Oct. 1 each year. Cost is $25 for first school report and $16 for additional reports. Students still must complete FAFSA to be considered for federal/state need-based aid

Types of Financial Aid Scholarships (merit-based) Grants (need-based) Work-study (must be earned) Student loans (must be repaid) Education Tax Credits Talk to your tax professional or go to irs.gov and search “tax benefits for education”.

Reading Award Letters

Other Resources www.studentaid.ed.gov www.ohe.state.mn.us bigfuture.collegeboard.org Federal Student Aid @FAFSA