Financial Aid Cindy Griffin Assistant Director Rollins College

Agenda  Financial Aid Definition  Cost of Attendance (COA)  Expected Family Contribution (EFC)  Financial Need  Types and Sources of Financial Aid  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)  Special Circumstances  Net Price Calculator

What is Financial Aid?  Paying for college is primarily the responsibility of the family  Financial aid consists of funds provided to students and families to help pay for postsecondary educational expenses

What is Financial Need Cost of Attendance – Expected Family Contribution Gross Financial Need

What is Cost of Attendance (COA)  Direct costs  Indirect costs  Varies between colleges

What is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)  Factor  Stays the same regardless of college  Two components  Parent contribution  Student contribution  Calculated using data from a federal application form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and a federal formula (EFC Formula)

Cost Comparison  Private University 60,000 (COA) - 10,000 (EFC) 50,000 (Need)  Public University 20,000 (COA) - 10,000 (EFC) 10,000 (Need)

Types of Financial Aid  Scholarships  Grants  Loans  Employment Gift Aid Self-Help Aid

Sources of Financial Aid  Federal government  States  Institutions  Private sources

Scholarships  Money that does not have to be paid back  Awarded on the basis of merit, skill, or unique characteristic  Considered ‘Non-Need’

Scholarship Sources  State  Florida Bright Futures Awards (private colleges)  Florida Academic Scholars Fund - $103 per credit  Florida Medallion Scholars Award - $77 per credit  Florida Vocational Gold Seal Award - $77 per credit, 2 yr  Institutional  Merit-based awards  Talent-based awards  Athletic aid  Performance scholarships  Private Sources  

Grants  Money that does not have to be paid back.  Usually awarded on the basis of financial need.  In general, FAFSA is required.

Grant Sources  State  Florida Resident Access Grant - $3,000 (private)  Florida Student Assistance Grant - $2,610 max  Federal  Pell Grant - $5,730 max  Supplemental Ed Opportunity Grant (SEOG) - $4,000 max  Institutional  Florida Pre-Paid Plan

Loans  Borrow to help pay college expenses.  Repayment usually begins after education (federal loans have a six or nine month grace period depending on loan type).  Only borrow what is really needed.  Look at loans as an investment in the future.

Loan Sources  Federal:  Federal Stafford Loan  Subsidized versus Unsubsidized  Subsidized Maximums $3500, $4500, $5500  Perkins Loan  Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS loan)  Private:  Always consider federal loans first!

Employment Allows student to earn money to help pay educational costs  A paycheck; or  Non-monetary compensation, such as room and board

Employment Sources  Federal College Work Study  Need-based  Experiential  Income is excluded from future FAFSA  Institutional work programs  State work programs (Florida Work Experience Program)

Application Process  Apply and be accepted to the college.  Complete federal tax returns.  Complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA.gov).

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)  A standard form that collects demographic and financial information about the student and family.  Filed electronically or using paper form.

FAFSA  Information used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution or EFC.  Colleges use EFC to award financial aid.

FAFSA January 1 st

Benefits of Filing Electronically  Avoid unnecessary questions.  Built-in edits to prevent costly errors.  Timely submission.  Detailed instructions and “help.”  Ability to check application status on-line.  Simplified application process in the future.  Use Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data retrieval.

IRS Data Retrieval  Submit real-time request to IRS for tax data.  IRS will authenticate taxpayer’s identity.  IRS sends real-time results to applicant.  Choose whether or not to transfer data.

IRS Data Retrieval  Available early February 2015 for processing cycle.  Participation is voluntary.  Reduces documents requested.

Frequent FAFSA Errors  Social Security Numbers  Divorced/remarried parental information  Income earned by parents/stepparents  Untaxed income  U.S. income taxes paid  Household size  Number of household members in college  Real estate and investment net worth

What Happens Next? Tax Returns Award Letter FAFSA Admitted

Special Circumstances  Cannot report on FAFSA.  Send written explanation to financial aid office at each college.  Examples:  Change in employment status  Medical expenses not covered by insurance  Change in parent marital status  Other

Net Price Calculator (NPC)  Every college must provide an NPC  More detailed, but it’s only an estimate

Helpful Websites  File the FAFSA online.  Request FAFSA PIN.  Information and links.  Private scholarship database.  Outside scholarships.    **Portion of slides provided by NASFAA.