WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FINANCIAL AID

Financial aid is money provided to students and families to help pay for educational expenses. WHAT IS FINANCIAL AID?

 Grants- do not need to be repaid, based on financial need  Loans- money that must be repaid, parents/students can qualify  Work-study- employment on campus to off-set the cost of college  Some Scholarships- do not need to be repaid, awarded on merit, and some on financial need TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID?

 Apply for a PIN number  Fill out Free Application to Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)  Expected Family Contribution is determined (EFC)  Information only sent to those colleges the student selected  College’s Financial Aid determines financial need  College notifies student of Financial Aid Award Package  Bring copies of Award Letters/Offers to the High School Counselor  Accept or Deny the offers with the College THE PATH TO FINANCIAL AID

 fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid  send to the colleges student applied to  meet the deadlines (first come first serve)  display financial need HOW TO QUALIFY FOR FINANCIAL AID?

Cost of Attendance – Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need WHAT IS FINANCIAL NEED?

 Tuition & Fees  Room & Board  Books, supplies, transportation, and misc. personal expenses  Varies widely from college to college WHAT IS COST OF ATTENDANCE (COA)?

 Amount family is expected to contribute  Calculated using data from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) WHAT IS THE EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC)?

 must complete FAFSA to qualify for Financial Aid  fill out electronically/paper  English or Spanish  it is free  beginning January 1, 2013  colleges have their own FAFSA deadlines FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA)

 form collects demographic & financial information  federal government calculates the Expected Family Contribution or EFC  colleges use the EFC to determine aid eligibility and award financial aid FAFSA

Website:  sign FAFSA electronically  speeds processing FEDERAL STUDENT AID PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (FSA PIN)

 Website:  Benefits: use Internal Revenue Service data retrieval timely submission detailed instructions and “help” check application status on-line FAFSA ON THE WEB

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STUDENT Demographic Information STUDENT PORTION

Heard this before? “I am not sure which college!” List up to 10!

PARENT PORTION Did Parents File Taxes?

PARENT PORTION  Link to IRS quick, easy reduces documents requested by financial aid office no need to order TAX TRANSCRIPT avoid delays

 student notified of FAFSA processing results on-line or  review Student Aid Report (SAR) data for accuracy  update tax information- can now link to IRS  meet all deadlines  follow up with financial aid office at colleges  turn in any other documents requested by college  wait for Award Letters  bring copy of all Award Letters to Counselor’s  accept or decline Award offers FAFSA PROCESSING RESULTS

 Student takes SAT or ACT (send scores directly to college)  Check College Application Deadlines  Complete College Applications (send scores, transcript, essays, etc.)  Work on Scholarships  Attend College Forums, Scholarship meetings,  Apply for PIN numbers for FAFSA (parents and students)  Plan on doing taxes early in order to use IRS Link on FAFSA  FAFSA opens January 1 st  Attend FAFSA nights WHAT TO DO NOW…

QUESTIONS?