1 Student Financial Aid What High School Seniors & Parents Should Know Dan Robinson Pace University Campus Director - Pleasantville

2 What is Financial Aid?  Funds that help pay the cost of attending college  Financial aid may awarded based on  Financial need (need-based)  Other criteria, such as academic or athletic ability (merit-based )

3 Different Types of Aid  Scholarships  Grants  Work Study  Loans Free Money Self-help aid

4 Sources of Financial Aid  Federal government  New York State  Colleges – Institutional aid  Other sources  Businesses  Foundations  Clubs/Organizations

5 Need-based Financial Aid  Need-based Aid  Your family’s ability to pay for educational costs is evaluated  Determined from information collected on financial aid applications  FAFSA, CSS Profile

6 How Financial Need is Determined Cost of Attendance (COA) – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

7 Cost of Attendance (COA) Direct Expenses  Tuition and fees  Room and board Indirect expenses  Books and supplies  Transportation  Miscellaneous expenses COA – EFC = Financial Need

8 Examples of Need Determination CollegeACollegeBCollegeC COA COA $ 15,000 $40,000$60,000 - EFC 5,000 5,000 = Financial Need $ 10,000 $ 35,000 $55,000

Financial Aid Programs

10 Federal Student Aid Programs  Pell Grant – free money  Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) – free money  Work-Study – earned money  Direct Stafford Loan – borrowed money  Direct PLUS Loan – borrowed money

11 Federal Aid Eligibility  To qualify for federal student aid a student must  Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen  Have a valid Social Security Number  Register with Selective Service, if student is male

12 Federal Aid Eligibility  Students also must  Have a high school diploma or recognized equivalent, such as a GED/TASC  Be enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, in an eligible degree or certificate program  Maintain satisfactory academic progress requirements

13 NYS Student Aid Programs  Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)  Scholarships for Academic Excellence  New York Achievement & Investment in Merit Scholarship (NY-AIMS)  STEM Incentive Program  Math & Science Teaching Incentive Program  Veterans Tuition Award

14 NYS Student Aid Eligibility Requirements  Students must:  Be New York State residents  If dependent, parents must also be NYS residents  Attend and be matriculated at an eligible college in New York State  Meet other eligibility criteria for specific programs

15 NYS Student Aid Programs  Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)  Undergraduates  Need-based, up to $5,165/year  Full-time and part-time study in NYS  Based on NYS net taxable income (must be below $80,000)

16 TAP Award Determination  TAP award amount determined by  Type of institution and the tuition charge  Financial status (dependent or independent)  Other family members enrolled in college  Combined family NYS taxable income

17 Other NYS Student Aid Programs  NYS Achievement & Investment in Merit Scholarship (NY- AIMS)  $500 annual award for study in New York State  For students must achieve two of the following criteria –graduate with a GPA of 3.3 or above –graduate “with honors” on a NYS Regents diploma –receive a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP examinations –graduate within the top 15% of high school class  Apply online on hesc.ny.gov in May 2016

18 Other NYS Student Aid Programs  NYS STEM Incentive Program  Provides full SUNY tuition scholarship at SUNY/CUNY colleges only  Must be ranked in top 10% of class  For undergraduate programs leading to a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics  Must execute service agreement  Apply online at hesc.ny.gov in January

19 Institutional Aid  Depends on funding at each college  College determines eligibility criteria for need- based and non-need-based programs  Academic, athletic, and other talent-based scholarships and grants  May require an additional application

20 Research College Financial Aid Websites

21 Use Net Price Calculators

The Application Process

23 How to Apply To be considered for student aid, a student must complete all forms required by a college  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)  NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Application  Institutional Forms  Other as required

24 Apply for Federal Aid- FAFSA Filing  Apply starting January 1st of senior year*  Available online at fafsa.gov  Skip-logic for faster filing  Check status, make corrections online  Be sure to check your colleges’ FAFSA filing deadlines

25 FAFSA.gov

26 Before Starting the FAFSA  Student and parent should apply for a Federal Student Aid ID at FSAID.ed.gov

27 Common Documents Needed to complete FAFSA  Social Security Numbers/Cards  US Permanent Resident Card, if non-citizen  Student, Parent Income Tax Information  2015 Federal tax return & 2015 W-2  Can use prior year taxes as estimate  Records of untaxed income  Such as child support received, interest income  Cash, savings and checking account balances  Investments, including stocks, bonds, real estate  Excludes retirement accounts, value of primary residence

28 FAFSA: Student Section  Student Information & Eligibility  Basic info: address, , name of high school, citizenship status  Student Income information  College Information  Up to 10 colleges may be listed; can be updated by correction; must choose housing option  Dependency Determination  Questions that will determine student’s dependency status

29 FAFSA: Parent, Income, & Signature Section  Parent Information & Income  Marital status, name, date of birth, SSN, state of residence  Household size, Number in college  Income reported on 2015 tax return (or estimate),  untaxed income, asset information  Signature Section  Sign using the student and parent’s FSA ID

30 Reporting Income: IRS Data Retrieval Tool  Connects to IRS for tax data of completed tax returns  Data usually available 2 weeks after filing taxes electronically  Can be used at first FAFSA submission or during updates/corrections

31 IRS Retrieval Tool  Transfers required tax data to the FAFSA  May avoid submitting copies of tax transcript

32 Common Questions: Eligibility  We don’t think we qualify for need-based financial aid, do we still file the FAFSA? YES!!!  Schools cannot determine institutional grants without the FAFSA  At some schools, FAFSA may be needed for merit-based aid

33 Common Questions: Dependence  Can a student apply for financial aid without reporting their parent’s information?  In most cases, students under 24 will be required to report parent information  For special circumstances, consult with the financial aid office

34 Common Questions: Parents  If a student’s parents are divorced or separated, whose info is provided?  Custodial Parent  What if both biological parents are living together but unmarried?  Both parents file together  Do stepparents report their income?  Yes

35 Common Questions: Assets  Do you report your home value or retirement accounts on the FAFSA as an asset?  No, your primary residence and tax deferred retirement accounts are excluded from FAFSA  How are 529 college savings plans treated?  The value of 529 Plans, for all children, need to be reported as a parent investment on the FAFSA

36 Frequent FAFSA Errors  Student’s Social Security Number  Student’s name  Unmarried/divorced/remarried parent information  Parents/ stepparents earned income  Untaxed income – pre-tax contribution to retirement fund  Household size  Number in postsecondary education  Real estate and investment net worth

37 How to Apply- New York State Aid

38 The TAP Application

39 CSS Profile  Additional application used by some colleges to award institutional aid  Check with college  Collects more detailed income and asset information and non-custodial parent info  Application Fee, waivers may be available  Apply starting October 1 st of senior year online at collegeboard.org

Next Steps

41 After Applications are Filed…  Schools listed on FAFSA receive an electronic record – cannot see other schools listed on FAFSA  Schools begin financial aid packaging process  Student may be required to provide additional documentation at this time  When processing is finished, an award letter is sent to student

42 Financial Aid Award Letter  College award letter contains  Amount of federal aid for which students are eligible, including loan options  Estimate of state aid for which students are eligible  Institutional aid (Merit awards, grants, etc.)  Breakdown of costs

43 Award Letter Comparison Tool HESC.ny.gov/CompareAwardLetter s

44 Scholarship Searching  Online scholarship search websites  Fastweb.com  Collegeboard.org  Scholarships.com  Check local library, employer or union  Avoid scholarship scams  Unnecessary fees, ID theft 

45 StartHereGetThere.org

46 StartHereGetThere.org

47 Big Changes for

48 Questions??? Thank You!