Planning and Paying for College Grants, Scholarships, Loans and Other Money for College

Handouts ■ Fund Your Future ♦ CA Student Aid Commission ■ Glossary ♦ English ♦ Spanish on the table ■ Cost of Attendance ♦ Sample from CSU and AVC ■ FAFSA ♦ Paper – do not mail ♦ Use for information ■ Cal Grant Program & The Middle Class Scholarship ■ CA Dream Act ■ Sample Financing Plan for Student ■ Falcon College/Career Newsletter ♦ Monthly

What is Financial Aid? ■ State & Federal money ♦ Awarded to students Who would otherwise not be able to afford college 3

Types of California colleges ■ California Community Colleges (CCCs) ■ California State University (CSU) ■ University of California (UC) ■ Independent and/or private colleges ■ Career colleges ■ Vocational/technical schools 4 Some “For Profit” schools in are not eligible for Student Aid. Check with Financial Aid office if you plan to attend a “for profit” school.

Types of financial aid ■ Grants ♦ money used for college, not repaid ■ Scholarships ♦ money used for college, not repaid ■ Work-study ♦ job on campus ■ Student Loans ♦ borrowed money used for college, repaid ♦ interest paid by government begins payment 6 months after – graduates or leaves school 5

Free money from the government ■ Cal Grants ♦ Amounts vary ■ Federal Pell Grant ♦ Up to $5,550 a year 6

Federal loans ■ Federal Stafford loans ♦ Subsidized Stafford loans Based financial need The federal government pays the interest while in school ♦ Unsubsidized Stafford loans All eligible students can receive them, regardless of income or assets Responsible for paying the interest while in school 7

Unsubsidized Loan Example Borrow:$2000 Annual Interest Rate:6% Monthly Interest Rate:6%/12=.005 Interest 1 st month:2000*.005 = $10 Don’t pay interest = $2010 Interest 2 nd month:2010*.005 = Don’t pay interest = $ Interest 3 rd month: *.005 = New Loan amount: = $

Federal PLUS loans ■ Enable parents to borrow up to the total cost of your undergraduate study Less any other aid you may receive Interest/payments NOT deferred 9

Other California aid programs ■ University of California Student Aid ■ California State University Grant ■ California Chafee Grant ♦ Foster Youth ■ Law Enforcement Personnel Dependents Grant 10

Calculating financial need ■ Cost of attendance (COA) ♦ Tuition & fees ♦ Books & supplies ♦ Housing, food, transportation and personal expenses ■ Expected family contribution (EFC) ♦ Amount of money the government believes you or your family could reasonably contribute toward your education ♦ FAFSA ■ Financial need COA - EFC = Financial Need 11 Handout

Get Ready to Apply for Financial Aid Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) 12

Applying for financial aid ■ Collect student information ♦ SSN – MEMORIZE it ♦ Green Card Alien Registration Number Date Issued ♦ Driver’s license number ♦ address ♦ Student financial records ♦ Date moved to CA 13

Applying for financial aid ■ Collect parent information ♦ SSNs or Tax ID Numbers No SSN? – use ♦ Birth dates ♦ Marital status Date married, widowed, divorced, remarried ♦ ♦ Household size ♦ Residency status Date moved to CA ♦ Income 2014 Income Tax Return or 2015 Estimate List of government benefits received 14

FAFSA on the Web ■ Apply at ■ Read all the instructions ■ Name must match SSN card ■ Create Personal Identification Number (PIN) ♦ Student ♦ Parent ■ For fafsa communications from ♦ 15

FAFSA on the Web ■ Print and keep a copy of the FAFSA you submit for your records Also keep copies of the financial information you used to complete the FAFSA ■ Use your PIN to: check on the status make corrections to your FAFSA later ■ Keep PIN in records Same PIN every year 16

Student Aid Report (SAR) ■ Report from government (fafsa) ♦ Receive within 72 hours if you submitted the FAFSA online (up to 2 weeks for paper) ♦ Review right away for accuracy ■ EFC for the school year ♦ No dollar sign next to it ♦ = $

Sample SAR

Apply for Cal Grant 1.Submit the FAFSA 2.Submit Cal Grant GPA Palmdale High School submits GPAs for all seniors by March 2 deadline 19

CA Middle Class Scholarship ■ Benefits families ♦ Too high income to qualify for other aid ♦ Not high enough income to meet higher tuition and costs of education 20

California Aid Report (CAR) ■ CAR lists the tentative Cal Grant award amount ♦ If you did not get a Cal Grant, you’ll receive notification explaining why 21

Tracking your Cal Grant ■ After March 2, 2016 ■

AB 540 – Undocumented students ■ Undocumented or under-documented ♦ students may qualify for in-state tuition rates University of California California State University California Community Colleges ■ Eligibility ♦ minimum of 3 years of high school in California and ♦ graduated from a California high school or ♦ received your GED in California 23

California Dream Act of 2011 (AB 130) ■ DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), undocumented or under-documented students may also qualify for: ♦ Privately funded scholarships administered by a campus ■ Must meet qualifications for AB 540 in-state tuition rates ■ Check with your college admissions office 24

California Dream Act ■ ■ Deadline: March 2,

Seniors - FAFSA – Computer Lab Must bring all student/parent information Use paper FAFSA ■ January 14, 2016 Mr. Bledsoe’s classes ■ January 19, 2016 Mr. Holmes’ classes ■ January 20, 2016 All students that do not have Civics/Econ classes ■ January 21, 2016 Ms. Lynch’s classes Ms. Wells’ classes 26

2015 Income Tax ■ All students required to ♦ Update income information ♦ After parents have filed taxes for 2015 ■ Some students ♦ May be asked for IRS transcript Random selection 27