Polk County Financial Aid Night Host: Lake Gibson High School January 11, 2016 Dr. Laquieria Nottage, District Guidance Specialist Polk County Public Schools 1

Local scholarships  Vary throughout the county, depending on your location.  Know where to find your school’s scholarship information and find out how often it is updated.  Feel free to search for scholarships online, but  NEVER give out personal information (such as SSN) without verifying the organization)  NEVER pay to apply for scholarships or Financial Assistance!  Many scholarships may require  Recommendation letters  Transcripts  Community Service Hours  Essay 2

Polk Education Foundation (PEF) Scholarships The Polk Education Foundation ranked #17 out of the top 100 Education Foundations in the Nation! The PEF awarded 423 scholarships totaling $906,000 to 2015 graduates! Visit the Polk Education Foundation website polkeducationfoundation.org 3

Polk Education Foundation (PEF) Scholarships  Many of the scholarships are based on community service:  Community service hours must be input prior to applying.  The application pulls student data directly from the district’s record keeping database, so all records must be correct at the time that you apply.  Students should be working now to get hours and have them verified and turned in to the school’s Community Service Coordinator to be entered into your records  The application generally opens by the third week of February.  Now is the time to begin planning and preparing for what you will need to complete the upcoming application. 4

PEF: Plan and Prepare!  Review last year’s list. The 2015 scholarship list is still listed on the website so that students can review the list to see what will be available. It may change a little, but never drastically.  There are 2 sections of the PEF scholarship list - one for your specific school and the other section is countywide.  Determine which scholarships you are eligible to apply for, prior to starting the online application in February.  There are a few applications posted in hard copy form on the scholarship page, but most are on the online application. 5

PEF: Plan and Prepare!  If you see an award that you would like to apply for but it requires something that you do not have right now, you may continue to work towards that goal (example: community service hours).  Some scholarships require reference letters, so students should begin pursuing who they will ask to write their Letters of Recommendation. Be sure to ask EARLY so that the writer has sufficient time to meet the application deadline. 6

Writing the essay  The PEF scholarship application gives a prompt for a general essay and suggests things that could be included.  The essay is very important because it is the primary aspect of the application that allows the student to stand out from the hundreds of other applicants.  It must be well-written, grammatically correct, and explain why the student needs/deserves a scholarship.  Save a copy, you can adapt and refine it for other applications. 7

The PEF online application  A password is required to access the online application.  Write your password down and keep it in a safe place, in case you forget it later.  In addition to the online application being completed, a hard copy of the application (along with ALL required attachments), must be submitted.  Without BOTH completed applications, the student’s application will be disqualified!  Beginning the first week of February, you should start checking the PEF website to view the updated award list, and to check for the dates of when the application opens and when it will close. 8

PEF: Income verification  Parents’ financial information will be required in the form of a W2, completed tax form, or completed FAFSA.  Parents should try to start processing W2’s as soon as they can.  Many of our donors will not look at a student’s application if they have not completed the FAFSA.  You will want to have this completed as early as possible, so that you can indicate that it has been done. 9

Next… What is FINANCIAL AID? 10 Mrs. Stephanie Rosh, Outreach Representative Certified Educator in Personal Finance Office of Student Financial Assistance

Financial Aid Overview Office of Student Financial Assistance 11

What is financial aid?  Monies received from federal, state, institutional or private resources  Monies are categorized as:  Gift aid  Self help (Loans and Work-Study)  Need-based  Merit-based  Can cover direct or indirect costs 2015/

College costs  Public 2-year college (tuition and fees, in-state) - $3,347  Public 4-year college (tuition and fees, in-state) - $9,139  Public 4-year college (tuition and fees, out of state) - $22,958  Private 4-year college (tuition and fees) - $31, / Source: bigfuture by The College Boardbigfuture

FAFSA  Largest source of student aid; distributed and processed by the U.S. Department of Education  Manual or electronic options  Opens January 1 of each year  Must be completed ANNUALLY  IRS Data Retrieval Tool opens in early February 2015/

FAFSA 2015/ Help

Gather Important Data  Social Security Number  Driver’s License Number (if any)  2015 W-2 Forms and other records of money earned  Student: 2015 Federal Income Tax Return  Parent: 2015 Federal Income Tax Return (if you are a dependent student)  2015 untaxed income records  Current bank statements  Your current business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond and other investment records  Alien registration or permanent resident card (if you are not a U.S. citizen 2015/

Getting started  Monitor priority deadlines  State and institutional deadlines vary  Confirm FAFSA dependency versus independency requirements  Dependent students are required to include parental information  Divorce  Professional Judgement  Search for school codes  Plan to sign and submit online using the FSA ID and FSA Password /

Student aid report  Received via within 3-5 days if you provided an address  Received via mail within 7-10 days if you did not provide an address  Correct errors, if needed  Will contain an expected family contribution (EFC)  Assists institutions in the financial aid award packaging process 2015/ Cost of attendance less expected family contribution = financial need

Additional info  Contact institution to determine award process  Contact institution for special circumstances or professional judgment needs  Contact institution to determine what other types of aid applications are available  Use student loans as a LAST RESORT  Make a friend in Financial Aid & Admissions 2015/

FFAA  The Florida Financial Aid Application opens December 1 of the senior year  Apply early - must be completed prior to HS graduation date  One application is used for multiple programs, not just the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program  Must log-in to check status, online notifications and award history 2015/

2015/

2015/

Bright Futures Test Score Requirements 2015/  Community service hours are required for ALL Bright Futures scholarships  FAS – 100 hours  FMS – 75 hours Graduation Year Year of Initial Eligibility FAS SAT ACT FMS SAT ACT

Bright Futures Award Amounts 2015/

15/16 award amounts  ABLE $1,500 annually  BF (FAS) $52 to $103 per CH  BF (FMS) $39 to $77 per CH  BF (GSV)$39 to $48 per CH  CSDDV tuition and registration fees publicannually flat rate (private)  FGMG determined by needannually  FFMT up to $4,000annually  FIS COA less BF/NMS awardsannually  FRAG $3,000annually  FSAG $2,610 max to $200 minannually  FWEP determined by needannually  JM$2,000annually  MMB $3,000annually  RFS tuition & fees up to $6,100annually 2015/

FloridaShines.org  FloridaShines.org is Florida's official online student advising system that can assist high school students, college students, parents, and even counselors to help plan and track educational progress in Florida  Bright Futures Scholarship Eligibility Evaluation 2015/

FloridaShines.org 2015/

Fastweb  1.5 million scholarships worth more than 3 billion dollars  Targeted search  Other resources  College search  Career planning  And more! 2015/

Other   High School or School District  Protect yourself from scams  Report to /

Contact Us   Telephone:  OSFA Outreach Team   Stephanie Rosh   /