1. Financial Aid 101
Fall 2016

2. Financial Aid Night Where: Northern High School Auditorium
When: October 26th, 2016 at 6:00 PM
Who: All are invited!
Speaker: Mr. Dave Reeder, Director of Financial Aid
Mount St. Mary’s University
Please consider joining us to learn more and ask questions!

3. What is financial aid?
Financial assistance that helps to cover college expenses
Money that helps students and families pay for college

4. Two Forms of Financial Aid
Merit-based
Meaning the student earned it based on some kind of exemplary achievement or exceptional involvement in something (Ex. High academic achievement)
Need-based
Meaning a student and his/her family demonstrate financial need

5. Where does Financial Aid come from?
There are 4 sources:
Federal Government
State Government
Schools (Institutional)
Private Sources

6. What types of financial aid are available (from those 4 sources)?
There are 4 main types:
Grants
Scholarships
Loans
Work Study

7. Grants Gift money that doesn’t need to be repaid – FREE!
Federal Examples:
Pell Grant – up to $5,775
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant – up to $4,000
TEACH Grant - $4,000
How do you get a grant?
File your financial aid forms!

8. Scholarships Also gift money that doesn’t need to be repaid – FREE!
Often merit-based, but financial need may be considered
Examples:
Dillsburg Area Business Association’s Scholarship
Rotary Club Scholarship
Merit Scholarships from schools

9. Money that you will have to repay with interest
Loans
Money that you will have to repay with interest

10. Work-Study Where you qualify for the college to employ you
Part-time work on campus that offers flexibility with your class schedule
Earn a pay check

11. Cost of Attendance (COA)
This is the total cost to attend an institution WITHOUT financial aid factored in.
Factors considered in calculating COA:
Tuition
Fees
Housing
Meal Plan
Transportation
Books & Supplies
Personal Expenses

12. $9,765 x 2 = $19,531/year
*Doesn’t include any personal expenses

13. Net Price This is what you actually pay AFTER financial aid
Every school has a Net Price Calculator on their website for you to use to estimate your own COA!

14. How do I know how much financial aid I will receive?
You will need to do the following things:
#1 Federal: File your FAFSA!
#2 State: File the PA Financial Aid form directly after filing the FAFSA – it will prompt you to do it!
#3 Schools: File any financial aid forms needed at the colleges you are applying to
#4 Private: Fill out scholarships every week

15. There’s Financial Aid & There’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
What is Expected Family Contribution?
An estimate of the student and/or parent’s ability to contribute to post-secondary education.
The government uses the EFC to determine how much need-based aid you qualify for.
EFC is determined off of the FAFSA
After you file the FAFSA, you will learn what your EFC is on the Student Aid Report, which is the way FAFSA follows-up with you in a few days after filing.

16. FAFSA Filing Workshop
Northern High School Library Computer Lab Date: November 10th Time: Come anytime between 4:00-7:00 PM! Call the Guidance Office to register!

17. What is your “Financial Need”?

18. Fast forward, and let’s assume you’ve been accepted to different colleges and they have sent you your AWARD LETTER that tells you what your NET PRICE is.

19. COA: $35,000

20. The Gap
COA: $35,000 Financial Aid will cover: $29,750 The Gap = $35,000 - $29,750 = $5,250 Remember that loans are YOUR money too: $5,500 So, $5,250 + $5,500 = $10,750 out of your pocket/year $10,750 x 4 years = $43,000 total gap

21. How do we meet the gap? Student Loans? Parent PLUS Loans
Private Loans – Higher interest rates
Scholarships
Or consider a different college that is a better financial fit.
Freshman Year
$5,500
Sophomore Year
$6,500
Junior & Senior Year
$7,500

22. How many loans are too many?
The rule of thumb is that you do NOT want to take out more loans than your starting salary will be upon graduation.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Website
Find the salary of the job you want to pursue.
Example:
Total loan amount = $43,480
Computer Programmer Salary = $79,530
Athletic Trainer Salary = $44,670
Pharmacy Technician Salary = $30,410

23. Estimated Repayment Total loan amount = $43,480
Computer Programmer = $79,530
Athletic Trainer = $44,670
Pharmacy Technician = $30,410
Computer Programmer
$514/month for 6.5 years (Total paid w/ interest $49,192)
$432/month for 10 years (Total paid w/ interest $51,753)
Athletic Trainer
$224/month for 14 years (Total paid w/ interest $57,451)
Pharmacy Technician
$157/month for 17 years (Total paid w/ interest $62,130)

24. Scholarships
Remember, filing the FAFSA, the PA Financial Aid form (PHEAA), and the colleges financial aid forms are very, very important to see if you qualify for grants and scholarships! WATCH FOR DEADLINES!
Look to see if your colleges offer merit scholarships, and if so, what are they?
Naviance > Colleges > Scholarship List
FastWeb (Endorsed by College Board)
Peterson’s (petersons.com)

25. Scholarship Transcript Requests
Must pay $2 per transcript request
Must request transcripts in the Guidance Office for scholarships
All college transcript requests go through Naviance

26. Scholarship Search Tips
The more awards you apply for, the more awards you will likely receive.
For ever 10 you are eligible for and apply for, you will receive 1.
A bunch of small awards add up to a big one. Smaller awards have fewer competitors.
Scholarship searching should become a part of your weekly responsibilities.

27. Scholarship Search Tips
Avoid scams: Money flows to the student, never the other way around.
Search the web
Narrow your search. Instead of searching Google for “scholarships,” search for “Dillsburg, PA scholarships” or “Shippensburg University scholarship deadline”
Use magic words in your searches like:
Grant
Financial aid
Foundation
Trust

28. Example of Google Scholarship search
Music scholarship
Music scholarships
Music scholarship application
Music scholarship deadline
Music scholarship grant
Boston music scholarship
Boston music scholarship application deadline

29. Why is it important to apply to multiple colleges?
Are you open to a community college for 1-2 years? (Example: HACC is $3,690 for 12 credits) What are your goals? Are you open to having a job in college? Will you live on or off campus? What expenses can you control?