1. Presented by: Margarita V. Naumchik
Financing Education
Presented by: Margarita V. Naumchik
Financial Aid Counselor, University of Washington-Bothell

2. Questions I will be answering:
What is Financial Aid?
How & when do you apply for Financial Aid?
How much will your degree cost?
How is financial need determined?
Scholarships: Where do you find them and when do you apply?
Other Questions??

3. Types of Financial Aid Gift Aid “free money” Grants
Federal, state, or institutional money
Scholarships
Loans
Need & Non-Need
Low Interest
Deferred Repayment
Employment
Work-Study
Institutional
On or Off Campus

4. How & When to apply for aid?
All aid is awarded based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (otherwise known as the FAFSA) or Washington State Federal Student Aid (WASFA)
Can be filed electronically at or
For the UW, the priority filing deadline is January 15th
FAFSA available October 1, Use income information.
You must submit the FAFSA or WASFA EACH school year!

5. Priority Application
Each school has a different definition for “priority” applications. Check with all schools of interest for their specific priority application date
List all schools interested in on FAFSA
Get your FAFSA submitted early (for UW priority consideration, prior to January 15th)
Submit any institutional applications/forms for financial aid

6. FAFSA Myths
My parents and I must have our taxes done before we can complete the FAFSA
IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT)
I can file my FAFSA as an independent student (without my parents information) if my parents do not claim me as a dependent on their taxes
I’m 18 years old, so I don’t need my parents’ information when completing the FAFSA
The FAFSA, and financial aid in general, is processed the same way at every school
My financial aid eligibility will be the same regardless of when I submit my FAFSA

7. Independent Status 24 years old Married
Support Child/Dependent more than 50%
Have BA/BS
Orphan/ Ward of Court
Military Veteran
Emancipated Minor
Homeless
Not living with parents or not being claimed by them on tax forms does not make individual an independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid.

8. Parents….
If parents are divorced or separated the parent with whom the student lived with the most during the previous 12 months completes the FAFSA
Step-parent’s income and assets must be included if the parent is remarried

9. The Financial Aid Formula
Cost of Attendance (COA)
Tuition
Room
Board
Books
Living Expenses
Transportation
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Parent income
Parent assets
Student Income
Student assets
# in college
Parents’ age
# in household
Financial Need
The maximum amount of aid a family may received

10. What’s Included: tuition, books, room & board, transportation, and personal expenses.
4-year Public
Community College
4-year Private
Tuition
$10,690
$3,756
$38,980
Room & Board
$10,833
10,140
$11,158
Books & Supplies
$825
$1,098
Transportation
$1,524
$1,140
$1,470
Personal
$2,265
$2,271
$2,676
Total AY
$26,407
$18,132
$55,382

11. Award Letters!

12. Financial Aid Award Think of It as a “Package”
It is not really important which source (Pell, State Need Grant, College Bound) pays for which expense (tuition, housing).
Ask yourself, “Are my college expenses covered?”
If the answer is yes, then you received the best financial award you were eligible to receive.
Each campus will determine which funds pay which expense.
College Bound may/may not be listed on your award letter.
Could be the college/university doesn’t know student is eligible.

13. Evaluating the Award Letter
Read carefully
What are the next steps?
Are more forms required?
Grants and scholarships
Are they renewable? For how many years?
Loans
How much will you need to borrow to cover expenses until you earn your degree/certificate?
Out-of-pocket expenses
Does the offer meet the needs for your personal budget?

14. Special Circumstances
Change in employment status after filing FAFSA.
Medical expenses not covered by insurance.
Change in parents’ marital status after filing FAFSA.
Unusual dependent care expenses.
These cannot be reported on the FAFSA therefore:
Parents or student should send an explanation to financial aid office at each college or university.
College will review special circumstances and may request additional documentation.

15. UW Bothell Scholarship
UW Bothell Scholarship General UWB Scholarship Managed by Financial Aid office
Application available twice a year in Autumn and Spring quarters Merit Scholarship
Awarded by departments
Check with your department to see how to qualify for one External Scholarships
Parent’s place of work, Local civic organizations/businesses in which student may participate, Local library resources, Free online searches (you should never have to pay money to get money, if so, it’s probably a scam)

16. Free online scholarship resources
fastWeb
Pacific Northwest Scholarship Guide wguide.htm
SRN Express (Scholarship Resource Network)
College NET

17. Questions??? Margarita V. Naumchik 425-352-5240 finaid@uwb.edu